This week on my internet (15th Aug) š
Chaos in the Costwolds, Eyes. Lips. Find a new beauty brand, and OpenAI f*cked GPT5
Happy Happy Friday,
Iām officially on holiday, with limited access to internet, so byeee for a few weeks! But for now, grab a coffee and get stuck in:
Culture Beat
šŖØ Christiano Ronaldo proposed to Georgina RodrĆguez, his girlfriend of eight years, with a literal boulder of a ring. Itās an estimate 50-60carats, sitting at an estimated $3 million. Which is a small dent in the richest football player in the world. The internet has frequently commented on their relationship status, and why it has taken him so long to propose. (Anyone who happens to be watching The Summer I Turned Pretty will enjoy the Jeremiah ring comparisons)
šLast year, we all experienced how TikTok is a great place to share a many-part story about how your spouse is not who you thought they were. This year, Kendra Hilty (life coach, ADHD hype woman, and exāyoga instructor) is currently serving up a 34-part TikTok epic about how she spent four years falling in love with her psychiatrist, who, she claims, kept things just flirty enough to dodge trouble while never actually shutting it down; along the way, she also picked up a second therapist who allegedly overstepped, confided in an AI chatbot named āHenryā (yes, really), and got called out by a former friend who says she paid $3K for coaching that turned into human design readings, and now Hilty says sheās sharing it all to expose exploitation by people in power. It appears to be backfiring for her. Strap in to the full story. (Or hereās a 90s summary)
ā Chaos has descended in the Cotswolds as JD Vance Cotswolds residents are protesting JD vanceās vacay in the rural UK town. Local residents are pissed because not only has he brought a team with him (each with their own car), heās had roads closed down, but mostly they donāt agree with his politics and want him gone.
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āš„ Curryās and Argos, two of the most iconic UK retailing brands, are beefing on TikTok. Unfortunately no news feeds have this, you just need to rabbit hole on TikTok. Thatās it - thatās the update.
š Someone on TikTok asked the question āWhat is the male version of buying a woman flowers?ā. Whilst I stupidly assumed that men could also just have flowers, apparently the general consensus is Banana Bread.
š« Hot take from @certainlyheinsenberg : why donāt we bring back inconveneincing yourself to show up for people? Thereās been a lot of āpracticing self-careā over the last few years across social, with many opting to stay home, cancel on friends and put up clear boundaries. But are the lines are blurring between protecting your peace and being selfish?
Content Corner: Brands and Entertainment
š§” Taylor Swift just announced her new album, TS12 - The Life of a Showgirl. She chose to announce it on her boyfriends podcast (New Heights - Travis Kelce and his brother). I can confirm I have watched the whole 2 hour podcast and whilst it feels very cringey and American, itās low key kinda cute seeing her and Travis together. I donāt think Travis has proven himself to be a decent muse (yet), but I am excited. Whilst I cannot wait for TS12, I fear that Taylor forgot to hire a graphic designer for this whole release announcement and it irks me. Brands are jumping in to prove they can post really fast drive cultural relevance.
š¬ I donāt think everyone quite understands how powerful TikTok editors are for the success of movies, artists, streamers. However, a fan made an edit of the movie Creed, and it went so hard, and reached so many people, it got the whole movie trending again and hit the Top 10 on Prime.
š„A trailer for āSwipedā just dropped: a movie focussing on the life of Bumble founder, Whitney Wolfe. For those of you unfamiliar with the Tinder vs Bumble lore, I can tell you already this film is going to be full of drama. Mark your calendars for September 15th.
š Beauty brand E.L.F teamed up with ācomedianā Matthew Rife for their latest campaign. If youāre not familiar with Matt rife, he has historically been misogynistic and gross in his comedy, until his Netflix special a few years ago where he made jokes about domestic violence. When people got upset he posted that anyone complaining needed to get helmets for special needs, he then doubled down and started making jokes about the trans community. Whilst one bad joke shouldnāt cancel you - Matt Rife is just a never-ending series of red flags, and the E.L.F community is not happy. From throwing away ELF products to - ELF has since issued an apology.
š§š» Wednesday Season 2 dropped over the weekend, and continues the success Season 1ās streaming records, hitting 50 million views in just four days. Reviews have been positive, which bodes well for leading actor Jenna Ortega, who for this season, acted as an Exec Producer; she made key changes to scenes, script and aesthetic choices.
š Timothee Chalamet is bringing us masterpiece after masterpiece in cinema, and the trailer for his latest movie Marty Supreme, just teased.
š Waterstones had to issue an apology after their Book Fest 2025 for overcrowding. An āunexpectedly high turn outā caused all the issues. People have since been posting videos joking they āsurvived Book Fest 2025ā and someoneās even making TShirts. The seemingly tame event (featuring a number of authors doing signings and press) got circulated across BookTok and thousands ended up coming to the shop.
Audience Insights: Gen Z (mostly)
šø Globally, teenagers and young adults are increasingly accumulating seven, eight, and even nine-figure fortunes through a combination of inheritance, entrepreneurship, and digital innovation. Meet the Gen Z millionaires and billionaires reshaping the rich list.
š« Burnout is hitting millennials and Gen Zers the most, despite being in work for the least amount of time. Millennials already weathered chaos during their relatively short careers - from Covid19 to the Great Recession (to crash out summer), many are now in middle management roles with increased responsibilities, intensifying stress and not much to show for it.
šļø On the other side of Gen Z, young people are now facing a fairly serious financial crisis; having no savings. Almost half of the generation have admitted to having no savings; why bother when planning a financial future feels useless.
š Unrestricted access to the internet has supposedly destroyed Gen Zās love life. Growing up with access to an online content free-for-all appears to have produced a generation with progressive attitudes and puritanical habits, who are increasingly likely to be teetotal, abstinent, prefer not to see nudity in films and opt out of relationships.
Social & Tech
šØ Open AI launched GPT5 free to all ChatGPT users. Whilst claiming that the new model comes with reduced hallucinations, improved coding and a new approach to handling sensitive requests, it has not gone over well with some. Many who actually use the platform may not want more raw intelligence - they might just want a friendly AI assistant. GPT5 has been described as far less personable, creative and just makes you want to switch chatbots. OpenAI has since had to release old-model access to users, but itās not a good look for them.
šø Pinterest is going strong bringing in almost 1 billion in revenue in Q2 earlier this year. Thatās up almost 20% YoY. Gen Z users are bringing the majority of the platforms growth, almost doubling since this time last year.
š This week I discovered a new app via TikTok for anyone Christian inclined, but finds the Bible lacking in modern vernacular. BibleBFF is essentially just the Bible, but as audio, and being explained as if itās gossip. Some real classics:
āThen God spills the tea that these two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah UNHINGED. Everyone there is on such an unholy bender that he might have to wipe them all out.ā
So Peter steps out of the boat, and starts walking on water with his eyes locked in on Jesus, but then he notices the storm again and has a Menty B and starts sinking.ā
And finally, as always, some no context joy from my feed;
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Thatās it from meeee,
xoxo