On my way home yesterday, I listened to Sky Ferreira’s 2013 hit Everything is Embarrassing. Although it is a song about romantic angst, I thought the title was a perfect encapsulation of my generation’s existential dread. Embarrassment is a normal feeling, but for Gen Z, we are the first generation to come of age with a permanent, digital record of our lives. Hyper-awareness of our digital footprint has created a constant state of collective surveillance over every wrong or “cringe” move.  This fear of being “cringe” is a direct product of online cancel culture: a single mistake can be weaponized…

July 3rd, 2026, marked the union of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce – “an american royal wedding.” Swift’s wedding has sparked controversy for being tacky and for being a symbol of celebrity wealth. Fans swarmed the exterior of Madison Square Garden, screaming at a catering van, begging for servers to throw slices of leftover wedding cake into the crowd. A pastry box is lifted; the crowd roars. “Throw it! I’ll catch it!” one fan yells. One lucky fan actually managed to snag a dessert, exclaiming to the camera, “Oh my God, guys, we’re having Taylor Swift dessert!” The cake was…

The male loneliness epidemic is a phrase that refers to the social isolation crisis among young adult men: fewer close friendships, higher rates of suicide, and a desperate craving for intimacy. Much of the public conversation frames finding a girlfriend as the only cure. We rarely ask: why do many lonely men feel entitled to women? And why does pop culture keep propelling the idea that young men – with a bit of pushing and shoving – can get the girl? We constantly see films and books where the male doesn’t take no for an answer and constantly lurks around…

‘The question is’, said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ – Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass For decades, politicians alike have done what Alice discussed above: making words mean different things to different people. In other words, utilizing dogwhistling to attract specific voters while keeping others confused rather than angry. In politics, dogwhistling refers to the use of suggestive, subtle messaging to convey an often-controversial message to a particular audience. Politicians do this all while appearing innocuous to the masses, maintaining plausible deniability if called out. The figurative definition of dog-whistling has its roots…