vanity space flights + minecraft theatre mayhem
do you ever feel like a plastic bag?
Happy hump day everyone!
If you’re bored of the relentless hamster wheel that is modern life, don’t get in your feels too much. Easter weekend is rapidly approaching, which means we have another 48 hours to sit on our arses watching football, gorging on e numbers, and palming our children off on our other halves… oh, just me then.
Before you can indulge in Lindt eggs, or more likely Smarties (given the current economic situation), we’ve taken the courtesy of providing you with a seven-to-eight minute summary of all the week’s news relevant to Gen Z – and just stuff worth sharing in general.
This edition fleshes out the bad juju that has been in the air for Big Tech; from Blue Origin’s poorly received space flight, to Zuckerberg potentially being forced to sell up, and Musk’s approval ratings reportedly slumping. There’s also some culture bits and other trending thangs. You don’t get this from The Verge or TechCrunch!
Let’s get it!
🔌 Tech mishaps
‘You say you care about Mother Earth? I’m disgusted’: The celebs at war with Katy Perry over space travel – the independent
What was billed as a small step for woman and a giant leap for feminism has come back down to Earth with a dusty bump. Blue Origin’s 11-minute space flight was experienced by the first all-female space team in over 60 years, including a certain Kerry Perry, who dramatically smooched the floor after exiting the commercial shuttle. Unsurprisingly, the dolled up gaggle of astronauts and the stunt has come under fire from other A listers, comedians, and companies, calling the whole thing ‘gluttonous’, ‘beyond parody’, and ‘environmentally damaging’. On that point, Perry in particular is feeling the pile-on having previously been extremely vocal about protecting mother nature. The whole thing is very uncomfortable, but to some extent warranted.
The dark side of social media rears its ugly head again. Amid unfounded speculation about the rocky marriage of both Hailey and Justin Bieber, Francesca Farago, an alum of several Netflix reality shows, has revealed she was among a bunch of creators offered sizable payment to push a trend mocking Hailey. The trend involves girls saying ‘fate’ brought them and their partner together, while implying that they ‘psycho stalked’ them in reality. ‘F*ck these online trolls whose sole purpose in life is to bring a newly postpartum mom down,’ Farago posted on her Insta story.
📱 Social moguls
People are turning on Elon Musk – the verge
Elon Musk’s popularity with the American public is waning, according the latest polling average from Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin. His new role as the face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), by all accounts, is going down like a lead balloon following widespread federal layoffs and weird personal data hoarding. 53% of American citizens reportedly have an unfavourable view of the tech mogul, which is way up from 38% in 2024. This general downturn in PR is endorsed by Fox News, Politico, and Axios who’ve conducted their own polls.
Landmark antitrust trial could force Zuckerberg to sell Instagram – bbc
The US government has taken Meta - and a Jack Harlow-looking Zuckerberg - to court over its original acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp years ago. The FTC claims Meta’s purchase of both was in lieu of eliminating commercial competition, rather than an attempt to improve both apps in their own right. A key antitrust allegation is that Zuckerberg emails around the time stated a desire to ‘neutralise’ rivals. If deemed valid, Meta may be forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp… and you’d bet Trump’s influence over the FTC will play a part.
📺 Watch
A Minecraft Movie’s meme-shaped success – thred
Who would’ve thought a movie based on the most popular game of all time would be a smash hit, honestly, not me. Despite receiving lukewarm critical acclaim at best, A Minecraft Movie has scored the biggest box office opening of 2025, cementing it as the most successful big screen adaption of a video game to date. Whether by design or not, the communal feel of the game has translated into this not-so-appropriate setting, and Gen Zers are seeing theatre screenings as an opportunity to have fun and create a ruckus. The film plays out like one big fan service, and TikTok videos are everywhere showing people throwing popcorn, screaming references, and in one instance letting a chicken loose. Hollywood bigwigs will be gawking at the numbers, and no doubt looking to replicate the meme-heavy buzz created here.
Will there be an Adolescence series 2 – deadline
It hasn’t been confirmed whether or not Netflix’s poignant hit show Adolescence is due to get a second season, but the creators have talked up the potential of exploring other subjects, or delving back into the nuances of toxic masculinity and incel culture from a different angle – perhaps the victim’s point of view or her family’s. Producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner told Deadline that they’re in preliminary talks with Jeremy Graham about a ‘next iteration’ which may ‘widen the aperture’ while remaining ‘true to its DNA and not repetitive’. Given how widely it’s resonated in the UK, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the show brought back.
💬 Daily life
I can’t afford a house right now, am I screwed – vox
Amid all the gloomy rhetoric about the housing market in the US, Vox’s honest approach to answering community questions is hella refreshing. The superseding piece of advice is that young people who’re weighing up what to do property-wise in the near future categorically shouldn’t take advice – and certainly not criticism – from their elders who operated in an entirely different set of circumstances. ‘It’s kind of like when you become a new mom: Don’t get any of your parenting advice from someone who hasn’t been a mom in like the last two years,’ says the podcast’s host Jonquilyn Hill. She then goes on to give very specific advice on actionable steps for younger people to take. It’s a welcome change to discussing a topic that is usually presented in an alienating and disheartening way for Gen Zers.
Librarians in UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads – the guardian
Requests to remove books from library shelves are on the rise in the UK, as the influence of pressure groups behind book bans in the US crosses the Atlantic, according to those working in the sector. The issue of censorship is far smaller in the UK, where most of the evidence is purely anecdotal, but in the US, 72% of demands to axe books were requested by organised groups. In both nations, LGBTQ+ titles were the most targeted category according to the Index on Censorship Survey last year. This antagonistic pressure is beginning to feed into educational institutions of all ages reveals Alison Hicks, an associate professor in library and information studies at UCL.
🗡️ Recommendation
This recommendation is heavily based on information that may not be entirely reliable. But, should leaks about an Elden Scrolls Oblivion remaster be true, you’ll want to be all over it. Yam a full Easter egg on Sunday, and slay some goblins on Monday – if it indeed drops then, as rumoured.
Thanks for reading and make sure to subscribe for the latest news on Gen Z and youth culture. Also, don’t forget to check out The Gen Zer for a weekly roundup of more trending insights, stories, and discussions.
I'm definitely torn between innovation and the planet, but I'm not torn about digital tormenting. It has no place in the world!
Oh to be Katy Perry hey!