Just because you bring your phone, doesn’t mean you have to use it.
Speaking of AI photos: Snapchat’s My Selfie feature creates neat AI-generated pics of you. The catch (there’s always a catch): If you use it, you’re giving Snap permission to use your face in ads and sponsored content, and you won’t get paid for it. No, thanks. To disable this, go to your profile photo > tap the Settings cog > toggle off See My Selfie in Ads.
47% of Gen Z
Wishes TikTok didn’t exist. Half think the same about X (yeah, I still think of it as Twitter). The average time per day spent on social media? Four hours. You can’t convince me it’s anything other than addiction.
This is the same generation that ate Tide Pods: Gen Z’s latest social media trend is snapping photos of their TSA security trays while we all wait in line behind them. They neatly arrange their sunglasses, jewelry, bags and shoes before sending them through the X-ray, captioning it with gems like, “Am I overpacking for the one-day late-summer getaway?” Oof.
✅ Instagram for teens: Congress is laying on the pressure and Meta is finally making changes. “Teen accounts” for anyone under 18 will block non-friends from viewing their content or messaging them. Parents can also see who their kids have recently messaged, set daily time limits and block app usage during certain hours. Full list of changes here. Share this one with anyone with a teen.
⏰ The clock is TikTok-ing: A three-judge panel just heard TikTok’s argument against splitting from ByteDance, a company with direct ties to Communist China. They say 170 million Americans use TikTok (think of that loss of productivity!) and questioned why other Chinese-owned apps like Temu and Shein aren’t being targeted the same way. I hope Mr. Wonderful’s idea of letting everyday Americans buy TikTok comes to fruition.
57% of Gen Z
Want to be an influencer. Sounds like a dream, but the reality isn’t so pretty. Most influencers barely make enough to scrape by, and even the ones making bank work like crazy.
A side hustle that won’t work: Pay a startup $30 a month and they’ll auto-post AI-generated vids to social media for you. Pick a topic (like motivation), and they’ll generate a script, voiceover, background track and AI images. The idea is to help you build an audience and start making money. Remember Shrimp Jesus (paywall link)?
🌽 What does baby corn call its dad? Pop corn: Kids find ways to communicate things that could get them flagged or banned online. Here’s a new one: Corn. That’s internet speak for “porn.” Now you know.
😭 Look who died: Don’t click on a strange link making the rounds on Facebook that says, “Look who died.” Surprise, it’s a scam. Lowlifes want to get all the deets on your account to wreak havoc.
🚨 If that’s how it is, Soviet: Russia’s propaganda machine paid a Tennessee media company $10 million to post pro-Kremlin content. Tenet Media has a roster of popular right-wing influencers, including Dave Rubin, Tim Pool and Benny Johnson. The hosts say they had no clue Russia was paying them. FYI: Since November 2023, they’ve posted nearly 2,000 videos, racking up 16 million views on YouTube alone.
Prison changes a man: About two weeks after his arrest in France, Telegram’s CEO says it’s not fair he was held responsible for others’ criminal activity on his app. Still, he calls it his “personal goal” to fix the problems. Step 1: Telegram’s updated FAQ page says users’ private chats are no longer protected from moderation. Cry me a river. Way too little, way too late.
Forced advertising: Soon, you’ll see ads on Snapchat next to messages from your friends. Sponsored snaps will show as unread messages in the main chat tab, but they won’t trigger push notifications, at least. Snap’s stock price is hovering near an all-time low. This is def not a coincidence.
💵 Wads up? Social media is buzzing about a clever Chase bank “glitch” that gets you free money. How it works: Deposit a fake check into an ATM and withdraw cash before it bounces. Chase is onto it, and the dummies who tried it now face negative account balances in the tens of thousands.
The new influencers: Unemployed folks are using TikTok to share “day in the life” videos with followers to show how they cope. The algorithm rewards shocking and emotional content, so it’s a good way to rack up views — and money. Better idea: Refresh your LinkedIn profile and set yourself as #OpenToWork there to find an actual job (paywall link).
🚨 All that and dim sum: Researchers dug into Communist China-owned TikTok’s algorithms and found they suppress content critical of the Chinese Communist Party. Search for “Xinjiang,” a region linked with genocide and crimes against humanity, and you’ll find only 2.3% of results are anti-China. Compare that to 21.7% on YouTube. And the cherry on top? They’re not above manipulating teens with pro-China propaganda.
New Instagram features: Add text to photos by tapping the text button, or throw in stickers via the gallery. Reels got an upgrade, too, with new fonts, animations and text effects. Simply tap the text button, and then hit the animations button and effects button. Plus, you can now upload up to 20 photos in one post.
I got a kick out of this: Football player Travis Kelce’s dad is banned for life on X. He posted (on Facebook!) about the hypocrisy of arms dealers in Yemen selling weapons on the platform when all he really did was follow sports reporters. X hasn’t given him a clear reason — just a generic Terms of Service violation.
🗺️ It’s a joke, OK? Stop sharing the mock electoral maps flooding social media as if they’re facts. The trend is to take a blank map, color it mostly blue or red, and slap a clever line about how either Democrats or Republicans could win the Electoral College. Want in? Here’s a generator to make your own.
⚠️ Scammers’ new tactic? Using social media and messaging apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram to tell you you’re hot or offer tips to show you how to make money. About 86% of victims are tricked into transferring money themselves — without the crooks ever accessing their accounts. Come on! Please don’t fall for it.