infinite scroll – Details, episodes & analysis

TW: This episode contains discussions about body image, weight loss, disordered and restrictive eating, self harm and other topics that listeners may consider traumatic. 

In this week's episode, I explore how TikTok's algorithm and early platform priorities primed the app to overtly counter the body positivity movement and why some believe that Gen Z's favourite app has become as toxic as 2000s Tumblr.

Timestamps:

4:00 A brief history of body positivity content online: An illusion of inclusivity

7:10 How TikTok shattered this illusion

8:25 TikTok’s algorithmic bias feedback loop

14:00 Sienna Mae Gomez as one of TikTok’s first body positivity creators

15:45 How Tumblr glamourised self-harm, EDs, and mental illness in girls and young women

21:36 Comparing 2000s Tumblr and TikTok today

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Sources:

https://www.vox.com/22697168/body-positivity-image-millennials-gen-z-weight 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/03/tiktok-owns-up-to-censoring-some-users-videos-to-stop-bullying 

https://netzpolitik.org/2019/discrimination-tiktok-curbed-reach-for-people-with-disabilities/ 

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/ 

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50645345 

https://staff.tumblr.com/post/18132624829/self-harm-blogs

https://www.nylon.com/beauty/tumblr-eating-disorder-content-is-on-tiktok-how-to-navigate-it

https://theconversation.com/should-pro-ana-websites-be-criminalised-in-australia-79197

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/why-eating-disorders-are-so-hard-for-instagram-and-tumblr-to

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144523000852?via%3Dihub 

https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/tiktok-body-checks-49350628 

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22832827/manifesting-tiktok-astroworld-conspiracy-qanon-religion 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/well/move/tiktok-legging-legs-eating-disorders.html 

https://www.dazeddigital.com/science-tech/article/55425/1/tiktok-pro-ana-eating-disorder-social-media-moderate-disordered 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/tiktok-slammed-for-doing-nothing-over-pro-anorexia-content-by-center-for-countering-digital-hate 

https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines/en/mental-behavioral-health#2 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/legging-legs-trend-tiktok-social-media-experts/

The biggest stories on the internet from September 26th, 2024.

Timestamps:

1:18 Chappell Roan has spoken out once again about how her comments re endorsing a presidential candidate have been skewed

2:35 Alix Earle accused of copying Becca Moore’s podcast aesthetic in new rebrand

5:49 Tana Mongeau and Brooke Schofield face backlash for video about their Baltimore tour show

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The biggest stories on the internet from August 28th, 2024.

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Timestamps:

00:47 Hailey & Justin Bieber welcome baby boy 

2:55 Sabrina Carpenter & Barry Keoghan have allegedly split

6:00 Bobbi Althoff tells haters to keep their criticism of her in the group chat

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In this week's episode, I explore the ties between TikTok's popular looksmaxxing trend and incel culture. I cover what looksmaxxing is, how it became popular among boys and young men, and the incel ideology that underpins this trend. 

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Timestamps:

3:27 What is looksmaxxing & why is it popular on TikTok?

8:40 What does incel mean?

11:33 Core beliefs of incels: appearance-based hierarchy, misogyny & pill theory

19:00 The ties between looksmaxxing & inceldom 

Resources:

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240326-inside-looksmaxxing-the-extreme-cosmetic-social-media-trend 

https://www.tiktok.com/@syrianpsycho 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9780135/ 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45284455“ 

https://incels.wiki/w/Looks_theory 

https://incels.wiki/images/e/ee/Okcupid.png 

https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/male-messaging-curve.png 

https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/female-messaging-curve.png 

https://www.tiktok.com/@syrianpsycho/video/7091686104650353966?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6899384367418131969 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/06/style/looksmaxxing-tik-tok-dillon-latham.html 

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/books/review/angry-white-men-by-michael-kimmel.html#:~:text=Failing%20to%20concede%20this%2C%20men,greater%20gender%20and%20racial%20equality. 

Solea, A.I., Sugiura, L. Mainstreaming the Blackpill: Understanding the Incel Community on TikTok. Eur J Crim Policy Res 29, 311–336 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-023-09559-5 

 https://looksmax.org/threads/complete-guide-to-psl-ratings.379179/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/7xmaze/learn-to-decode-the-secret-language-of-the-incel-subculture 

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/incels-in-australia-the-ideology-the-threat-and-a-way-forward/

The biggest stories on the internet from April 11th, 2024.

00:30 Leo Skepi has apologised for making fatphobic remarks after a wave of backlash

5:25 TikTok creator Sarah Joy has allegedly been faking being Amish for followers

12:03 Dbrand offers consumer $10K after tweeting racist comment about their last name

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The biggest stories on the internet from April 10th, 2024.

Timestamps:

00:27 TikTok-popular jewelry company Evry Jewels has called out an influencer for allegedly backing out of a collab

5:49 TikTok to launch Instagram rival app

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The biggest stories on the internet from April 9th, 2024.

Timestamps:

00:40 Vanderpump Villa recap

3:46 JoJo Siwa accused of stealing her new song 'Choose Your Fighter' from Emeline

6:56 Todrick Hall vs. Adam McIntyre vs. Colleen Ballinger

12:00 Billie Eilish announces new album days after putting her entire following list on her close friends

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The biggest stories on the internet from April 8th, 2024.

Timestamps:

00:51 Content recap

2:26 Jersey Shore Family Vacation

4:15 Summer House

8:17 TikToks' latest meme— Industrial grade glycine from Donghua Jinlong

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In this week's episode, I explore the rise and fall of Myspace— the first site that put social networking on the map at a global scale. I look at Myspace's origins, why the site became so popular, and its cultural impact, including some of the most prolific artists and influencers to come out of the platform. I also go into how and why Myspace ultimately failed, and the legacy it left behind for Millennials online. RaWrrrrrr <3

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Timestamps:

5:34 The idea of Myspace

7:58 Myspace launches

8:42 Why Myspace was so successful

15:07 Cultural impact of Myspace - music discovery, influencers, aesthetics & coding legacy

21:45 News Corp buys Myspace

23:29 The downfall of Myspace

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_DeWolfe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Anderson 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb1gWuzczSQ&ab_channel=MagnatesMedia

Kate M. Miltner & Ysabel Gerrard (2022) “Tom had us all doing front-end web development”: a nostalgic (re)imagining of Myspace, Internet Histories, 6:1-2, 48-67, 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24701475.2021.1985836 

Angwin, Julia. Stealing Myspace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America. Random House, 2009. 

Irina Shklovski & danah boyd “Music as Cultural Glue: Supporting Bands and Fans on MySpace.” https://www.danah.org/papers/BandsAndFans.pdf

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/01/the-rise-and-fall-of-myspace/69444/  

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/business/news-corp-to-acquire-owner-of-myspacecom.html 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4695495.stm 

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/rem-previewing-album-on-myspace-66407/   

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/06/as-myspace-sells-for-35-million-a-history-of-the-networks-valuation/241224/ 

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19329332 

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42475503 

https://centennialworld.com/gen-z-return-of-the-scene-queen/  

https://money.cnn.com/2014/10/29/technology/wsjd-murdoch-myspace/index.html 

https://www.codecademy.com/resources/blog/myspace-and-the-coding-legacy/ 

https://techcrunch.com/2008/06/12/facebook-no-longer-the-second-largest-social-network/ 

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN05173148/ 

https://www.businessinsider.com/2009/1/myspace-passed-on-buying-facebook-for-75-million 

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jun-17-fi-ct-myspace17-story.html 

https://www.forbes.com/2007/02/26/myspace-speed-facebook-tech-intel-cx_df_0227myspace.html?sh=2131442d344d 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/jun/30/myspace-sold-35-million-news 

https://www.businessinsider.com/former-myspace-ceo-explains-why-facebook-was-able-to-dominate-social-media-despite-coming-second-2015-5  

The biggest stories on the internet from April 4th, 2024.

Timestamps:

00:47 Aspyn Ovard files for divorce from Parker Ferris same day she announces their 3rd child was born

6:41 Comedian Daniel Tosh claims that Kylie Jenner is pregnant with Timothée Chalamet’s baby

9:15 Fans speculate The ACE Family divorce is fake after Catherine McBroom joins Austin's RV storyline

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