Are Gen Z phasing out the one night stand?
Is the decline in casual sex among Gen Z a sign of conservatism, or are young people simply seeking deeper connections? In the latest attempt to paint young people as far more wholesome (and dare I say boring) than their predecessors, a new report by The Times claims Gen...
Current in Offbeat
We need to talk about ‘Almond Mums’
How the fascination with our mothers’ diets has permeated social media and changed the way we think about food. There are few social trends as pervasive as the ‘almond mum’. She’s slim, she’s usually wearing yoga leggings, she shops at Whole Foods. And according to the thousands of videos featuring...
Google’s Gemini AI advert coughs out incorrect cheese facts
In the first version of its latest advert for AI, Google’s Gemini can be seen providing incorrect information on cheese. It’s an excellent example of why we shouldn’t rely entirely on AI to do the thinking for us. Honey, the Large Language Model (LLM) AI program is hallucinating again! It...
Ed Sheeran street concert shut down by police in India
In widely-shared footage online, a police officer can be seen unplugging Ed Sheeran’s microphone at a street performance in India. Ed Sheeran had his street performance in India cut short over the weekend, despite reportedly asking permission before starting. A police offer unplugged his microphone and ushered him away,...
Is Quora on death’s doorstep?
The platform once deemed a barometer for quality responses to user queries has lost its way. AI is largely responsible – in more ways than one. Have you ever heard of ‘Dead Internet Theory?’ It subscribes to the idea that both bots and content created by algorithms will soon overtake the...
Opinion – ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos are entirely unappetizing
The trend of sharing our daily meals invites harmful diet tropes, unhealthy comparisons, and a general disillusionment with food. So why can’t we escape ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos? There’s a peculiar flavour to modern voyeurism, and it comes in the form of meal vlogging. Otherwise known as ‘What...
What Reddit vs X says about internet groupthink
Multiple subreddits are banning X links in protest of Elon Musk’s salute at the presidential inauguration. The implosion of ideological groupthink online highlights the fascinating potential of digital community. Elon Musk was one of a number of tech-giants who took center stage at Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration. The X owner and Tesla founder has become an unlikely political sidekick (or partner in crime, if you prefer) since the latter...
The politics of pink Kashmiri tea
In Kashmir, savoury pink tea is a staple. But outside the valley, it’s been rebranded into something sweeter, almost sparking a quiet identity crisis. Let’s unpack the history, evolution, and brewing debate over what makes nun chai truly Kashmiri (hint: it’s salt). ‘Bas bas! Main itna nahi kha paungi! (Enough, I won’t be able to eat so much)’ I protested in Urdu, watching in dismay as my delicate cup of...
Why do we love mocking scam victims online?
You can try and deny it, but we love laughing in the face of innocent scam victims. The more elaborate the scam, the louder the taunts. But at a time when anti-bullying agendas are everywhere, why are we so quick to mock the internet's most vulnerable? A very shoddy photoshop job went viral last week. The series of images featured Brad Pitt in various states of ill health; undergoing surgery,...
US court rules that elephants are not people
A court has ruled that five elephants from Colorado zoo are not people after an animal rights group argued that they were effectively imprisoned. A court has ruled that elephants are not legally regarded as people. This bizarre judgement is the result of an ongoing bid to free five elephants from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. Named Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo, an animal rights group called The Nonhuman...
