This week’s look into the culture of young people is like Uber Eats Roulette: there’s all kinds of different things to enjoy, but none of it fits together. I’m taking a look at maximalist Christmas decorations; a classroom TikTok challenge; Catly, a video game that gamers find sus; and a viral video about what happens to the millions of things that people send back to Amazon.
Have yourself a maximal Christmas
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Maximalism, the design aesthetic that says “more is more,” is having a moment online, especially now that it’s Christmastime. There is no holiday tradition more suited to maximalism than decorating for Christmas, and TikTok’s maximalists are leaning into it hard, decking out their halls with ungodly amounts of tinsel, holly, angels, shiny stars, and every other decoration they can find. Here’s some inspiration, if you’re going for the look:
This “every-branch-enhanced” tree from @tnkyla:
Self-proclaimed “autistic maximalist” @candy.courn’s Pokemon tree:
@whilefloriansleeps’ retro-Maximalist decoration:
One more: @thekitchenmagpie. I’m not even sure there’s a tree under that decoration.
What is the “slowly leaving the classroom” challenge?
Even though most schools are still in session, holiday malaise has overtaken many classrooms, leading to shenanigans like the “slowly leaving the classroom” trend that’s taking off online. It’s as simple as it sounds: Kids are filming each another slowly moving their desks toward the door of the class, as if they’re stealthily making an escape. It looks like this:
“Catly” video game raises questions
If you’re a crusty old cynic like I am, it’s hard to not feel dismayed on behalf of younger people who seem to fall victim to transparent money-grab schemes from “influencers,” whether it’s YouTubers abusing their young fans’ trust to sell junk food, or meme-stars trying to cash out as their 15 minutes of fame tick away. But there are reasons to be hopeful, too, like the reaction of the gaming community to the release of the trailer for Catly shown at the GAME awards this week. Check it out:
Rather than fall all over themselves for a cat-based game endorsed by popular streamers Ninja, Felicia Day, and Pokimane, the gaming community immediately reacted with healthy skepticism, pointing out the trailers suspiciously AI-looking sheen, and digging up connections between the founder of the company behind Catly and blockchain games/NFTs.
On the other hand, a PR representative for Catly developer SuperAuthenti told IGN that neither the trailer nor the game employ generative AI, and that there has been “zero blockchain technology” involved in Catly. Which might be true; it’s just good that questions are being asked and research done.
How to play “Uber Eats Roulette”
Most food-related trends from young people are terrible, but I like the idea of Uber Eats Roulette, a party idea/game that’s becoming popular in online foodie corners. It’s a twist on the traditional pot luck, where the host gives guests a price point and invites everyone to order something to eat from whatever Uber Eats place they want. If you want, you can have your guests keep what they ordered secret from each other and try to guess, or just have the food delivered so everyone can have a feast and a laugh. I want to go this party:
Viral video of the week: Man buys box of Amazon returns, instantly regrets it
Unlike most YouTubers who are popular among young people, Danny Gonzalez is not annoying: He’s sometimes funny and sometimes interesting. In this week’s viral video, Gonzalez has teamed up with Climate Town for a video about what happens when you return items to Amazon. You might think Amazon put those items back on sale, but nope. Big retailers throw most of their returns into landfills. But some of the six billion pounds (per year) of returned items end up at re-sellers. These bulk item liquidators then re-sell the items, sometimes in bulk. In this video, Gonzalez picks up one of these mystery pallets and tries to flip it for a profit through Facebook marketplace. It’s an amusing way to talk about the ungodly amount of crap we generate, without preaching.