Latest news with #GenZ
The Sun
35 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Sydney Sweeney American Eagle jeans ad sparks online debate
NEW YORK: An American Eagle advertising campaign featuring actor Sydney Sweeney has ignited fierce online debate, with critics accusing it of promoting racial undertones while supporters applaud its rejection of 'woke' politics. The campaign's tagline, 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,' alongside the actor's blue eyes and blonde hair, has drawn accusations of racial insensitivity. In one video, Sweeney, dressed in denim, says, 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My genes are blue.' Social media reactions have been sharply divided. Some users claim the ad promotes 'white supremacy' and 'eugenics,' while others dismiss it as 'sterile' or 'rage bait.' Conversely, many have praised the campaign, with comments like 'woke is broke!' and 'culture shift!' gaining traction. Conservative figures, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, have weighed in. Cruz posted a photo of Sweeney on X, writing, 'Wow. Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women. I'm sure that will poll well.' Neither American Eagle nor Sweeney, known for her roles in 'The White Lotus' and 'Euphoria,' have publicly addressed the backlash. The brand previously described the campaign as 'bold' and 'playful,' highlighting Sweeney's 'girl next door charm.' The campaign includes a limited-edition 'Sydney Jean,' priced at $79.95, with proceeds supporting Crisis Text Line, a mental health nonprofit. Despite the controversy, American Eagle maintains the collaboration reinforces its status as the top jeans brand for Gen Z. Fashion critic Rachel Tashjian of *The Washington Post* noted that the ad reflects a broader cultural shift. 'For the past five or six years, fashion seemed dedicated to body positivity. Now, we're seeing a return to thinness, whiteness, and wealth imagery,' she wrote. - AFP
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Delusional' bride bans Gen Z sister from ‘childfree' wedding — yet demands a gift: ‘You're not mature enough'
This bride's commitment to keeping her big day childless is childish. Banning babies at a formal fête is fair. However, barring your 19-year-old sibling from your alcohol-free nuptials, simply because she's not over the age of 21, but demanding the excluded Gen Z fork over a wedding present, is foul — so says incensed social media savages. 'My older half-sister [didn't] invite me to her childfree wedding as I am nineteen, expects a gift,' an enraged, anonymous Redditor titled a post in the platform's 'Family Drama' forum. The offended youngster shared screenshots of the bride-to-be's rude request for a goodie from the wedding registry, despite her refusal to extend an invitation. 'It's super common for people who can't make it to send a small gift,' argued the future newlywed, to which the teen responded, 'Can't make it [is not the same as] not invited.' Talk about unbridled audacity. Hosting a child-free matrimonial ceremony is a rising movement among couples heading towards the altar. In fact, a staggering 46% of pairs are keeping kiddos off of their guest lists while tying the knot this year, according to a 2025 wedding trends report via Zola. Still, a few sweethearts are taking the ban a bit too far. Some lovebirds hire wedding nannies to ensure little ones stay out of sight and earshot during their hitching, while others disinvite people with children, rendering their extremely exclusive ceremonies totally tot-less. But when it comes to the bride snubbing her legal-aged little sis, the internet is not on the engaged diva's side. 'Your sister is delusional,' a commenter assured the 19-year-old. 'This is one of the craziest things I've ever seen,' said a separate supporter. 'Older teens aren't children regarding being invited to a wedding — and mine was child-free.' 'It's not that she doesn't want anyone under drinking age,' another suggested. 'She's just cheap and doesn't want to pay for the extra plate for someone she doesn't care about having there.' One helpful spectator even offered the Zoomer a sweet response to the bridezilla's petition for a present. ''I consulted Reddit. The general consensus was that it is wholly unreasonable to expect children to purchase wedding gifts. That is their parents' responsibility. As a child who is not invited to your wedding, I can't imagine any circumstance where it is my responsibility to buy a wedding gift.''
CNBC
6 hours ago
- General
- CNBC
'Where are the instructions?': Gen Zers confront the quarter-life crisis—'the world is messy and hard,' therapist says
For many young people, especially Generation Z, what they were often told would be the greatest years of their lives has turned out to be something entirely different. For starters, America has a huge loneliness problem that is affecting young adults a lot more than older generations. Just 17% of U.S. adults younger than 30 report that they have deep social connections. And the decades-old, U-shaped happiness curve is changing, now that young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 seem to be less happy than people in their 40s and 50s. Twenty-somethings are finishing school, entering the work force and, if they're lucky, moving out of their parents' houses. It's a time where "young people have a tough go of it, the world is messy and hard, and a lot is expected," says Sadie Salazar, therapist and COO of Sage Therapy. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z are confronting significant challenges and frustrations—what many are calling the "quarter-life crisis"—at an unexpectedly early age. "I don't envy Gen Z. Surely every generation that has come before will say, 'I, too, had to transition through the seasons of life,'" says Salazar, who is a Millennial in her 30s. "But the amount of competing factors and stressors that are present for Gen Z folks right now, I personally think is unmatched." CNBC Make It asked Gen Zers between the ages of 25 and 29 about this period in their lives, and what's been the most challenging for them. Here's what they shared. "Where are the instructions?" "I wanna be bill free again." "It's been really difficult to get my career off the ground the way that I want because the job market sucks. On top of just questioning every decision you've ever made, your career is just not going the way you want, love life just in the toilet and just in general, life is not going the way you wanted it to, or as planned." "The mid- to late 20s freaking sucks man. There's no other way to put it. It freaking sucks. I'm just praying that my 30s are a lot better." "It's only difficult because I feel like I'm too old to not have it together. However, my life has just begun. I'm trying to find a [happy] medium. Also, trying to give myself grace." "This sh*t [is] hard bro." "[I] can't find work in my field no matter how many jobs I've applied to (maybe over 100 in the past 3 months). I'm not giving up, but I do feel a lot of weight on my shoulders." While going through a quarter-life crisis, people can experience heavy emotions, says Jasmine Trotter, a 28-year-old Gen Z therapist at Wild Cactus Therapy. During that time period, Trotter and Salazar say people, may: Entering adulthood can pose its own challenges like settling into a career, finding the right partner and moving into your first apartment. This can be more difficult to navigate considering social, economic and political factors, Salazar says. "I would not want to be a Gen Z person in my 20s looking for a job," she adds. To power through quarter-life, Trotter believes you should start by putting less pressure on yourself and avoiding comparison, especially on social media. "Don't compare your bloopers to someone else's highlights," Trotter says. "Everyone's going at the pace that's appropriate for them. There's no need to compare, because you don't know what's going on [with them], but you know what's going on with you." Salazar suggests finding daily practices that help you feel grounded and incorporating them in your life. Whether it's an exercise routine you enjoy or a weekly phone call with a friend, she says, the stability of a consistent ritual can make you feel more in control of your life. "It doesn't have to mean anything fancy or expensive," Salazar says. "Something consistent, usually, helps keep us anchored during a period of life that feels like everything around us is sort of ambiguous and chaotic." Salazar also strongly encourages connecting with a mental health professional like a therapist, who is trained to help you navigate challenges you may face. "One person's quarter-life crisis is not another's. It can really look different depending on what it is that you're managing," she says. "Therapy can be really helpful in that regard, kind of the analysis and insight development. [It] can also be helpful in terms of skill building to be able to manage more specific symptoms that can accompany a quarter-life crisis."
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Aamir Khan explains why Gen Z is obsessed with Ahaan Panday-Aneet Padda starrer Saiyaara: 'Har group ka ek taste hota hai'
Aamir Khan lauded the success of 'Saiyaara,' attributing its popularity among Gen Z to a generational shift in content preferences and emotional storytelling. He aims to create films that resonate with diverse audiences, celebrating 'Saiyaara's' debutants Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. Khan also announced 'Sitaare Zameen Par' will release globally on YouTube on August 1, 2025. As Saiyaara continues to soar at the box office and win hearts—especially among Gen Z—Aamir Khan has offered his take on why the romantic drama has struck such a deep chord with younger audiences. Speaking at a recent event for his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par, the Bollywood icon applauded the film's emotional storytelling and youthful energy, crediting its success to a generational shift in taste and content preference. Aamir Khan on Saiyaara's Gen Z appeal At a recent event for his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan reflected on why Saiyaara has become such a hit with Gen Z. He noted that different age groups are drawn to different types of content, and Saiyaara seems to have struck the right chord with younger viewers. Aamir emphasized that each generation has its own taste, and as a creative professional, he aims to explore diverse stories that connect with audiences across the board. Aamir further expressed his desire to create films that resonate with a wide range of audiences. He said he wants to make content not just for Gen Z and the younger generation, but also for varied age groups and interests. Exploring diverse themes, he added, allows him the creative freedom to connect with different sections of viewers. Celebrating the success of Saiyaara Aamir Khan's comments follow closely on the heels of a celebratory message from his production house, which acknowledged the success of Saiyaara at the box office. The note praised debutants Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda for their graceful and emotionally resonant performances, while also commending director Mohit Suri for infusing the film with his trademark intensity. The statement also credited YRF for backing a story that blends melody and emotion in a way that clearly struck a chord with audiences. Saiyaara has emerged as a breakout hit, especially among Gen Z audiences. Its blend of romantic storytelling, fresh-faced leads, and soulful music has struck a chord with young viewers. Debutants Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda have earned widespread praise for their on-screen chemistry and compelling performances, with both critics and audiences applauding their emotional depth and charm. Sitaare Zameen Par set for global release Meanwhile, Aamir Khan also announced that Sitaare Zameen Par will have a global release on YouTube on August 1, 2025. The film, which stars Aamir alongside Genelia Deshmukh and features a cast that includes actors with intellectual disabilities, will be available to stream for Rs 100 in India. It will also be accessible in 38 international markets, each with region-specific pricing.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
OPINION - I can barely afford rent – and I'm a privileged journalist with a job
About £600 a month. That's what I was paying back in 2020 for a three-bedroom flat in Queen's Road Peckham (Zone 2, no Tube) in 2020. Admittedly, it didn't have a living room and the bathroom was permanently green with mould – but on the plus side I had a personal balcony (read: awkward triangle of cement). Once, I even woke up to my housemate traipsing back through the balcony door, having used my room as a pathway whilst I was dead to the world. I can tell you now that this sort of unwelcome early-hours intrusion is not something you forget quickly – though I had to forgive him as the poor guy had 'nowhere else to go to smoke his zoot'. Anyway five years later, I'm paying over £300 more than that per month, and I live just a few doors down from the Weed Crime Scene. My salary has increased a little, thank god, but has it gone up by 50%? No. My room is only a little larger than a coffin in this new gaff, although I do have a pet in the form of a little mouse who has proved more sociable than at least one of my housemates – and who has an aptitude for acrobatics (alarmingly long jumping off the kitchen counter when I walk into the room, for instance). London rents have risen by 35 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic I'm not alone and I know I have it better than many others in my generation (and of course, this is a very privileged complaint to make when you consider the increasing number of people in temporary accommodation or no housing at all due to this country's housing crisis). London rents have risen by 35 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic, as new data from property website Rightmove shows. Since 2020, real mean earnings for employees in London have increased by approximately 5%, and middle earners in London have seen a smaller increase of around 1.7% . Note the difference? Times really are hard. The gap between wages and rents growth in recent years has created an affordability gap of £720, according to Felicia Odamtten, an economist at the Resolution Foundation. It's really no wonder that nowadays I spend over half my salary on rent and I'm definitely not saving anything. My situation is not even wildly abnormal. The average London renter spends around 49% of their household income on rent, which is a figure considered unaffordable by official standards. It's worse for recent grads, who earn on average between £32,000 and £38,000 (not all of them, though, surely). I thought I'd come across a sweet deal, but it turned out another potential housemate was a heroin user Anecdotally speaking, it is not uncommon for people to now be paying well over £1,200 a month for pretty crappy properties with weird flatmates in undesirable areas. Recently I went to have a look round a flat in north London. It seemed pretty sweet – nice housemates, reasonable sized room, functioning oven – until I found out another potential housemate was a heroin user. Before you cry Gen Z moaning, this isn't that. One in five privately rented homes in London don't meet basic health and safety requirements, according to think tank the Centre for London, while 41% of Londoners have experienced mould in their homes. Gross. Often, it's far worse than this (a full on ground floor flood, mushrooms growing in the toilets, a slug infestation, frost on the inside of windows and a partial roof implosion all spring to mind). The calibre has turned places from homes into hovels. Some people are so desperate at this point that they are even jumping onto rat-infested canal boats, as my colleague did, with disastrous consequences. All this has been documented before. And whilst I don't want to come across as whiney, in the last five years specifically, the effects of the rental crisis have now become cultural. A lack of disposable income is threatening the future of London's social fabric. People go out less, are generally stingy and fear for the future. People in their 30s are moving back in with their parents - which would be fine, except they usually don't want to. Whilst it's true that in general people are richer than they were decades ago – millennials and generation Zs still know they will be poorer than their parents. JOMO (joy of missing out) is the new FOMO. For context, the salary-to-rent ratio was closer to 30% in the 1990s. And on top of this, real costs of food, fuel and transport have skyrocketed. Supermarket prices are now predicted to have shot up by 40% from 2020 to 2025. All this is not exactly a stimulating atmosphere for culture. In such a climate it's hardly surprising nightclubs are at risk and pubs are closing at a rate of one per day. A lot of it is down to people simply not feeling they have the dosh to spend. We often don't. So no wonder Londoners are swapping dancefloors for DMs. Of course, there are also far more serious consequences of unaffordable housing than affluent yuppies' disposable income and ability to pay for pints. Homelessness is rising, as people become unable to pay these sky high rents – there was an eight per cent increase in homelessness in the year to 2025 as well as a big jump in people in work who are without a home. Is the future doomed? To fix this godforsaken mess, the government needs to increase the supply of homes. It needs to build more homes – without ditching social housing requirements. But it has known this for a long time and the early signs of the Labour government are frankly not promising. The situation does not look like it will be resolving anytime soon. I'm no longer living with the bedroom-invading weed smoker – he has fled to Manchester, where rents are just a little more bearable (though rising rapidly). I, however, feel my fate is tied to this city for now. Sigh. Lucy Kenningham is Comment Editor at The Standard
