After almost 71 years, Queen Elizabeth II has ended her reign. With her death comes the question: what’s next for the monarchy? Reactions to her death have been mixed, especially amongst Gen Z. As a generation feeling further than ever from the monarchy, and having never experienced pivotal royal moments like glamorous royal weddings and Diana’s death, it makes sense that we lack the attachment to Charles and his family of other generations. A 2022 study found the support for it in 18-24-year-olds to be around 33%, compared to 77% in those over 65 and 62% overall. A circulating graphic on social media maps out every country England has invaded over its reign — all but 22. The hashtags #NotMyKing and #AbolishTheMonarchy have trended across platforms, especially Twitter, with the former receiving almost 200,000 interactions in the last seven days. With some anti-monarchy protesters facing arrest from British police, scrutiny further increased. Whatever the result of this discussion is, it’s important to view the queen’s reign with both sides in mind.
To commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, the Screenshot is bringing you five Hispanic Gen Z creators to have on your radar.
1.Eric Sedeño (@ricotaquito) is a queer and Latine creator, activist, and graphic designer. Sedeño has worked with Duolingo, the National Park Service, NFL Youth, and more. He is a Mexican-American from Texas, and “feels a need to be queer Latinx excellence.” If you want to feel like you’re on FaceTime with a DIY-obsessed friend, check out Sedeño’s TikTok!
2. Daphne Frias (@frias_daphne) is a Dominican-American activist passionate about disability justice, climate change, and gun violence prevention. She founded Box the Ballot and is vocal about her experience with cerebral palsy and cancer. Frias was elected as the West Harlem Democratic county committee representative at only 21 and attended COP26 with the New York Times Generation Climate Initiative. You can see more of Frias’ incredible work on her Instagram!
3. Anayka She (@anaykashe) is an Afro-Panamanian content creator and singer. She creates nostalgic music that melds soul and R&B. In 2021, she received over 241,000 streams on her Spotify, in 149 countries. She has dropped a 2021 EP, as well as five singles. Check her out on all music platforms, TikTok, and Instagram!
4. Ethereal Michael (IG @thebirthofethereal and TikTok @2qu33r2func) is a non-binary, Latine influencer living in Arizona. Their content is based around fashion, with DIY fashion, OOTDs, and photoshoot content filling their page. They partnered with Nordstrom to showcase back-to-school outfits. Give them some love on social media!
5. Sage Dolan-Sandrino (@thhrift) is an Afro-Cuban and trans activist, model, and journalist. She founded the TEAM zine and starred on “Growing Up” on Disney+, a show detailing Dolan-Sandrino’s experience as a trans woman of color. At only 21 years old, she is in Teen Vogue’s 21 under 21 and GLAAD’s 20 under 20 and has worked at Gucci and the National Black Justice Coalition. She is an incredible young activist and artist and can be seen on her Instagram!
Another week, another huge celebrity event. In this edition, we’re diving into the Emmys and New York Fashion Week. Gen Z showed up to NYFW, creating content, modeling, and even designing clothes. For a generation that grew up on Pinterest DIYs, this is no surprise. Accordingly, brands catered their content towards social media over fashion magazines. Our generation’s favorite model, Mathieu Simoneau, served with Tom Ford, while Euphoria’s Angus Cloud brought in an Estimated Media Value of $417,000 for Tory Burch. The company TradeZing hosted a two-day NYFW event focused on all things metaverse fashion, from metaverse shows to an NFT gallery. Gen Z’s love of Y2K culture led to a heightened focus on designs of the era, with Fendi celebrating 25 years of its iconic ‘90s Baguette Bags. As for the Emmys, Gen Z racked in various wins. Zilennial cusp Zendaya won lead actress in a drama, while Euphoria was awarded 16 nominations. Diverse shows like “Queer Eye,” “Squid Game,” and “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” took home awards as well. Zoomers hope to see more diverse selections in future years, as the Emmys still platform a majority-white ensemble. Next up, film festivals!
The live-action “The Little Mermaid” is making waves in pop culture. The movie, including the likes of Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and Awkwafina, is set to be released in May of 2023. With the trailer alone facing 104 million global views, the movie is bound to be a staple in our media. Conversations around the movie center around Bailey, a Black woman, playing Ariel. Black parents on TikTok have been posting their children’s reactions and, yes, I cried a little watching them (see posts by Janell Brown, Dari, and Mac to get in your feels). Despite the joy coming from more Black representation in media, white people have taken offense by Ariel being portrayed as non-white in this version, even asking why the opposite racial switch can’t happen with Black Panther and Tiana in a live-action version. Kahlil Greene explains the debate well in this TikTok. Bailey responded to this racism, saying, “I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they’re special and that they should be a princess.” As for me, I know Bailey will be an incredible part of our world!
TikTok is doing Gen Z’s least favorite thing: imitating another social media app. The video-based platform is taking on BeReal’s feature, prompting users to post a 10-second video or still photo at a random time in the day. TikTok Now, as they’re titled, is currently available in US-based users’ apps. Zoomers are unengaged with the new feature; check out JUV’s TikTok of TikTok Now reactions. Dare Obasanjo Tweeted, “ You aren’t a major social media app until you’ve blatantly ripped off a feature from an up & coming competitor then posted a breathlessly earnest post about your innovative new feature.” That basically sums it up for us. After basically every app has copied TikTok in some form, it’s jarring to see the social media giant do the same to another app. Gen Z is sticking to BeReal — thanks, but no thanks, TikTok.
✨ IYKYK ✨
IYKYK is a new section of the Screenshot dedicated to all the trends you need to know, now. Each week, we’ll bring you three audios, memes, or dances that are taking control of our social pages.
✨ Chris Pine is Gen Z’s newest mood. He has recently made headlines with the release of “Don’t Worry Darling.” We’re in love with his facial expressions, with one interview video going viral. One user commented, “He looks like he’s the first female prime minister for a European nation;” another captioned it, “Me replying to my manager’s joke with ‘LMFAO.’” As a brand, use the photo to express frustration or boredom. An example is Evernote’s description: “When you hear someone say we’re just a notes app.” Unlike Pine, people won’t be apathetic seeing this post!
✨ If you haven’t received the memo: laughing emojis are out. Though it can be tempting to respond to funny texts or popular TikToks with the emoji, Zoomers are not having it. Some alternatives are the skull emoji (💀) to signify dying of laughter and the crying face (😭) for when you’re laughing to the point of crying. If opting for letters, try lol, bye, or lm(f)ao — either capitalized or lowercase.
✨ Remember asking your parents to hang out with friends as a kid? Gen Z and popular brands are bringing this vibe to social media, with the text “my mom said we can … if it’s okay with your mom.” We’ve substituted it for “drink coffee and gossip,” “fall in love in October,” and “get married.” Use this format to advertise products, and make sure to check out JUV’s take on it on our Instagram!
