Hey, party people. If you’re looking for a way to truly unwind on your next vacay, consider the latest “slowcation” trend. According to a new report by luxury travel provider Scott Dunn, more Americans are opting for longer, more immersive trips to savor their destinations rather than rushing through them. Think leisurely train rides in Europe, fun bike excursions through Asia, and plenty of downtime to soak everything in. 

In other news… “digital switching” leads to maximum boredom, welcome to the AI photo editing era, and Gen Z is obsessed with Adam Sandler’s style.

Want to discover even more newsletters? Here are some of our favorites

• YouTube – Y2K 

• X (Twitter) – The Social Network

• Google – The Acolyte

• Reddit – MrBeast

• TikTok – “Disco” - Surf Curse

• Spotify – “Pretty Boy” - Isabel LaRosa

.SOCIAL MEDIA.

How “digital switching” backfires

The Future. A new study from the University of Toronto Scarborough reveals that people’s quest to dodge boredom by “digital switching” — jumping from one video to the next or fast-forwarding through content — actually makes their boredom worse. This discovery could lead social media platforms to introduce features that encourage viewers to stay engaged with content longer, such as rewards for watching videos in full or algorithms that promote continuous viewing.

Skip and yawn
Dr. Katy Tam, the study’s lead author, and her team conducted several experiments, where participants who watched a single video uninterrupted reported higher levels of focus and enjoyment compared to those who skipped through multiple shorter clips.

• One experiment with 140 participants showed that people are more likely to switch between videos when they find the content boring.

• However, additional experiments with over 700 participants revealed that this behavior leads to increased boredom, not relief.

Binge or bust
The study highlights a surprising paradox: when we have the freedom to skip around, we feel more bored than when we watch just one video in its entirety.

So, while we might think that we’re curating our social media experience for maximum enjoyment, we’re actually spiraling deeper into boredom. The irony.

53.3% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Have you ever guided senior leadership as a junior pro?

“Yes! How I got my start in influencer marketing a decade ago.”

“Interesting, yesterday’s poll had comments about lack of direction and leadership, and today we hear more inexperienced junior employees want and need to be heard. Employees lacking experience often can’t see the bigger picture (but aren’t aware they don’t). And the leaders want to include these voices, but then messaging can get lost. Probably the normal push-pull of manager vs. employee, and with social media, it’ll never be a healthy relationship or outcome.”

“Whenever I tried to guide senior leadership, I got called into HR for being inappropriate.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT ROOTS.

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_{*Information contained herein, although believed accurate and compiled from credible sources, is not guaranteed. There can be no assurance the business objectives of the Company will be achieved. Investors may lose all or part of their investment, and distributions with respect to such investment are not guaranteed. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.}

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Livestreaming is extremely popular, and brands are desperate to capitalize on the unique ad placement opportunities that popular streamers present. [Read More]

• The Onion’s print edition is returning to presses after shutting down a decade ago during the rise of digital news. [Read More]

• Spotify is pushing hard for video ads as podcasts take up more of its catalog and the streaming giant chases increased ad revenue. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• Brands are experimenting with new kinds of college marketing, like pop-ups and free samples, as merchandise falls out of style. [Read More]

• Adam Sandler has been the butt of countless jokes for his lazy outfits for decades — but now he’s a fashion icon. [Read More]

• A gold bar is worth $1 million for the first time in history. Whoa. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• A video game called EndeavorOTC has just received FDA clearance as a treatment for some symptoms of ADHD. [Read More]

• YouTube has become the first streaming service ever to account for 10% of total viewership in Nielsen’s Gauge Report. [Read More]

• Waymo has stepped up its services and is now completing 100,000 robotaxi rides every week. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• The FTC has decided to crack down on companies and influencers that buy fake followers for social media accounts they run for profit. [Read More]

• Word on the block is an online marketplace aimed at ensuring that creators can make brand deals with terms that are fair to them. [Read More]

• Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast is moving from Spotify to SiriusXM. [Read More]

.MEDIA.

AI photo editing might be too good now

The Future. As tech companies incorporate AI photo editing software into their camera apps, photographs have become so easy to alter that it’s impossible to distinguish between a “real” or “altered” photo. But the tech has already spooked many and could backfire, sending customers back to simpler cameras and putting them off AI-enhanced photography for good.

Materialize for the camera!
With AI, Google’s Pixel 9 can arbitrarily alter images… but not everyone wants to.

• The Pixel 9 can erase people and objects from shots or even merge two different photographs into a single frame, blurring the line between what’s “real” and manmade.

• Some apps, like Halide, are introducing vintage camera modes that skip all the processes of computational photography.

• And some people (particularly Gen Z) have initiated a “vintage digital camera revival,” eschewing mobile phone cameras entirely in favor of flash flare and a grainy, rough look.

AI of the beholder
Records are only useful — or valuable — insofar as they represent real life. Consider Google’s wildly unpopular Summer Olympics ad, which depicted a father using Google’s Gemini AI to help his daughter write a fan letter to an Olympian. Soon after launching, Google pulled the ad because the very idea of an AI-written fan letter made people uncomfortable… and rightfully so.

Just because our media (and relationships) can depart from reality doesn’t mean they should.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NATIVEPATH HYDRATE.

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• Read: Shira Lazar, co-founder and host of What’s Trending, details in Inc. how the White House Creator Economy Conference felt like a milestone for the $250 billion industry, but it also highlighted the urgent need for better protections and regulations.

• Listen: Dr. Julia Rohrer, a personality psychologist at the University of Leipzig, discusses whether there’s scientific evidence supporting the claim that birth order influences personality traits.

• Use: KIKI is the first beauty platform that lets users co-create products, allowing them to collab on everything from shades and fragrances to packaging.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today, on an extra special bonus episode of Future Forecast, our hosts Boye and Chris sit down with Andrew Kenward, the President and COO of Almost Friday Media. Andrew was an agent at WME in the digital media department at WME before being brought into the Almost Friday universe in 2021. We chat with him about his career, his goals for the brand moving forward, and what it's like working in media today.