1. Some good (enough...) rom coms: The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on the YA novel by Jenny Han, has everything you need: a pretty, Hamptons-like setting; a bookish side plot; and two (or is it three??) brooding young boys for Belly, the main character, to agonize over. // A Perfect Pairing is a good-because-it's-so-bad pick. Watch it with a friend so you can laugh at the most cliché parts.

2. Stripes on everything breathable and flowy, please. This skirt feels great for summer (size goes to 6XL) and these linen PJs that can double as not-PJ's have been on repeat (size goes to XXL). 

3. LMNT is a tasty electrolyte drink mix with everything you need and nothing you don't. That means a science-backed electrolyte ratio with no sugar, no coloring, no artificial ingredients, or any other junk. Get your free gift with any purchase.  Sponsor 

4. A favorite new podcast about work (don't worry, it's *fun* work stuff): Working by Slate. We love this episode on running a bookstagram and this one on writing 500 words per day.

5. Seeking simple, no-frills recipes that celebrate all the delicious things that are in season right now, including these genius brown butter tomatoes (reminiscent of lobster? yes, please.) and strawberry chia seed jam. 🍓

6. Speaking of easy... A rec from our friend Becca Millstein at Fishwife: “Make this wild and unruly salade nicoise which takes an ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ approach, overflowing with sage, rosemary & garlic seared potatoes, Castelvetrano olives, fresh basil, green beans, fresh greens, etc. It is heaven on a plate.”

7. Kick your summer off with The Bartender’s Cure by Wesley Straton, a relatable debut novel about a protagonist who moves to NYC after a breakup (and breakdown) in order to bartend. Better yet, the book has cocktail recipes and mixologist trivia a'plenty—perfect for your weekend.  Sponsor 

8. A good reminder: "You might need more rest and recovery time than you thought you needed and that’s okay." See the rest: 9 things that are easy to forget right now.

9. A fun read: Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen, a con-artist story with a rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer as its protagonist.

10. For fellow ceramics enthusiasts: One of our favorite makers just launched a big mug (the only size of mug that's acceptable). // Also: If you’re lucky, you’ll see this in time to snag the restock from this other favorite of ours before it sells out again. Each piece is so special and can double as a piece of art for your kitchen shelf.

11. One more from Becca: "This absolutely stunning hand block printed linen robe for when you're lounging around your house, the AC isn't working, and you just can't stand to put on clothes."

12. For some lols: This slightly unhinged American Girl Doll meme account. 😂

I spend a lot of time researching emerging apps for my job, but because I am not a member of Generation Z – and thus am ancient, at least as far as cool tech goes – I went straight to the source. Gen Z, typically defined as those between 10 and 25 years old, are early adopters who learned how to operate iPhones before they could write. Even today, they routinely use apps for months, if not years before the mainstream media catches on. Your curiosity about the next big thing that we’re missing out on is well warranted. 
 

The Instagram alternatives

To get a sense of how young people are thinking about social apps today, I first reached out to Emily Herrera, a Gen Z VC who is Very Online, both professionally and personally. As far as up-and-coming social apps are concerned, Emily has tried them all. The 23-year-old calls herself “day one stan” of Poparazzi, but notes that it’s “kind of dead now.” (This could change soon, as they just closed a $15M Series A.) BeReal, which NPR recently described as “Instagram's next rival for teens,” “feels stickier,” Emily says. Locket, an app for sharing photos to friends’ home screens, is her favorite app “of all time,” she says. “It is my favorite thing in the world. It’s so easy, and as a user, it’s fun as hell.”

Twitter > TikTok (yes, really)

As far as more established apps go, Emily said she spends 9 hours a week on TikTok, 6 hours a week on Twitter, 3 hours on Instagram (“and that’s only checking my exes, probably”), and an hour on Hinge. Even though the short-form video app is her most-used app, at least according to screen time, “Twitter is my whole life right now,” she said. “There’s a lot of room for narrative, and that’s what Gen Z wants to do – they want to talk. They don’t really want to take pictures anymore.” Though she uses it for personal and professional reasons alike, she said it’s been especially invaluable when it comes to networking. “Twitter’s probably the new LinkedIn,” she added.

When URL meets IRL

As for the other apps she likes, “I spend a f*ckton of time on Pinterest,” she said. “I went through a personal rebrand recently, and for that kind of thing, you need Pinterest.” Emily also does “physical manifestation boards” with friends every couple of weeks, and uses Pinterest to collect images to then print out.

Secondhand social

Of course, not all Gen Zers are as plugged in as Emily, so to get a more complete picture, I also talked to Autumn Greco, a very cool – but decidedly not Very Online – 23-year-old. Although she warned me up front that she’s not plugged in, she name-checked many of the same apps as Emily. She loves BeReal, though she hasn’t downloaded it herself. “I don’t have BeReal because I already spend so much time on Instagram, but I look at my friends’ BeReals. I’m very much involved in their BeReal moments. I’m a secondhand BeReal user.”

The TikTok to Reels pipeline

A self-described minimalist when it comes to social apps, Autumn is also not on TikTok. “I never downloaded TikTok, and I would say most of my close friends are not on TikTok. It’s a time sink. If I’m going to be on my phone, I want to be talking to someone; I want to be social. TikTok feels more like a production. I’m not trying to be a creator.” That said, Autumn, who spends a lot of time on Instagram (Stories, especially) admitted, “I’ve watched a lot of TikToks that have made their way to Reels.”

No, but really, hear us out: Twitter!

And though Autumn, who works in biomedical engineering, and Emily are in very different fields, she echoed the sentiment that Twitter is the new LinkedIn. “I treat it like someone would use early LinkedIn; I’ll share papers that are relevant to my interests or plug different things I’ve been up to, or if I’m going to a conference, I’ll follow the hashtags.”

Ask A Gen Z is written by youth culture expert Casey Lewis of the After School newsletter. Curious for more? Send any q's you have about Gen Z right this way for a future installment.