digitally detoxed, but dialed in
+ not being nonchalant, horizontal pics, Severance
Good morning! It’s Ilze. Let’s talk digital detox.
Being offline is the new luxury. In London, people pay £10 to lock their phones in a box for two hours to force themselves to socialise IRL. Then there are wellness retreats:
Funny how we buy €1K phones, pay €30 more for mobile data and Spotify, and then hand over even more cash for someone to lock them away.
Then there are manual methods—screen time limits [our fingers bypassing it as effortlessly as snoozing an alarm]. My roommate recently turned on grayscale mode, which just made everything look more artsy.
Many also tend to take a break by pausing their profiles for a month or so. What makes them come back?
Think we can all relate.
Have you ever flirted with the idea of leaving social media completely? I know a few people who’ve been Insta-free for a while. Some—even forever: the word “demure” only recently entered their vocab, and when they make a joke, it’s still a Friends or The Office reference. Don’t get me wrong…
But what’s sadder than someone not getting the joke? You’re right. Nothing.
Luckily you have us. You do the digital detox, we’ll do the scrolling.
🗞️News
New Avatar show “Seven Havens” announced - and the Korra vs Aang discourse is up. Real Avatar fans KNOW Korra clears.
The Norwegian drama “Dreams (Sex Love)” won the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. Letteboxd’ ✅
A$AP Rocky appointed as Ray-Ban's first creative director
Lewis Hamilton becomes Lululemon’s newest ambassador.
🧂Trends
Horizontal pics
We don’t like being told what to do, ok? So, Gen Z and rizzy brands like …(as pointed out by a fellow Substacker
) are rebelling against Instagram’s new vertical grid by posting horizontal pics. Just when we finally trained our parents not to snap horizontal shots [insert a fam reunion around the dinner table, captured by mom pic], we’re confusing them all over again.
End of Nonchalance?
For years, effortless cool was the goal - nonchalance, unbothered, minimal, doing just enough. From fashion to attitude, minimal effort reigned supreme. But the tide may be turning.
Passion, ambition, and doing the most are back in style.
Timothée Chalamet’s emotional SAG award acceptance speech is a prime example - pursuing greatness and working hard proudly is the move. C’mon just see all the proud people sharing their fitness plans and marathon trainings, whereas just half a decade ago, it was so cringe to be trying.
As one viral take put it: “Minimalism & doing the bare minimum almost killed creativity.” Maybe it’s time we stop pretending not to care.
The Artist’s Way, inspired by Doechii
Videos resurfacing of Doechii reading and participating in The Artist’s Way creative process is inspiring a whole new wave of artistic self-discovery.
Her full 12-week journey with Julia Cameron’s creativity manual is still up on her YouTube.
Now, everyone’s wondering: is this book about to be the next The Creative Act moment? Maybe we’re all about to get a little more spiritual with our creativity.
Zone 2 workouts
Notice more gymbros gliding through parks and dominating treadmills? Blame their god, Andrew Huberman, who's been praising Zone 2 training.
So our heart rate has zones, with Zone 5 being max effort, while Zone 2 hits that 60-70% sweet spot where your body mainly burns fat for fuel. It’s the pace where you can chat without gasping but still break a sweat—brisk walks, light jogs, Swapfiets kind of cycling. Zone 2 training is said to boost endurance, better fat burning, stronger heart health etc.
Double belting
Belts are the accessory of the season, and the more, the merrier, it seems.
Getting the Memo for the Pitbull Tour
Fans attending Pitbull’s latest tour are fully committing to the bit and showing up in bald caps. Mr. Worldwide’s signature shaved head has become the unofficial dress code.
Dale!
Innies & Outies
An online trend sprouting from a TV series? Now that’s a sign of a quality television. Severance had fans are theorising about their own innies and outies.
⚠️ Severance stans, maybe skip this part ⚠️ — In the series, "innies" are the workplace personas of employees, with no memories of the outside world, while "outies" are their outside selves, completely unaware of what happens at work.
What a time to own a TV remote! We’re currently blessed with two brilliant series, Severance and White Lotus, serving up that good old one-episode-per-week thrill. Wonder what trend, apart from everyone being pissed off at the change in the intro song, will bloom from this one.
Chewna, Cheese, and Beans
Keith Lee’s review of Spudbros has ignited yet another British food debate - this time over the controversial combo of tuna, baked beans, and cheese on a jacket potato. After Lee absolutely hating it, the internet (most UK vs US( has been split: some defend it as an elite combo, while others are absolutely horrified.
That’s all—see you next week, which is somehow already March. Crazy!
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