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At the time of this writing, the latest “war” being waged over what’s cool and what’s not is about how tall your socks are. Ankle socks: OUT. Old. Uncool and millennial, apparently. Crew socks: IN. Evolved. Rebellious (???). The preferred sock for Gen Z, some are saying. Does it matter if any of this is empirically true? No! But manufactured generational warfare is probably selling a lot of crew socks right now.
The lifecycle of trends has never been shorter — current fads disappear as quickly as they bubble up. When anyone can prompt a discourse or viral feud, no trend ends up mattering much in the long run. So here’s The Verge staff taking a temperature on what’s hot and what’s not. Maybe some of this will catch on. And I’m sorry if any of it hurts your feelings.
Mia Sato, reporter:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Voice memo texts | Voicemail |
| Portable fans | Climate change |
| Digital cameras (watch this space…) | Film cameras |
| The court of public opinion | The Supreme Court |
| Curators | Influencers |
| Tennis | Pickleball (always) |
Sarah Jeong, deputy features editor:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| The New York Times Connections game | The New York Times crossword |
| Blurple | Camo print |
| Also: AI-generated images Also: hating on AI-generated images | ChatGPT |
| Department of Justice Antitrust Division | The Supreme Court |
| Flying in planes with holes in them | Rockets, space tourism |
Elizabeth Lopatto, senior writer:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Copyright law | Contract law |
| Cat | Cat |
| Delaware Chancery Court | The Supreme Court |
| Cat | Cat |
| Jeff Bezos | Elon Musk |
Jay Peters, news editor:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Ugly, customized iOS 18 homescreens | AI chatbots |
| Playing Elden Ring at a snail's pace | Margit the Fell Omen |
| Walking to farmers markets | Paying for expensive meals at crappy restaurants |
| Preparing to vote on Election Day | The minutiae of the presidential election. Turn off the TV, y'all. |
Andrew Hawkins, transportation editor:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Bikes | Any car |
| 2010s nostalgia | 2000s nostalgia |
| Carless drivers | Driverless cars |
| Congestion pricing | Fare hikes |
Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Intragenerational fighting | Extra-generational fighting |
| Surviving | Crossing the street with eyes on the phone |
| Tabletop game marathons | Video game marathons |
| Screw you, I'm wearing a mask | Mask embarrassment |
Tristan Cooper, social media manager:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Streaming TV shows with weekly episodes | Streaming TV shows that drop all at once |
| Buying new video games | Finishing games I already own |
| Electric mowers | Smelly, hand-numbing gas mowers |
| Marvel Snap | Marvel Snap after I lose one time |
| The sleepy cat at the hardware store | The Supreme Court |
Kevin Nguyen, features editor:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Movies | TV shows |
| Saving your best jokes for the group chat | Posting on social media |
| Cheap Chinese handhelds | Steam Deck |
| Buying WAV files | Streaming music |
| Keeping your phone in a tote / purse | The weird outline of your phone in your pants pocket |
Cath Virginia, senior designer:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Gel X | Nail polish |
| Sewing your own clothes | Buying clothes |
| Gluttony | Ozempic |
| Line dancing | FOMO |
| Brat | The Supreme Court |
Sean Hollister, senior editor:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Transparent gadgets | Aluminum gadgets |
| Begging Microsoft to make an Xbox handheld | Begging Sony to make a PlayStation handheld |
| Feeding the AI | Privacy |
| TOPS | GHz |
| 3D-printing a new Dyson button | Swearing at your broken Dyson button |
Allison Johnson, writer; mom to a toddler:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Robots | robots.txt |
| Steam engines | Search engines |
| Mac and cheese | Mac or PC |
| Construction sites | Websites |
| Paw Patrol-ing | Doomscrolling |
Jess Weatherbed, news writer:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| Individually consuming “family-sized” snack bags in one sitting | Single-use vapes |
| TikTok drag queen educators in STEM | The Duolingo bird |
| Chris Pine | Chris Pratt |
| Extremely sapphic pop music | Misappropriation of the term “punk” |
| Orange lipstick (it’s her time) | Washed-out beauty filters |
Esther Cohen, associate director of audience development; pop culture connoisseur:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| The Rabbit | The Rabbit |
| The first half of Bridgerton S3 | Second half of Bridgerton S3 |
| Asking tech CEOs to sign your body | Throwing things at performers onstage |
| Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Andrew Scott at the Eras Tour | Tom Cruise at the Eras Tour |
Alex Heath, deputy editor:
| IN | OUT |
|---|---|
| TV shows that are 40 min or less | All the others |
| Deepfakes | Pretending you’re worried about deepfakes |
| Bumping iPhones to exchange contacts | Exchanging social media handles |
| Gas cars | EVs |
| Cash-back credit cards | Credit card points |
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