Zoomers

Saturday

Veronica Clarke

I love Labubu

I don’t recall how it happened. One moment I was a sane member of society, the next I was at an arcade, slotting coin after coin into a claw machine – and on the other side of the glass, taunting me with her feral grin, was the object of my desire: Labubu. Labubu is a mischievous, furry elf-monster with bunny-like ears and distinctive sharp teeth. Depending on who you ask, she is either incredibly cute or incredibly creepy. She exists in many forms – most notably as a key-ring collectible plush doll – embodying an ugly-cute aesthetic called kimo-kawaii in Japanese that both unsettles and endears. Her creator, Hong Kong–born and Netherlands-raised Kasing Lung, was inspired by Nordic folklore.

labubu

Thursday

Santiago Vidal Calvo and Vilda Westh Blanc

Zohran Mamdani’s politics of entitlement

Zohran Mamdani’s presumptive victory will make history: if elected in November, he will become New York’s first Muslim and first Indian-American mayor. Powering his win in the Democratic primaries was a massive surge of young, urban, progressive voters changing the city’s political future. But beneath the energy and hope lies something more troubling: a generational embrace of a politics of entitlement, poised to undermine not only the city’s finances but also the values that have historically bound together American civic life. The city’s youth voting base turned out in force: voters aged 18–29 gave Mamdani the win.

Zohran Mamdani (Getty)

Friday

Juan P. Villasmil

The Zoomer Zynergy that brought Trump back

Donald Trump has won the presidency for a second time — but the real surprise is the coalition of voters that put him there. Women showed up less for Kamala Harris than they did for Joe Biden, Trump’s white working-class base didn’t falter, and Arab Americans made their mark in Dearborn, Michigan. But the most notable gains for the GOP, however, were with Hispanic men and young men. With Hispanic men, according to CNN exit polls, the shift is remarkable: from +31 for Hillary Clinton, to +23 for Joe Biden, to +10 to Trump. Lots of credit is due to the burgeoning Spanish-speaking conservative media. With young men, the trend is even more eye-opening.

zoomers trump

Sunday

William Atkinson

Zoomers like me don’t realise how lucky we are

From our UK edition

For millennials like me, talkin' 'bout our generation usually involves complaining. We Generation Zs – or zoomers – can’t seem to catch a break. Even before the pandemic, we were on track to be the first generation worse off than our parents since the Great Depression. It takes us twenty-somethings six times as long to save for a deposit as forty years ago. Having been told by Tony Blair a university education was essential, we leave, saddled with debt, to confront an over-stuffed and unwelcoming graduate market. After spending 2020 locked up against a disease that has a limited impact on young people, we face unemployment and decades of higher taxes to pay off Dishi Rishi’s debt mountain. Unsurprisingly, we’re a tad cross.