2023 in and outs

because all the hot girls are doing it

a secret little thing about me is that i love trends. i love predicting them and understanding where they came from. (i’m terrible at following them though…) i also love tracking cycles and how they fade in and out. this list is built out of that love. ¹

before we begin, i just want to say that i do not use tiktok. (it makes me go crazy – literally.) that might be a good thing bc it may mean that i am writing this free of the distortion of the algorithm, but it may also mean that i am incredibly out of touch with the cultural pulse. idk. whatever it is, that’s up to u not me.

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OUT

BeReal
skincare routines
true crime
stan culture
twitter
NFTs, crypto, FinTech
productivity
irony
Film photography
Marvel movies
dating apps
wolfcuts BUT ALSO dyson air wrap curls
trad-caths
ADHD
new years resolutions
posting photos/videos u took of strangers
sneakerheads
[blank]-core
maximalism (this is controversial!!)
“go to therapy”
podcasts
doc martens
first friday please die
self-sufficiency
hyper-consumption
YIMBY Twitter (the Urban Phoenix Project is NOT included in this)
tiktok call outs

IN

CD collections
substack chats
flip phones
grocery store sudoku books
eBay
long dinners/dinner parties
Round faces
being in love with me
not monetizing your hobbies
Mommy Issues
cheap digital cameras
going on walks alone
advice columns
big headphones
low-waisted jeans (sorry)
city parks
in person speed dating
blocking people
the mundane
the eccentric
wired headphones
music with people screaming
the absurd
22 episode seasons cable tv
Web 1.0
radio
someone PLEASE burn me a mixtape
intimacy
complimenting people
silence
forming community
embracing being alone
the femcel aesthetic will continue, I will hate it
plastic surgery backlash
diaries
mobile games from your childhood



BOOK CLUBS will replace BOOKTOK

PHONE CALLS are the new FACETIME

TUMBLR is making a comeback (DO NOT ask for mine)

the HORROR movie revival is only beginning

EMAIL LISTS are replacing the GROUP CHAT

shein won’t die but we can only hope. i sense a NATURAL FIBERS movement brewing BUT it will take a while.

AI will be IN but it will become ‘cringe’ like NFTs

some people are saying dressing like a cartoon character is in, others are saying it will be out. this WILL be a debate.

WALKMANs, IPODs, MIXTAPEs, CDs, DVDs, CASSETTEs are ALL coming back

Film photography is out BUT printing photos will stay

something will happen with POETRY. a lot of people will get into it. a lot of people will hate it.

the GOSSIP GIRL REBOOT

the CRITERION COLLECTION closet picks are the new NPR TINY DESK

some people will try to make early 2010s fashion come back like y2k it will NOT go well

hating Gen X will be the new hating boomers

My advice?

the only way we will survive is by forming community will other people. do things in person. digital media is disappearing. it will not be saved. embrace the physical, but reject consumption. tell people you love them. also subscribe to this substack. and my other one.

1. this list is strongly inspired by the rayne fisher-quann substack chat and her own post (for paid subscribers only) on what will be in and out. it is also inspired by a tweet by becca of @becadryl on twitter, who i think is cool.