ASOS goes viral for showing flaws, an animation about a man not named Steve is trending on Reddit, a viral Tumblr post is ripping apart the “Millennials are killing…” narrative, and more links you’ll want to see before you end out the week…
ASOS Bares All and Goes Viral
ASOS has gone Photoshop-free and viral this week. In 2016, the e-commerce fashion retailer took a stance in the body-positive movement, tweeting “Natural is best…We think everyone is beautiful just the way they are!” Now their website reflects that ethos by featuring bikini models sans retouching, baring stretch marks, acne spots, and all. Many are praising the new images, with some Twitter users thanking the retailer for making them feel more accepting of their own bodies and their “tiger stripes.” ASOS isn’t the only retailer embracing The Body Positive trend: Target’s recent swimwear campaign also features models with visible stretch marks, and Victoria’s Secret released a photo of one of their angels without Photoshopping her marks away.
This Man is Not Named Steve But He’s Going Viral
An animation about a man not named Steve is trending on Reddit r/videos subreddit, racking up over a million views in one day. Created by YouTuber and musician Bill Wurtz, “hi, i’m steve” is a minute-long, “gloriously random animation” about a poorly-drawn stick-figure not named Steve and how he lives his life. The crude imagery and bizarre music that has captured the internet’s attention falls in line with Wurtz’s past viral videos, including the 20-minute-long “history of the entire world, i guess” which has over 25 million views on YouTube.
Millennials’ Killer Reputation Goes Viral on Tumblr
Millennials are a generation of killers! Chain restaurants, golf, cereal, marriage, bars of soap, and many other industries have all supposedly met their demise under young consumers, and a viral Tumblr post is making light of the repetitive narrative being peddled in click-bait headlines. In the post, which has over 35,000 notes, a brief conversation takes place between an older man and a Millennial in a “darkened alley.” The older man nervously asks the Millennial to kill styrofoam cups, a task the Millennial says won’t be cheap but is doable because “we can kill anything.” As added icing to the cake, the Millennial ends the conversation with, “We don’t require thanks. Participation is its own trophy.”
Shattering the Social Media Illusion for Instagram Fakers
Want to know what else Millennials and Gen Z are killing? The social media illusion—as evidenced by two trending stories this week. The first involves a clip of a bottle emptying out clear blue water originally shot in the Bahamas—but one internet user decided to post the clip with the caption Myrtle Beach, SC. Reaction on the internet was swift, with many deeming the supposed location of the clip as fake, and even responded with actual photos of Myrtle Beach—which you may have guessed is a lot murkier than the Bahamas. The second story stems from trending Instagram account @youdidnotsleepthere which reposts photos of tents “in precarious spots in far-flung places” and calls them out for not actually being slept in. As the user behind the account says, “There is just such a lack of transparency and honesty about people’s lives on Instagram. And it’s so tired.”
Links We’re Passing
A Twitter user’s unique and complicated Chipotle order is getting him roasted by the internet, matching owner and pet manicures are trending, and Nike has sparked a new “the Dress” war with users debating the colors of one of their outfits.
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