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Doordash is embracing the cringe.

Aug 04 2026

Doordash is embracing the cringe. YPulse’s Cringe trend report shows 81% of 13-17-year-olds and 66% of 18-24-year-olds agree, “What’s cool for one brand to do could be cringey for another,” so doing cringe right is a thin line to walk. In a new campaign called “Cringemart,” they launched a new section of the app just for the things buyers might not want anyone to see them buy IRL. (Think: contraceptives and meds for an upset stomach.) By highlighting just how often these purchases are made on Doordash instead, the brand is emphasizing it can spare consumers the cringe—which we know Gen Z is desperately trying to do. It is making a little bit of the cringe shopping public though, with billboards displaying live order counts for condoms. The campaign will also include social content with influencer Tana Mongeau, who’s prolific online for telling unabashedly cringe stories early in her career. (AdAge)

👀 Read more from YPulse: The Coolest and Cringiest Things Brands Do According to Gen Z

A mock-senate of teens drafted their own AI legislation. 

Aug 04 2026

A mock-senate of teens drafted their own AI legislation. Gathering at the replica-Senate chamber in Boston, 98 high schoolers from all 50 states spent a weekend drafting a comprehensive AI-use bill for students, educators, and parents. The real U.S. government has not yet passed a sweeping standard of rules for education, which motivated these teens to work on it themselves for their future since they know firsthand how it impacts their classrooms. Some of the proposed rules include mandatory AI literacy lessons as soon as tech enters the classroom, strict limits on how students can use it for work (never for writing, but for brainstorming and editing), and a requirement for teachers to post clear rules at the beginning of the semester. They also discussed how to address potential plagiarism, which they are concerned students will misuse AI for, including multiple reviews by teachers or staff, not just AI detection services. (NPR)

👀 Read more from YPulse: How Many Gen Z Students Are Really Using AI?

College students are “SABSing.” 

Aug 04 2026

College students are “SABSing.” We know Gen Z loves to rebrand a generations-long tradition with a fun name. Now, leisuring about their campus with the hopes it’ll create the conditions for a social run-in is known as “SABSing,” which stands for “see and be seen.” Some consider it performative—going to the busiest spots on or near campus to look like they’re just hanging out or working with the underlying intention to get attention. But others feel it’s actually an important social ritual for Gen Z to be prioritizing. Older gens also put themselves in just the right spot to pass their crush, and some Gen Z are realizing they like this better than scheduling meet-ups far in advance and going out to more overtly social spots like bars. Even if nothing romantic or spontaneous happens while they’re SABSing, they’re still spending time in community, feeling connected to the space and people around them. (Town & Country)

Target’s newest collab fashion line comes from a 16-year-old. 

Aug 04 2026

Target’s newest collab fashion line comes from a 16-year-old. Teen influencer Embreigh Courtlyn has 6.7M TikTok followers and 1.4M on Instagram thanks to making content about her friends—the Glow House—as if their lives are a show. The launch was planned to engage this deeply invested fandom, starting with accounts just for the “Embreigh Edit” featuring clues about what was to come, which has pulled in nearly 300K TikTok followers. It has also—obviously—been promoted by Courtlyn and her friends wearing the merch, including on a brand trip post-launch. That’s a core piece of this strategy: Target wants young consumers to see an influencer’s clothes and have immediate access to it. And yet, the content didn’t include purchase links; it just let the product speak for itself. So, it should come as no surprise it made $2.2M in the first week alone, with several items totally sold out. (Glossy)

👀 Read more from YPulse: 4 Brands Going All-In on Tween Shoppers

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