UNCLTRD Vol. 14 / Feb 2024

Welcome back! Hope everybody has had a lovely February! This month, we’re chatting about wearable tech and multiscreening, FinanceTok alongside Gen-Z’s growing interest in saving (and what fintech can do to capture their attention), and the rise of phygital beauty. Hope you all enjoy!??

FinanceTok and Gen-Z - Escaping Debt and Pursuing Financial Literacy

One of social media’s largest critiques has been its constant promotion of gross overconsumption. Excessive spending has dominated our channels, the internet as we know it has become too monetised. Bloomberg reported that TikTok is testing a feature that could make all posts shoppable, and most of our social media strongholds have become an amalgamation of influencers and promotion of spending. What’s key is that most of these platforms are transitioning to become a new wave of e-commerce without the users consent or desire. Common phrases across TikTok, like “run, don’t walk for [xyz],” permeate our cultural lexicon and encourage materialist overconsumption. The language of social media is fixated on spending and shopping. Influencers, concealed behind the fa?ade of curated lifestyles, subtly hide their own financial mishaps while steering their followers toward reckless materialism. Gen-Z, however, is not easily swayed by these smoke and mirror tactics. So, what exactly is driving their interest in financial freedom, and how is social media reflecting this shift??

In contrast to the stereotype of Gen-Z as frivolous spenders unable to afford a house due to their own money mismanagement, this generation is silently yet steadily cultivating a keen interest in financial literacy.? A tanked economy and a raging cost of living crisis has, unsurprisingly, made Gen-Z an extremely financially-conscious generation. They have a keen interest in financial literacy and independence, and they’re also the generation with the fastest growing purchasing power as they step into the corporate world. However, their needs and benchmarks for success are vastly different than past generations, and burgeoning fintech is taking notice.

Social media is helping facilitate this financial literacy through #FinanceTok. Amidst the cacophony of influencers pushing for overconsumption, FinanceTok emerges as a subculture empowering Gen-Z to break free from the materialistic chains and embark on a journey of financial literacy and independence.

Enter: the new wave of financial influencers disrupting the narrative. As people across social media do honest monthly salary breakdowns, reflect openly about how they’re tackling the debt they accrued at university, or merely the wider trend of deinfluencing (we wrote about this here!), they ultimately advocate for financial transparency, dismantling long-held norms of secrecy around salaries and money management. The movement is particularly crucial for women and people of colour who have historically been paid less than their white male counterparts for the same roles. By lifting the veil on earnings, rent, and monthly outgoings, these influencers are reshaping the discourse, breaking down barriers to open discussions about financial privacy, which has always been veiled as a touchy and inappropriate topic of conversation. Money is a personal matter, and this has historically left younger generations, especially those disenfranchised by wider society, having to quietly live with pay discrepancy and money mismanagement. If it’s so rude to discuss salary, you’d never know how much your peers make for similar roles.

While financial influencers reshape the narrative and lift the veil of overconsumption, the financial landscape itself undergoes transformation. Traditional banks, once promoters of overdrafts to young users (in my day it was totally normal and quirky to be in your overdraft), played a role in downplaying the severity of debt (buy now and pay later schemes encouraging extreme payment plans for expensive items, under the guise that this wasn’t a big deal). This normalisation of debt, coupled with social media's materialistic allure, has blurred the lines between responsible financial management and financial recklessness. Gen-Z, however, is learning from these mistakes. The generation that witnessed the economic struggles of their predecessors is leveraging these experiences to shape a financial consciousness rooted in prudence and caution. As they enter adulthood, they navigate a landscape laden with challenges, seeking lessons from the past to avoid the pitfalls of reckless spending.

Fintech companies, attuned to the unique needs and interests of Gen-Z, are flourishing, but they need to be smart and authentic to attract the sceptical and financially curious generation. Yonder, a modern lifestyle credit card packed with rewards aimed at Gen-Z, exemplifies this trend. They’re a part of a wave of sleek, Gen-Z-targeted products that cater to their specific needs. From financial advice on their blogs, explaining savings pots (and encouraging saving in general), and discouraging overdrafts except in emergencies, they play towards both Gen-Z’s desire to save and their interest in financial literacy. Gen-Z, wary of credit, is turning away from apps that capitalise on credit debt as a temporary means to material goods. Instead, they are embracing solutions like Yonder, Monzo, Revolut, and more, which align to their values, providing rewards for responsible financial behaviour.

The financial landscape for Gen-Z is not just about savings; it's about investing and financial literacy. Fintech platforms are emerging with a focus on educating and empowering this generation. The data supports Gen-Z's inclination toward ethical and ecologically responsible consumerism, aligning with their values as they seek investment opportunities that reflect their commitment to sustainability.

As FinanceTok gains momentum, questions arise about the future. Will traditional banks catch on? Will Capitalism allow social media to evolve from promoting overspending to fostering financial security? The statistics offer a glimpse into the financial mindset of Gen-Z, showcasing their entrepreneurial spirit, interest in sustainable investing, and commitment to financial education.

As FinanceTok and Gen-Z redefine financial narratives, the collaboration between financial influencers, fintech companies, and social media platforms will play a crucial role in shaping a generation that values informed financial decisions. Gen-Z's journey is characterised by a unique blend of technology, economic circumstances, and social awareness, providing valuable insights into their financial habits and preferences. As Gen-Z forges ahead, their mission becomes clear: making informed financial decisions, embracing technology, and striving for a more secure financial future. The revolution unfolding on FinanceTok is more than just a trend; it's a cultural shift that challenges established norms and paves the way for a financially conscious future.

Wearable Tech - Are screens changing?

Wearable technology has long been perceived as merely materialistic status symbols for the wealthy, tech-obsessed elite. However, as we witness the futuristic, albeit slightly nightmarish, emergence of innovations such as the Apple Vision Pro, a deeper exploration suggests a potential shift in consumer priorities. It causes us to question: what do we actually want from our technology now? As most consumers feel distracted and overwhelmed in a visually overstimulating culture, are we pushing the boundaries of what a ‘screen’ can mean, and instead moving to a more responsive, auto-centric world? While the Vision Pro is still, in my books, a creation of techbro culture, it does beg the question of whether people want to move away from the ubiquitous screens in our personal and professional lives to a less physically restrictive tech culture.

Wearable technology has evolved beyond the confines of conventional smartwatches and headphones. Their innovation lies in challenging consumption norms, reflecting a disillusionment of our screen-obsessed culture. Screens are present in every facet of our life, even spurring the meme itself ‘can’t wait for good screen time over bad screen time’ (i.e. scrolling TikTok after spending all day on my work computer). I even found myself telling my friends I had a super chill Friday night, which consisted of me watching Love is Blind on my TV while simultaneously switching between scrolling TikTok on my phone and Twitter on my laptop.? As we’ve discussed before, people are nursing a growing desire to disconnect from the omnipresent ‘digital sphere’ and go outside, get offline, go ‘touch grass.’ Screens embody the physical barrier to the outside, a confine to our yearning for physical connection. And we also know, deep down, how truly difficult it would be to live our lives without the resources screens provide us. Work, staying connected to friends and family, banking, shopping - screens present themselves as a window to all of this.?

So, will screens one day become an archaic memory of being online? As screens become increasingly omnipresent, wearable technology can introduce a paradigm shift towards audio and motion-centric response culture, thus a less physically restrictive culture of consumption. We’re so visually overloaded with a barrage of information and content daily, perhaps there is room for a shift towards a more integrated use of our senses. Apple’s Vision Pro still feels slightly yucky to me, as videos of techbros clog my social media feeds (we’ve seen them, sitting entirely detached from reality in public spaces with ￡3,500 ski goggles on, aimlessly scrolling their fingers through midair), but perhaps it's one step towards turning the outside world around us into one big screen and integrating our physical body responses into it. Right now, we’re developing and modelling new technology hyper-focussed on only one part of our nervous system, the brain, thus flattening innovation. All tech is unintentionally designed to capture human attention, and we’re visually overstimulating one tiny part of it. It’s burning us out, it’s overwhelming us.

Wearable devices like AI Pin, which as described in The Verge, “You clip it to your shirt, talk to it, and it uses generative AI to answer. It’s a standalone device with its own SIM card, and there’s no screen — just vibes. That, and a little laser that projects menus and text onto your palm”, and even bluetooth headphones with Wi-Fi capabilities provide avenues for interaction through speech, location, and movement, offering a respite from the ever-so-present glowing blue-lit screens we’ve come to know (and love?). They’re not perfect, and the dominance of screens still feels slightly inescapable (a lot of these devices have to be set up through a screen). That being said, they seem to be addressing the attention economy crisis by ushering in a new age of audio soundscaping and incorporating the human body, providing, albeit however temporary, a liberation from constant visual bombardment.?

Wearable technology has made several attempts to redefine our interaction and capture our ever-fleeting attention in the digital realm, with… varying degrees of success. From immersive VR goggles (I tried them once, they gave me what I can only describe as vertigo) and Google Glass, these innovations have attempted to break away from a conventional screen interface, and position our real world as a ‘screen’ in itself. However, these mainstream adaptations never truly lived up to their own hype, nor became permanent fixtures in culture. Perhaps they came a bit too soon, just a few steps ahead of our impending, inevitable screen addictions? Eesh. Despite these former setbacks, the emergence of new products like Apple Watch and Ray-Ban’s foray into smart glasses suggested an ongoing exploration of the potential applications, and perhaps acceptance, of wearable tech. They challenged the conventional limits of screens, allowing a role for them in the real world that wasn’t so visually restrictive.

Major tech titans are now experimenting with hardware that, by proxy, transforms our world into a colossal screen. We should question whether we prefer an immersive screen-based existence, or whether we want interfaces that seamlessly align with our body cues, such as speech and movement. Or, can these two things coexist? While our current state of wearable technology, epitomised by the Vision Pro, may still feel faulty, exclusionary, and somewhat dystopian, it also signifies a wider cultural shift in tech innovation.?

While the faults of current iterations should not be overlooked, the ongoing evolution of wearable technology suggests a potential trajectory away from screens, emphasising body cues and voice as the controls for our digital interactions. As we redefine our relationship with this tech and what screens mean in our lives, we can ask: are these innovations just a flash in the pan, some funky gadgets, or are they helping to alleviate our screen addiction entirely?

Phygital Beauty

Throughout history, makeup techniques and beauty standards have adapted to fit the dominant media format, not the other way around. Change has come from conforming to media formats, or transgressing the formats to drive innovation and creativity. In the 1950s, during the golden age of Hollywood, women embraced green lipstick to achieve a vivid 'red lipstick' look on black and white screens, as actual red didn't show up well enough. Fast forward over half a century to the 2010s, where heavy makeup became the norm to compensate for the limitations of low-quality selfie cameras. Even the exaggerated and theatrical makeup of the 80s was crafted to mirror the new 'larger than life' appeal of syndicated TV programming. This dynamic relationship between beauty and media underscores the industry's ability to adapt to the changing technological landscape.

Phygital beauty, the convergence of the physical and digital realms, is not confined to the beauty sector alone. JW Anderson's SS23 collection for LOEWE exemplifies this fusion. The collection explores the "reality of clothing" through playful experimentation between silhouettes and shapes. LOEWE adopts a phygital mindset, creating clothing that functions to be photographed online – the media of our time – while still appearing striking in real life. Thus, the digital and physical worlds become blurred, merging the absurdity of the online realm with the tangible reality of fashion.

The Unseen's Spectra eye colour and Pat McGrath's porcelain, doll-like skin for Maison Margiela embody the essence of phygital beauty. The Spectra eye colour, a creation of The Unseen, transforms from grey or black to reflective silver when exposed to the flash of a phone camera, bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds. Pat McGrath's porcelain skin, on the other hand, makes a bold statement about embracing the extremeness and ubiquity of filters in public spaces. Makeup creativity, once a tool for surgical enhancement, now focuses on the playfulness and creativity brought about by hyperreal filters. This shift encourages experimentation, turning individuals into real-life, customisable avatars.

The culture of filters on social media has been a hot topic, raising questions about facial dysmorphia and the blurred definition of 'looking human' online. Filters have evolved from cute dog ears on Snapchat to minor facial reconstruction, offering the most effortless 'you but better.' This pervasive image consciousness has caused a knock-on effect of overall dysmorphia. As Dazed writes, “We were never meant to see our own faces this much…Nowadays, we see ourselves on Zoom calls and FaceTime, we make TikToks and watch them back before posting, we take hundreds of selfies before deciding on the one, we have BeReal popping up and prompting us to look at ourselves. We’re faced with our reflection in so many instances throughout an average day, it’s no wonder we’re so preoccupied with the way we look.”

Our primary modes of media consumption often require us to look at ourselves, with increasingly higher quality cameras, whilst simultaneously confronted with a barrage of influencers in nearly impossible to recognise filters.?

So it’s no wonder we’re bringing this filter-like, distorted appearance to the real world. As filters become normal in our online world, the extremeness and uncanny appearance of them don’t feel as out of place in the real world. Porcelain skin is an extreme of the clear, glass-like skin that manifested in the ‘clean girl aesthetic,’ which also reflected higher quality front face cameras, thus makeup had to be unrecognisable. The shift towards porcelain skin flips this idea of glass-like skin on its head, bringing the blurring and smoothing filters from online to an extreme level IRL. PAstel hues under the thick, waxy layer of skin contour the face in uncanny ways, graphic eyeliner that changes colour with flash photography. Beauty now is created with the medium of social media and filters in mind, thus conforming to the predominant media of our times. As the filter-like, distorted appearance becomes integrated into the real world, the evolution of beauty products takes centre stage.?

This evolution presents a strategic opportunity for the beauty and fashion sectors to explore scientific innovations meeting aesthetic desires without resorting to invasive or permanent treatments. The future of beauty promises a dynamic fusion of the tangible and the virtual, where innovation and creativity redefine our perceptions of beauty and self-expression, transcending the limits of both the physical and the digital.

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