Letter from the Editor
“Calling internet beginners and pop culture fanatics!”
In a world of double tapping and swiping left, right and center, gen Z seems to be on a whole other planet. Social media is the new frontier, and it’s becoming more unavoidable by the second. But where do you start?
We’re here to help.
My name is Jordyn Paul-Slater, and I’m a journalist. I’m working to understand the internet so that you don’t have to.
Like every typical gen Z person, I’ve grown up on the Internet. My first social media account was created in 2011 on Facebook, and I filled it with oversaturated photos of my friends and I in gym class. No, I’m not kidding.
In 2013, I was scrolling on the now-deleted app Vine and found a fan edit of Ariana Grande, my favorite singer at the time. I commented something cheesy on that post, and before I knew it, I was sucked in to the “Ariantator” stan-dom on Vine. I later moved with that group onto Twitter and Instagram. I fondly remember the days of my tween into teenage life: being on my phone all day and talking to stans around the world. My specialty was covering Ariana Grande’s on-stage outfits, and I’d tweet about how much I loved Ariana’s variation of on-stage outfits. I’m not kidding about that either.
(P.S. I would show a photo of these horrific tweets, but my account got deleted because I lied about my birthday to create the account. I wish I was joking.)
Social media has been a huge part of my life. And now, social media is a norm for our generation. Understanding what happens on the internet is, in a way, understanding the next generation’s priorities, opinions and expectations for the world.
On Incoming!, our team is going to give you an insight on what happens on the internet and why it matters. We promise to give you the facts and bringing a little fun to your inbox each week. Hopefully, each piece will help you understand how culture is forming on our feeds every day.
And, yes, we have a piece on what a “stan” is.
With love,
Jordyn Paul-Slater
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