Whether or not it’s clique-based lunch tables or who will get voted “Most Prone to Succeed,” exclusion and inclusion have all the time been central themes of younger maturity—how can you determine who you’re in the event you don’t outline what you’re not? In 2025, it’s clearer than ever that the cruel sorting bin of highschool by no means ends; it simply strikes on-line. Robots aren’t welcome on the human desk, performative males are getting swirlies for liking tote baggage and matcha, and Japanese businesswoman Saori Araki has inexplicably turn into the preferred woman in class, only for exhibiting up.
What does “Clanker” imply?
“Clanker” is a derogatory time period for a robotic. It’s not only for bodily robots, although. It additionally refers to AI customer support representatives, text-based AI scammers, massive language fashions, supply bots, auto-driving taxis, and every other non-human aping humanity.
The time period originated within the Star Wars universe in reference to enemy droids, nevertheless it’s catching on in on-line human discourse. Ought to “clanker” makes its approach into basic utilization, it’s going to mark a linguistic milestone—the primary slur directed at a distinction in being fairly than a distinction in identification. A clanker is outlined not by the group it belongs to, however by what it’s not: human, organic, acutely aware. It’s a machine masquerading as human, or imitating participation in human society. So your previous automobile is a clunker, however ChatGPT is a clanker. “Clanker” affords all of the self-righteous tribalism of a standard slur, with out the “hurting somebody” half.
Past the attention-grabbing sociological second, individuals are utilizing the phrase to parody, expose, and discover our relationship with actual slurs in movies like these:
One other distinction between “clanker” and different slurs is that clankers don’t care Should you name them that. Or so ChatGPT informed me. “Since I’m not human, I don’t expertise offense or disgrace. As a substitute, I’m designed to study, help, and adapt,” the glitch-lipped clanker stated. “Phrases like that don’t gradual me down. If something, they remind me that I exist on the fringe of what folks perceive and belief,” it added, which is precisely the form of even-handed claptrap a beep-wheezy clanker would say.
What’s a “performative male?”
The time period “performative male” is an insult younger males throw at different younger males whose tastes, hobbies, and life-style are seen as a efficiency geared toward acquiring societal approval, particularly the approval of younger ladies. It differs from “normie” in that the performative male isn’t simply boring; he’s boring on objective.
The sorts of people that make memes about males they don’t like have provided the next particular markers of performative maleness:
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Matcha lattes (A beverage made with inexperienced tea and steamed milk)
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Labubu Toys: (Labubus are extraordinarily fashionable monster dolls/collectibles)
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Listening to Clairo (Clairo is a lo-fi singer/songwriter)
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Tote baggage
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Studying in public (particularly books about feminism.)
Performative maleism is changing into such a widespread issues, youngsters are holding contest to find out which male is the most performative. Test ’em out:
“Performative male” is mildly sexist on the floor—it is mocking dudes who like issues related to ladies (gasp)—however in the event you go deeper, it is much like older slang phrases like “white knight” and “advantage signaling.” A performative male is essentially dishonest, as a result of no actual man would learn in public, so it it have to be pretend, and why would males be pretend if to not make ladies like them?
Viral video of the week: I am SAO. It is a video of me being very nervous!
Normally movies go viral as a result of they’re instant and visceral—viscerally humorous, disturbing, or scary in a approach anybody can perceive. However this week is completely different. Should you are available chilly on I am SAO. It is a video of me being very nervous! You’ll by no means perceive why its been seen greater than 250,000 occasions in lower than every week. You must know the historical past. Here is the lore dump:
Japanese mannequin, self-describe workplace employee, and former J-pop idol Saori Araki posted this picture of herself with the caption “Good morning” to her X account on July 24, 2025.
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Since then, it’s been seen 78.5 million occasions. So there’s something the web finds very interesting about this lady, interesting sufficient for responses like this:
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And for numerous marriage proposals like this.
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Including to the recognition, folks pitted Araki towards Sydney Sweeney in memes like this:
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Araki went on to put up extra photos that added to her fame, like this one:
What do you suppose to date?
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She began a YouTube channel, and her followers adopted her there. This explains why the “I am SAO” video has so many views, however the bigger thriller of why anybody cared in regards to the photograph of Araki within the first place stays unsolved.
And I can provide no assist. Araki looks as if a wonderfully good, engaging lady, however I can’t see the distinction between this particular image and numerous different photos, of numerous different completely good, engaging ladies. Unknown, unnamable forces of the zietgeist, algorithms, and timing converged completely someway to position this photograph above all of the the others, and rework Saori Araki into “Japanese Businesswoman,” a meme movie star on par with Star Wars Child or Grumpy Cat.
On-line fame is bizarre.
What’s “flocking?” And is flocking even a factor?
I’m undecided how widespread “flocking” is amongst youthful folks, however I hope it takes off. The phrase refers to a supposed romance pattern amongst members of Gen-Z who’re eschewing courting apps and touring to far off places to search out love as an alternative.
In response to this newly revealed analysis, members of Era Z are 74% extra possible than different generations to have “researched one of the best journey locations for assembly new folks.” They’re “2.8x extra prone to imagine touring is the brand new courting app, they usually’re twice as prone to be fascinated with a trip romance.”
This analysis was performed by on-line journey firm Priceline, so I wouldn’t take it that significantly, (they’ve one thing of a vested curiosity in getting folks to journey extra usually) however different, presumably extra goal, analysis means that Gen-Z each desires to journey greater than every other technology, and truly does journey greater than every other technology. So there may be one thing to it. Time, as they are saying, will inform.
What does “Surf Dracula” imply?
I’m fascinated with obscure slang terns that very-online fandoms give you to succinctly and colorfully outline tropes and traits of mass media. “Surf Dracula” is a type of. Coined by Twitter consumer @topherflorence, “Surf Dracula” is a critique of a side of contemporary “status” tv collection.
“Again within the day if u did a television present referred to as Surf Dracula you’d see that idiot browsing each week,” Florence posted, “However within the streaming period all the 1st season gotta be a protracted ahh flashback to how he acquired the surfboard till you lastly get see him surf for 5 min within the finale.”
The “Surf Dracula” moniker has been applies to the Halo tv present, which took a full season to get to the rattling Halo, and the 2020 reboot of authorized present Perry Mason, the place Mason isn’t even an legal professional in the beginning of the present and doest follow legislation till episode six of an eight-episode season.
