Eve Upton-Clark is a freelance features writer and copywriter from London, based in Amsterdam, covering culture and society. Her work has been published globally in publications including Business Insider, i-D, Vice, Dazed, Refinery 29 and more.

People are looking for belonging in exclusivity 

Insider Status

People are searching for stability in alternative sources of authority

Alt Faith

People are constructing meaningful collectives 

World Builders

Dr. Hayley Cocker is a senior lecturer in marketing at Lancaster University. Her research focuses on influencer culture and online communities and has looked at the popularity and appeal of influencers, consumer responses to influencers’ commercial content, the impact that influencers have on online communities, and the parasocial relationships that influencers cultivate with their followers. Dr. Cocker is guest editing a special issue in the 

 on influencers and influencer marketing and their implications for consumers and society.

Gen Y (born 1982-1996)

Gen Z (born 1997-2010)

United States

Communications

Community and grassroots

Ipsos

The Verge

Vanity Fair

The Drum

Statista

Interview with Dr. Hayley Cocker conducted by the author

The New York Times

Variety

Student Beans

WARC

Impero Creative Agency

https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/adding-ai-ads-search-and-social-media-drastically-lowers-americans-trust

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/06/06/nearly-90-consumers-no-longer-trust-influencers-new-study-finds

https://www.weareimpero.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The_Move_Gen_We_Full_Report.pdf

‘Cool’ may be hard to commodify, but cult independent newsletter Perfectly Imperfect has done just that. By creating a digital oasis where cultural insights and recommendations are shared free from algorithms and advertising, it maintains integrity by prioritizing genuine user taste exchange.