Up-and-coming musicians are finding mainstream success thanks to the Alt TikTok community – the platform’s more underground side. As TikTok bears the brunt of rising political tensions, the platform is becoming increasingly commercialised while also bringing subcultures to the fore.

‘Scene culture’ was an early-aughts mainstay on social platforms like MySpace, and it’s having a 2020 revival on TikTok. The lifestyle, characterised by dark poetry and gothy aesthetics, is giving young people an outlet for creativity to navigate feelings of uncertainty and angst.

Once an app designed exclusively to facilitate threesomes, sex-positive Feeld has grown to champion inclusivity, educate its users, and reduce stigma and shame through an authentic and comprehensive content offering. This open-minded niche platform is working to democratize dating and sex.

Whether it’s living vicariously through Normal People or counting down the days until a physical reunion, COVID-19 has forced us into a no-touch climate and we’re mourning the lack of skin-to-skin contact. Canvas8 spoke to three experts to explore what a post-touch world could look like.