Say it with me: I am living joyously.
On consumption and the internet — w/ Terry Nguyen
The internet is cool because it connects us to people we may never have met otherwise.
The internet is cool because it breaks us and we let it.
It’s a domain of give and take, but what isn’t?
One of the people the internet has so graciously brought me to is Terry Nguyen.
Terry Nguyen is really fucking cool. Like, really fucking cool.
She writes Gen Yeet, for one. She also writes about internet and consumer trends for Vox.
From her latest on digital fashion to the magical little tidbits she leaves us on Twitter, in articles, and all across cyberspace, Terry is telling stories in a really beautiful and engaging way.
Let’s hear what she has to say about Gen Z, family and the internet.
Thank you, Terry, for being here!
I think that before I ever knew about capitalism (so when I was very little and the world was a mix of soccer practice and homework that probably didn’t matter versus now when life is a mix of confusing emotions and homework that probably doesn’t matter), I knew what it was because of my mom and her mom. I learned how to cut an apple down to the core, I learned how to save plastic bags until the kitchen was more “have a nice day” in red on white plastic than it was counter, I learned that sometimes we are all we have. How did you become interested in the consumerism and culture corner of the world, and why did you find it important to frame those conversations in relation to young people?
The short answer is: I was living alone, and I was buying a lot of shit — shit I didn't need. Objects, I think, can be sacred, but our modern culture of consumption has warped any aspect of an object's sacredness into usability. And once that usability wears off, it becomes disposable. The German philosopher Byung Chul Han once wrote that objects stabilized human life. It gave us continuity. The digital world, on the other hand, "deobjectifies the world by rendering it information." Many philosophers and cultural theorists have remarked this. Objects are status-signals. They are props for our daily performance. And increasingly, society demands we acquire more props. We want so many things. Things that don't matter. Years ago, a professor at Annenberg, who once worked for the Wall Street Journal, told me that every story is a business story. I think he meant it in the clichéd "follow the money" way. And so I did. And I realized that consumption is the backbone of America, that it is the sole purpose for living in a consumer society. That everything is done for the sake of profit and profit alone. The realization was so god-less to me.
Have you ever tried to explain things like the Jack Harlow hype or the second rise of claw clips to your parents? Do you talk to your parents or family about the internet or trends or any of these Gen-Z-related things?
My parents don't understand American culture, so I don't try. The internet? They don't get it. They're simple people. They ground my understanding of what "regular Americans" care about. I also don't have the language for it.
If you could make an affirmations post for that one Instagram page, what would it say?
I AM LIVING JOYOUSLY.
What is the best thing you’ve seen on the internet so far in 2022?
The best thing on the internet is this recipe for vegan black bean brownies.
Finally, what is a question you wish you could ask your mom, or someone else in your life?
Mom, what is your greatest desire in life, and are you working to fulfill it?
Want more from Terry?
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P.S. what is your 2022 affirmation? Let me know :)
Now, for something a little different this week because why not? (Change is good!) A small list (lists work well with my brain) (do lists have to be in a line or in order?) of things at H mart that feel like home or remind me of my mom!
A quote I’m thinking about this week:
“Once a cucumber turns into a pickle, you can’t turn it back into a cucumber. And I’ve been pickled by the internet for a long time.” - Melissa Broder, So Sad Today
