“No boys allowed” isn’t just scribbled on girls’ bedroom doors anymore. Paris is home to a nightclub with a no-men policy, Uber’s letting women match with female drivers, and a women-only dating advice app called Tea (yes, like the gossip) became the US’s #1 free app - before it was hacked. We've got our fingers crossed for a ceasefire in the battle of the sexes.
Scroll down to read about video games, selfies, and phishing scams.
Stats to power your week
🏛️The UK just signed a high-profile deal with OpenAI to bring public services into the future. But first, civil servants have some catching up to do - just 24% of them are excited about AI, compared to 35% of all UK workers. GWI Core
🎮 In the AI age, organizations like the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) are pushing to give game creators the cultural spotlight they deserve. Turns out, a lot of players think along these lines; over a quarter believe that video games are art and should be treated as such. GWI Gaming
🥃 Tequila shot past whisky in 2022 to claim the second spot in America’s liquor market, and that momentum’s clear in gifting habits too. Among those who buy boozy presents, there’s been an 18% year-on-year rise in those opting for tequila or mezcal. GWI Alcohol
🎃 Pumpkins at the pool party? It must be Summerween: the celebration of Halloween in summer that’s currently trending online. While many Halloween celebrators say the holiday has gotten too commercial, Summerween remains playful and personal. It could be why 7% of Halloween fans start getting ready for the spooky season over a month in advance. GWI Moments
🏠 Homeownership feels like a distant dream for many younger millennials. A third of 25-34 year olds say that owning property is a luxury, ahead of spa retreats, beauty treatments, and hotels. GWI Luxury
What’s on our radar
Auto giants take a profit hit in Q2 amid US tariffs, as UK car production crashes to its lowest level since 1953.
Years after the Loss and Damage Fund was born, a top UN court opens the door for nations to sue each other over climate change. Even if they don’t lead to instant payouts, these lawsuits could shift how the world sees climate blame and turn up the heat at eco conferences.
As Pepsi adds a new prebiotic cola to its produce range, both Coca-Cola and Keurig Dr Pepper have highlighted the increasing importance of energy drinks on their bottom line.
A Suno user, or rather “music designer”, has signed to a record label for the first time.
Gated communities are on the rise in regions like the US and India. Dr. Minjee Kim, assistant professor of urban planning at UCLA, reckons this is being driven by a desire for safety, stability, and control in uncertain times.
As food giants ditch artificial colors, tech innovators are stepping in, using microalgae and butterfly pea extract to cook up the next generation of natural dyes. Going against the grain is a new snacking brand called Rewind, launching in Europe with tortilla chips that taste like batteries.
When brands slip up, consumers want them to speak up - and data ops startup Astronomer just did, flipping the script on its viral CEO kiss cam scandal with a cheeky comeback video starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
For years, job-hopping was a golden ticket to bigger paychecks. But for the first time in 15 years (aside from the two brief blips), US job-stayers are seeing faster wage growth than job-switchers. The so-called “Great Flattening” is also making headlines, with reports of some US companies dropping middle managers to cut costs.
Chart of the week
Thanks to the Online Safety Act, adult content has become much harder to access online in the UK. If you want to see it (and hey, no-one’s judging), you now need to upload a selfie to prove your age.
The headlines are practically writing themselves, and everyone seems convinced hordes of Brits will sign up for VPNs. Searches for the term “VPN” shot up by more than 700% in the UK last Friday, and VPN apps are topping the app charts. But - whisper it - this might actually be overblown.
One of the best prior cases we can look to is in the US, where 21 states introduced similar legislation, starting with Louisiana in 2022. While VPN usage has increased, there seems to be no meaningful difference between states with age verification laws and those without.
We may be wrong. For one thing, the UK’s legislation is much more restrictive, and nationwide. But there are many previous cases of internet users searching or signing up for services out of curiosity, and not converting them into long-term behavior (hi, BeReal and Signal). VPNs may be the latest such case.
🔥 Hot take
Punchy perspectives, with data that nudges the narrative
“Young people are less secure online than boomers”
People often worry about their grandparents getting scammed, but tech-savvy grandkids leave just as many (if not more) digital doors unlocked.
Baby boomers are more likely to say they change their passwords regularly than Gen Z. Many take extra precautions because they’re less trusting of digital systems or have been directly warned about online scams. In fact, more older adults have done their homework on phishing.
With younger groups being the main users of public WiFi, they’re probably more susceptible to new threats like “juice jacking” too. So maybe the problem isn’t a lack of digital fluency; it’s the false sense of security that comes with a lot of it.
