The UK - and a lot of other countries, actually - are rolling out social media bans for under sixteens as well as social media curfews for those under eighteen. The news has caused uproar with teens promising they'll find workarounds, parents stressing about the impact on their kids and everyone raising concerns about giving mega corporations access to our government ID info.

This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the cultural impacts of excluding future generations from the internet, the implications of big tech taking on this responsibility and, most excitingly, an insight on the Sheila Matrix.

Order The Polyester Book Of Bad Taste here!

Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3

Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!

Order Gina's book, Greedy Guts, here!

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It appears tech bros are shaking in their boots because... they're being called cringe - even when they buy a Rimowa suitcase and a full wardrobe from The Row. In a now viral essay, writer Emily Segal assigns the term 'tasteslop' to the lack of taste signified by items that used to be upheld highly in the taste algorithm when enjoyed by those who don't get it - aka, AI bots and the AI company owners.

This week, hosts Ione and Gina rub their hands together because The Polyester Book Of Bad Taste is landing on shelves just in time to tackle the tasteslop phenomenon. The pair chat through why everyone is speaking about taste right now, how the inherent hierarchies of taste are changing and whether or not we're heading towards the worst outcome of all: The era of no taste.

Order The Polyester Book Of Bad Taste here!

Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3

Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!

Order Gina's book, Greedy Guts, here!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You're in bed on your own scrolling through your phone. On your screen, a woman your age is entering her new build apartment, making herself a bowl of pasta and a glass of Diet Coke on a lap tray, then sitting on a huge sofa to rewatch Friends with a candle burning. Her caption reads 'Life when you have no kids. No friends. No boyfriend.' and her comments are full of other women seeing her lonely lifestyle as aspirational.

This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the new trend of lonely influencers: Female creators positing having no social circle as a net positive. Is it great to find joy in the growing isolation many of us are feeling? Or should we take a radical stance against introversion in order to stand up for the importance of community?

Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3

Order The Polyester Book Of Bad Taste here!

Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!

Order Gina's book, Greedy Guts, here!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.