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Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of Internet Insider.
Happy Friday! Our top stories today include a great feature on OnlyFans creators dealing with piracy, a look into how the FCC wants to investigate mobile carriers privacy practices, and a few viral videos that are sparking discussion online.
Plus, our Culture Editor Tiffany Kelly dives into the dominant discourse of the week in her “This Week On The Internet” column and shares with you her meme of the week down below.
Let’s get to it!
— A.W.
ONLYFANS: Our IRL Reporter Tricia has a great feature on how OnlyFans creators are dealing with piracy. Tricia spoke with creators who detailed how their private, explicit content is surfacing in popular and public places on the internet that don’t have paywalls. Check out the full feature here.
VIRAL: A woman is facing flak online after she posted a video of herself ordering 150 Oreo McFlurries from a McDonalds drive-thru to celebrate birthdays in her office. Most of the comments on the video, which has been viewed more than 1.3 million times, were critical of her and pointed out the strain on the person having to make the McFlurries. “If someone did this at my store I’d just quit,” one commenter wrote.
PRIVACY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is investigating how the top 15 mobile carriers in the U.S. collect, retain, and safeguard user geolocation data. As our Contributing Reporter Jacob Seitz notes, the move from the FCC comes in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
‘CORPORATE SPEAK’: In a now-viral TikTok, a woman highlighted a statement released by the Mom Project and called it out as an example of “why so many people hate corporate America and ‘corporate speak.’” The Mom Project posted something on LinkedIn that didn’t mention the word “layoffs” and instead said those who were let go would not have “go-forward roles” at the company.
Why Book Twitter is debating about reading again
A certain subset of Twitter users love debating reading—including when to read, where to read, and how much to read.
I previously wrote about Book Twitter going after a person who criticized people who bring a book to a bar. This week, a discourse about if you can be considered a writer if you don’t read took off.
On the surface, the topic doesn’t seem one that would be up for discussion. Of course writers need to read and study their own craft, you might be thinking. But the discourse morphed from talking about writers who simply choose not to read for pleasure to talking about how visual reading is not accessible for everyone.
People with disabilities called out those mocking the topic. “While employed as a professional writer, I relied on screen readers & voice dictation to do my job,” wrote user @AerinMoriarty. “Disabled writers exist. We are no less valid because we may not use eyes to read, or hands to write.”
Reporter Jewel Wicker tweeted about a brain injury that prevented her from reading leisurely for a period of time. “Do I feel like I’m a better writer now that I’m able to read more again? Yes, obviously. But do I also think a lot of the comments this week have been flippant towards disabled writers? Yes, obviously.”
Others pushed back on the backlash. “There’s nothing wrong with having cognitive disabilities that make reading a challenge and not reading by much as a result. I’m severely ADHD myself and often find reading difficult,” says user @A_B_Allen. “But you cannot, with any seriousness, get online and say ‘Writers don’t have to read.’”
The debate about reading was soon referenced in memes about writers not needing to actually write anything to be considered a writer.
This is the cycle for every round of discourse that irks Book Twitter; outrage, clashing opinions, and then jokes. The community at large doesn’t always arrive at a shared agreement. But that’s OK. There will be a new debate next month.
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👀 TODAY ONLINE
Here are some key dispatches from across the ‘net.
💼 A former HR employee shared the one question you should ask recruiters in a viral video.
📷 A Black college student says that after she avoided campus “paparazzi” at her predominantly white institution all year, she still ended up on her college’s website.
☕ In a viral video, a barista revealed how Starbucks measures its drinks and how to ensure you actually get light ice in your drink when you ask for it.
🍔 A worker at Sonic filmed a customer who came into the restaurant and tried to physically input her order on a screen in the kitchen.
🥝 Passionfruit rounded up the best web hosting services for creators. If you want more stories like this, subscribe to the Passionfruit newsletter.
🏋️ Yikes. An Anytime Fitness customer claimed in a TikTok that she was fat-shamed when she tried to cancel her gym membership.
😀 It’s settled! These are the best Settlers of Catan expansion packs for the most prolific game for board game fans.*
📱 A TikToker filmed a man he observed through a restaurant window swiping right on every profile on his Tinder feed.
💻 Millennials who knew a ‘better‘ internet are incurably nostalgic for it.
*The Daily Dot may receive a commission in connection with purchases of products or services featured here.
📅 MEME OF THE WEEK
Speaking of reading…this meme incorporates the BeReal meme with a reference to another meme about Lea Michele not being able to read.
Now Playing: 🎶“Old Souls” by Jessica Harper (Phantom of the Paradise soundtrack) 🎶
