Friday Link List: The Kids and Their Internet

I recently went to the Mansur Gavriel store in Soho to check out the vegetable-tanned leather tote in person. It's a lovely, Instagram-friendly store, spacious and decorated in soft pink. In order to maintain the "look", they keep very little stock on the shelves. They have practically every item, in almost every color, in the back, so an employee was able to show me the totes with both the "classic" red lining (affiliate link) and the ballerina pink lining. I'd never actually gotten up close and personal with the vegetable-tanned leather before, and I was surprised by how different it was. It's incredibly light (which is a plus) and extremely stiff. It's more rigid than, say, most saffiano leather. 

I know that the the cammello and brandy vegetable-tanned leather age and patina beautifully, but I've never seen what happens to the black leather over time. I imagine that it can't change color to the same extent. All in all, I wasn't sure that the Mansur Gavriel large tote is for me. 

1. // I continue to follow #metoo-related news coverage closely, and process complicated feelings. Very few bad things have ever happened to me. There's only been some standard workplace bias (subtle enough that not all minorities or women I talk to agree there was a problem, which is a real trip) and the sort of run of the mill street harassment that barely registers because it's so ubiquitous. This essay, ostensibly about Mario Batali's apology letter and cinnamon roll recipe, is a few weeks old now, and was widely shared. It's fantastic, and it certainly gives voice to something I've felt. 

2. // Being that I'm such a social media dinosaur, it's no surprise that many social media stars these days are very young people I've never heard of, often on social media platforms I've never used. The Atlantic recently did an article about "What It's Like Raising a Social Media Star", and wow. Then I checked out this old article about "The Secret Lives of Tumblr Teens" and let's just say, while I've been a fairly active Tumblr user for years (mostly to look at pretty pictures and read about A Song of Ice and Fire), I had no idea people could make it big there, though that moment has long since passed. Then there was Buzzfeed's recent piece on the mom of one particular set of toddler Instagram stars. 

As someone who wants to have kids someday, I find it all terrifying: If I could barely keep up with the new social media platforms that emerged while I was in college, how could I possibly understand what my hypothetical future children will be using? While they're young, I'm pretty sure I'd want to keep their faces and names entirely off of my own public social media. That part is easy When they got older, I'd probably love to heavily restrict their access, and monitor every little thing, but as a child of the early internet age, I remember that my parents couldn't effectively regulate what I was doing. 

3. // Some recent links from my blogroll: First, Luxe did a good entry about how to get started with investing. When I read Thakor and Kedar's On My Own Two Feet at the start of my personal finance journey, they had a similar chart to Luxe's to illustrate the importance of starting investments early and compounding investment returns over time. That's what helped give me the kick in the pants I needed to get started with investing as soon as I started my first job after law school. Second, everyone probably already noticed, but Adina at Blue Collar Red Lipstick is back, and I'm so glad! Third, Sophie linked a good pilates leg workout on Youtube that I really like. It's legs only, so it's not a comprehensive workout, but it's a fun add-on to other videos.

Do you also marvel at how quickly the internet changes over time? Sometimes it feels like some of these questions are cyclical. There were, of course, Youtube stars way back in the day, though very few of the ones who were well-known while I was in college are still on Youtube. I think the phenomenon of teens and younger kids being social media stars, maybe with, er, some instigating by their parents, depending on the age of the kid, is fairly new. I just hope that the parents are being responsible and making sure to set aside the money for the kids!