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Google Play has revealed its annual Best of 2024 awards for India, celebrating the apps and games that defined the year. With five of the seven top apps developed by Indian creators, the awards underscore India’s rising prominence in the global tech ecosystem. Mobile gaming also continues to boom, as the country solidifies its position as the second-largest market for gaming downloads worldwide. In a blog post announcing the winners, Google also shed light on how India is the world's second largest market in terms of mobile gaming downloads. "On the gaming front, the Indian gaming scene continues to thrive, with India adding 23 million new gamers in FY24, reaching a total of 590 million. In fact, India now boasts the world's second-largest market for mobile gaming downloads, with average weekly playtime increasing by 30%." Leading Apps: India at the Forefront of AI Innovation The blog post revealed that this year’s top apps showcased India’s innovative spirit, particularly in harnessing AI to meet user needs. Alle - Your AI Fashion Stylist, developed by Hey Alle, emerged as the year’s Best App and also won the Best for Fun award. Leveraging AI, Alle provides personalised fashion advice tailored to users’ occasions, body types, and preferences, reflecting the growing trend of AI-powered app experiences in India. Prateek Agarwal, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Alle, said in a statement, “We noticed that the recent developments in Gen AI, combined with evolving consumer preferences for visual inspirational content, will create a massive opportunity to reimagine &amp; rebuild how people discover and shop for fashion. This realization led us to start Alle...As a new startup, Google Play has been crucial in helping us reach our early users organically. The platform's detailed analytics and crash reporting have been invaluable - they've helped us quickly identify and fix issues, improving our app stability.” Other app winners included: • Headlyne: Daily News with AI (Best for Personal Growth), offering curated news tailored to individual preferences. • Sony LIV: Sports &amp; Entertainment (Best for Large Screens), delivering immersive content on tablets and other big-screen devices. • WhatsApp Messenger (Best Multi-device App), enabling seamless communication across devices. • Fold: Expense Tracker (Best Everyday Essential) and Rise: Habit List (Best Hidden Gem) also captured user interest with practical and engaging features. The blog post added that India’s dominance in the AI app space is significant, accounting for 21% of global AI mobile app downloads this year, with nearly 1,000 Indian apps and games incorporating AI. Games that thrilled millions India’s gaming industry continued its upward trajectory, adding 23 million gamers this year, taking the total to 590 million. With gaming preferences increasingly reflecting local culture, many award-winning titles integrated Indian storylines and visuals. Squad Busters, a fast-paced multiplayer game, won Best Game for its simple yet engaging design. Meanwhile, Indus Battle Royale Mobile by SuperGaming earned the Best Made in India title for the second year running. Roby John, Co-Founder and CEO of SuperGaming, said in a statement, "We are committed to making Indus a standout Battle Royale experience. Our team has spent over three years thoughtfully crafting its characters, environments, and gameplay features to represent Indian Art and Culture authentically. The community's enthusiasm validates our vision of Indian games thriving globally. Winning this award is an incredible honor, not just as a milestone but also a motivation to keep striving for excellence. Google Play’s expertise and responsiveness have empowered us to deliver world-class gaming, pushing the boundaries of Indian gaming. We’re more committed than ever to raising the bar and making Indian gaming shine on the global stage.” Other top games included: • BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India) (Best Ongoing), for its India-centric updates featuring cricket, festivals, and celebrity collaborations. • Bloom – A Puzzle Adventure (Best Indie), for its unique mechanics and creativity. • Clash of Clans (Best Multi-device Game) and Yes, Your Grace (Best Story) also stood out for their engaging gameplay.

Google Play announces best apps and games of 2024 in India: All you need to know

Meta’s Threads app is undergoing a significant transformation, adding features that enhance user control and overall experience. These updates come in response to growing competition from Bluesky, a decentralised platform that has seen a sharp rise in popularity, hitting 20 million users recently. Let us take a look at all we know about the updates so far. <h2>Custom feeds and default options </h2> Threads now lets users customise their feed, a move aimed at giving them more control over their browsing experience. Users in the test phase can pin multiple curated feeds to their homepage, choosing what appears when they open the app. These feeds can be built around specific topics or accounts, providing an alternative to the algorithm-driven recommendations. Setting a default feed is straightforward: users simply tap and hold on a feed at the top of the homepage and reorder it, with the first slot becoming their default view. This update ensures a personalised experience and brings Threads closer in line with the flexibility offered by competitors like Bluesky. <h2>Smarter algorithms and search updates </h2> To improve relevance, Threads has refined its algorithm, prioritising posts from accounts users follow instead of bombarding them with suggestions. In addition, search functionality is being enhanced to include advanced filters, such as searching within a specific date range or posts from a single account—features long available on platforms like X. Trending topics are also receiving an upgrade, with a new trending page in development that will feature AI-generated summaries of discussions. For now, this feature is being tested in the US. <h2>Landscape video and other enhancements </h2> Another user-centric update is the addition of landscape video playback. This long-awaited feature finally allows Threads users to enjoy videos in a widescreen format. Alongside this, the platform now lets users view replies while composing their own, making interactions smoother and more intuitive. It is to be noted that while these updates are promising, many are still in the testing phase or limited to specific regions. Threads is expected to roll them out widely in future.

Meta's Threads gets new features as competition with Bluesky heats up, all we know

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Good morning! With the holidays just around the corner, it might not hurt to earn a little extra cash. Four people with side-hustle experience <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/side-hustle-recommendations-passive-income-content-creation-amazon-etsy-2024-10">shared tips on their top gig recommendations</a>.In today's big story, betting on the presidential election is all the rage. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/election-betting-odds-trump-vs-harris-polymarket-kalshi-robinhood-2024-10">Can it keep the momentum going</a>?What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: Blackstone's boss thinks Trump <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/finance-ceos-supporting-trump-blackstone-steve-schwarzman-citadel-ken-griffin-2024-10">would be a better president the second time around</a>.</li><li>Tech: Google's earnings <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-third-quarter-earnings-report-q3-2024-2024-10">were a big hit with investors</a>.</li><li>Business: What a Trump or Harris win <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-affordability-supply-impact-presidential-election-scenarios-homebuyers-harris-trump-2024-10">means for the cost of housing</a>.</li></ul>But first, wanna bet?If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h3 id="7fa5f018-5b05-4a37-a8dc-d3f89138bcb3">The big story</h3><h2 id="5fd547b9-ec52-41fc-8e08-4f4b27dd8097">Presidential bets</h2><div type="image" title="Kamala Harris and Donald Trump with dice" height="812" width="1083" msid="114782269" hostid="261" sizebytes="50032"></div>We're less than a week from election day, but one group can already claim victory: betting markets.Platforms allowing users to bet on the US presidential race have become the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/election-betting-odds-trump-vs-harris-polymarket-kalshi-robinhood-2024-10">surprise star of election season</a>, writes Business Insider's Matthew Fox. And it could eventually change how we view any potential outcome, not just future elections.Kalshi, which has attracted more than $100 million in election-related bets, is currently one of the most popular apps in the Apple App Store. The trading app Robinhood also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-election-betting-robinhood-legal-odds-2024-10">got in on the action</a> on Monday.Kalshi's <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/betting-us-election-cftc-kalshi-legal-battle-prediction-market-2024-10">legal victory in October over the CFTC</a> to offer election betting paved the way for the trend. But predictions markets are also spiking abroad where they've existed for years.Polymarket, which is not available to US citizens, has seen $2 billion in wagers this month, up from $533 million in September, according to The Block. Last year, the website averaged less than $20 million in monthly trading volume.The rise of election-betting markets hasn't been without controversy.A "whale" trader betting on former President Donald Trump to win the election grabbed headlines and drew conspiracy theories. Polymarket <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polymarket-donald-trump-betting-odds-whale-french-trader-harris-polls-2024-10">confirmed the user was a French national</a> with trading experience betting on Trump "based on personal views of the election."<div type="image" title="A young man in the center of a $100 bill" height="1500" width="2000" msid="114782272" hostid="261" sizebytes="563774"></div>The betting market's biggest tests might come after the election.Supporters of prediction markets say they're <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-harris-prediction-markets-polls-presidential-election-polymarket-024-8">more accurate than traditional polls</a>, citing their ability to quickly adapt to the latest news and the fact participants are invested in the outcome.This election will serve as a good test of that theory, as there's a wide gap between the two approaches. Betting markets have Trump as a heavy favorite, whereas traditional polls indicate a tight race.Should Trump win in a landslide, it could strengthen the case for using betting markets as a key tool for election analysis. Nate Silver, one of the most well-known polling analysts, is already an advisor to Polymarket.But a presidential race only happens once every four years. What about the rest of the time?If the past few years have taught us anything, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gambling-young-men-sports-betting-crypto-meme-stock-market-addiction-2024-4">this country loves to gamble</a>. From crypto to meme stocks to sports, young men, in particular, are happy to bet on just about anything.Prediction markets' business model can lean into that theme. On Kalshi, you can currently wager on whether the Tesla robotaxi will be released before 2026 or if the US will ban TikTok before May.<h3 id="77f31a4c-8462-4e3d-a71f-838cb79493fb">News brief</h3><h2 id="1fcd294b-3f53-425f-9f20-4093e8623b59">Top headlines</h2><ul><li>Why Boeing's $21 billion share sale is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-capital-raise-ecm-bankers-bonuses-wall-street-comp-expert-2024-10">an early Christmas present for Wall Street</a>.</li><li>How Trump vs. Harris is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-political-contributions-by-name-for-trump-vs-harris-2024-8">playing out on Wall Street</a>.</li><li>The Fed is likely to disappoint markets with just one more rate cut this year amid global inflation, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fed-cut-rates-inflation-powell-blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-2024-10">BlackRock CEO says</a>.</li><li>Microsoft just ramped up its cloud rivalry with Google by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-google-shadow-campaigns-cloud-regulation-undermine-business-azure-2024-10">accusing it of 'shadow campaigns'</a>.</li><li>Snap <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snap-surges-gets-major-boost-from-ai-push-paid-users-2024-10">surges 10%</a> as it gets a major boost from AI and paid subscribers.</li><li>Google's been on an efficiency drive. Its new CFO said it can '<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-earnings-q3-2024-new-cfo-boost-efficiency-2024-10">push a little further</a>.'</li></ul><h2 id="8120060b-ae66-48dc-b149-f0489a30ffa2">3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="Mark Zuckerberg speaking on stage." height="1600" width="2870" msid="114782278" hostid="261" sizebytes="38034"></div><ol><li>Wall Street has high hopes for Meta. Thanks to the company's AI optimization, analysts generally <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/meta-q3-earnings-preview-meta-stock-price-ai-growth-guidance-2024-10">expect positive figures</a> from Meta's third-quarter earnings report today. Bank of America has said the stock is a top AI pick, and investors are keeping an eye on AI growth opportunities.</li><li>Citadel's playing the long game with its shorts. Justin Lubell, the hedge fund's global equities head, said the firm's longest-running equities group made more money shorting stocks than its long-term investments in recent years. Lubell said the strategy benefits from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-citadel-focuses-on-shorting-stocks-according-to-justin-lubell-2024-10">the lack of competition on the short side</a>.</li><li>Two of Wall Street's top executives speculate on Trump's bid for a second term. Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, who has endorsed Donald Trump, thinks the former president <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/finance-ceos-supporting-trump-blackstone-steve-schwarzman-citadel-ken-griffin-2024-10">would be "efficient and effective" during his second go around</a>. Fellow billionaire and Republican mega-donor Ken Griffin expects Trump to win next week.</li></ol><h2 id="f4b54806-7f81-450c-ba32-92560d4fae9b">3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="A Linkedin logo sitting on a short stack of applications next to a large stack of applications" height="1500" width="2000" msid="114782270" hostid="261" sizebytes="192558"></div><ol><li>Can LinkedIn save us from hiring hell? The platform wants to help job-seekers apply smarter, not harder, by using AI to optimize the process. The goal is quality over quantity: LinkedIn hopes you'll apply to fewer jobs, but the ones you'll swing for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-broken-linkedin-ai-fix-fewer-jobs-resume-spammers-2024-10">will be better matches</a>.</li><li>Amazon Web Services' Graviton chips are thriving. In 2018, AWS launched Graviton, its own line of homegrown central processing unit chips for data-center servers. Now, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-graviton-chips-used-by-90-percent-top-1000-customers-2024-10">90% of AWS's largest server customers have become Graviton users</a>, a company executive told BI.</li><li>Five Apple Intelligence features you can try out now on your iPhone. Some of the highly anticipated AI tools include one that helps summarize long messages, one that limits disruptions, and another that can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-intelligence-features-tested-on-iphone-16-pro-max-2024-10">edit randos out of your photos</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="9260fa45-d397-4b3c-b4f8-4bb193976216">3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="Harris and Trump." height="1600" width="2400" msid="114782274" hostid="261" sizebytes="312674"></div><ol><li>How a Trump or Harris presidency could impact what you pay for housing. Affordable housing is one of America's top economic concerns heading into the election. Here's how each candidate's proposed policies would affect housing supply, first-time home buyers, urban vs. rural housing, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-affordability-supply-impact-presidential-election-scenarios-homebuyers-harris-trump-2024-10">action against big landlords</a>.</li><li>Alphabet surpassed its third-quarter earnings expectations. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-third-quarter-earnings-report-q3-2024-2024-10">Google's parent company delivered beats on revenue</a>, earnings per share, its advertising business, and Google Cloud revenue. The search giant is all-in on AI — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-earnings-q3-2024-new-code-created-by-ai-2024-10">CEO Sundar Pichai said</a> more than a quarter of the company's new code is created by AI and then checked by employees.</li><li>Is X being influenced by Elon Musk or its users? Musk is self-proclaimed "super MAGA." And X, the social media platform he owns, is more likely to show content from right-leaning accounts, according to reports by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. But it's unclear whether the platform is showing users what they want to see or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-donald-trump-twitter-x-wsj-washington-post-2024-10">what Musk wants them to see</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="9f5d80ac-3466-429f-a50a-2ffbb70c65ff">What's happening today</h2><ul><li>Meta, Microsoft, Starbucks, and other companies report earnings.</li><li>The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes Q3 economic growth data.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

Betting on the election is the hottest new trend. But can prediction markets keep the momentum going?  

New Delhi: India is set to enter a transformative "smartphone era" for cars in 2025, with the introduction of vehicles featuring 5G M2M connectivity and advanced AI technologies, according to the latest findings from Techarc's India Connected Consumer Report 2025. The report said the automotive sector will skip 4G and will enable connectivity using the latest 5G cellular technology. It observed that consumers are interested in spending money on improving the value proposition in terms of features, quality and experience rather than exploring too many smart devices. "22 per cent of the respondents shared about considering optimising their smart devices portfolio. Among the new set of categories, smart/connected cars is generating high interest among consumers. 55 per cent of the respondents said that they have come across news or information about smart/connected cars in recent times," it said. Starting in 2025, passenger cars in India will be equipped with 5G M2M connectivity, on-device GenAI, and cloud connectivity, making advanced technologies accessible across various price segments, it added. In-vehicle computing and artificial intelligence (GenAI), along with cloud applications, will become essential components of cars, enabling real-time data processing to support drivers effectively. Most cars priced at Rs 20 lakh and above will feature these technologies as standard. The cumulative revenues from automotive chipset companies have already surpassed USD 1.5 billion, with companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek leading the market. Some of the familiar applications that consumers will be able to use while driving include communication apps for audio/video conferencing, OTT entertainment apps, music streaming, podcasts, online shopping, vehicle maintenance, and servicing. "With connectivity and the technologies it brings to the cars, the future of the automobile sector will be fundamentally determined by the auto-technologies that will influence the overall experience, performance, comfort, safety and entertainment available to the drivers as well as the passengers. "So far, such features were seen as luxury or high-end experiences. But starting 2025, many of these will become mainstream for cars in India," Techarc AutoTech Analyst Sadat Ahanger said. With 22 automobile manufacturers producing nearly 5 million passenger vehicles annually in India, the country is poised to become a leader in the global 5G M2M market within the next few years, the report said. About 21 per cent of respondents said MG Motors is the leader in providing <keyword id="24016739" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="connected-cars-in-India" source="keywords">connected cars in India</keyword>, followed closely by Kia Motors at 18 per cent and Tata Motors at 15 per cent, it added. Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki also ranked among the top-five brands in this category. The report draws insights from a survey of 4,500 "connected consumers" across metro and non-metro cities. The report defined a connected consumer as one owning at least 3 smart devices in addition to a smartphone.

India to shift to 'smartphone era' for cars embracing 5G, advanced AI in 2025: Report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Fast-moving fashion micro-trends on social media can drive impulsive spending.</li><li>Keeping up can also harm people's mental health and the environment, and mess with their style.</li></ul>In the fast-moving world of TikTok and Instagram, it can feel like there's a new fashion trend every time you swipe.A novel aesthetic or "-core" circulates on social media every few weeks, prompting consumers to buy in.Sometimes, it's a dress; other times, it's a top, a skirt, or a pair of boots. If an item is on the expensive side, there will be dupe options for less.But what fits into the "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-clothing-office-siren-business-casual-fashion-2024-8">office siren,</a>" "mob wife," or "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roundup-tiktok-style-trends-barbiecore-goblincore-2022-12#still-trending-normcore-is-around-for-the-long-haul-2">normcore</a>" aesthetic one minute is soon outdated, and it's time to buy whatever's next. These things that go out of fashion just as soon as they come in are known as micro-trends."It's not sustainable for your money, it's not sustainable for your mental health, and it's not sustainable for our environment," Ylva Baeckström, a psychotherapist and senior lecturer in finance at King's Business School in London, told Business Insider."It all adds up, and it becomes extremely stressful."<h2 id="4ec37053-21a8-4502-8907-7fa409b94078">'The perfect profitability storm'</h2>Fast fashion, social media, and retailers like Shein have together created "the perfect profitability storm for the businesses and influencers using them," said Anthony Miyazaki, a marketing professor at Florida International University."It's like watching a natural symbiosis where fast fashion producers drop the products, influencers create the buzz, TikTok and Instagram facilitate the sales, and the buyers swarm the marketplace," Miyazaki said.TikTok and Instagram did not respond to requests for comment.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-sell-on-tiktok-shop">TikTok Shop,</a> the app's e-commerce platform, has grown to more than 500,000 US-based sellers in eight months since launching, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/transparency/en-us/shop-safety-2023-2/">according to the company's Safety Report</a> released in April. It has around 15 million sellers worldwide.On average, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-is-betting-its-future-on-e-commerce-should-it-2024-7">US users who made TikTok Shop purchases</a> spent about $67 between mid-June and mid-July, compared to around $54 over a four-week period in January, per <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-shop-better-at-keeping-customers-than-temu-shein-2024-4">data</a> from Earnest Analytics, a research firm that tracks credit-card and debit-card transactions.TikTok takes a 2% commission plus 30 cents on every TikTok Shop transaction, and is planning to increase its cut to 8%, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tubefilter.com/2024/01/05/tiktok-shop-ecommerce-revenue-commission-price-hike/">Tubefilter reported</a>. The company does not disclose how much it has earned from its shopping platform, but individual sellers have been reported to have made <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://cosmeticsbusiness.com/made-by-mitchell-on-making-one-million-on-tik-tok-shop">over $1 million in a single day</a>.Sites like TikTok Shop often promote micro-trends to consumers. That has benefited the likes of the Chinese company Shein, which adds thousands of items to its store each day. It was valued at $66 billion in its latest fundraising round — an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessofapps.com/data/shein-statistics/">increase from $5 billion</a> in 2019. (Shein also did not respond to a comment request.)The power of influencers and algorithms on spending is huge. Elysia Berman, a content creator who makes videos about fashion, told BI she is paying off a large amount of credit card debt which she built up due to a shopping addiction fueled by social media.At the start of this year, Berman owed close to $48,000 and has cut that almost in half thanks to her commitment to the "no buy year" — a trend focused on reducing spending.Berman said she believes the cycle of micro-trends is a big problem, saying she spent a lot on clothes she didn't even like or wear."Micro-trends are meaningless without an understanding of your personal style," Berman said. "If you do not know yourself and your style, you are at risk of being caught up in the endless pursuit of trendiness and overspending."<h2 id="5d5c31f2-aa71-4fd0-a913-c6e69c3e5c01">Doom-spend or save?</h2>Along with social media algorithms, micro-trends are being fueled by the cycle of<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shoppers-are-doom-spending-to-cope-with-financial-stress-2023-11"> doom spending:</a> buying unnecessary stuff to feel better.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://newsroom.transunion.com/q2-2024-ciir/">Per an analysis from the credit reporting agency TransUnion</a>, the average debt per borrower in Q2 of 2024 in the US is $6,329 — an increase from $5,947 in Q2 last year.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/a-better-way-of-understanding-the-u-s-consumer-decomposing-retail-spending-by-household-income-20241011.html">Economists at the Federal Reserve</a> earlier this month found that inflation-adjusted spending on retail goods was up across the board compared to 2018.Baeckström, the finance lecturer, said impulse buying is all about feeling control "when everything else is out of control.""You might as well splash out on something that makes you feel better right now because it's hard to think about the long term when things are feeling a bit hopeless," she said.Dan Pallesen, a licensed clinical psychologist and financial advisor, told BI that following trends is part of being human."For our ancestors, keeping up with trends was a matter of life or death," he said. This was because not being part of the in-group put us at risk of rejection and thus in danger to the elements and predators."Fast forward to today, most of us are not in physical danger if we are not part of the in-group, but we still carry the same brain above our shoulders as those ancestors," Pallesen said.<h2 id="5c649480-8542-454e-bf5f-d4055e821462">A growing problem</h2>Most people can afford a few trendy pieces. But repeated, unconscious spending can soon snowball.Bill Ryze, a certified chartered financial consultant and a board advisor at the financial-services platform Fiona, told BI that frequent impulsive purchases can lead to maxed-out credit cards and high-interest debt."Continuous spending can lead to accumulating debt that can become overwhelming," Ryze said, "which could impact mental health and overall well-being."Julie Guntrip, the head of financial wellness at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/jenius-bank-review">Jenius Bank</a>, said young people are particularly susceptible, especially when they follow influencers who make a living getting others to buy things."While it's easy to get caught up in what others are doing, it's important to remember that not everything is as it seems on social media," she said.Guntrip recommended making a budget and developing a "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deinfluencing-is-the-anti-influencer-trend-rich-with-paradoxes-2023-1">de-influencing</a>" mindset — focusing on not buying things and the dopamine hit of saving money rather than spending it needlessly.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-micro-spending-on-concert-tickets-to-collectibles-2024-10">Gen Z's interest in micro-spending</a> could signify a shift — spending small amounts on collectibles and items that reflect their personal tastes and don't break the bank."Make it trendy not to buy things," Baeckström said. "Make it trendy to think about the sustainability of your consumption patterns, for you, and for the environment, and, of course, for your money."

Micro-trends are taking over social media, and keeping up can be really expensive

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Daze, a messaging app aimed at middle and high schoolers, has 187,000 people on its waitlist.</li><li>The app launches November 4 for iPhone and Android and its marketing videos went viral on TikTok.</li></ul>An upcoming messaging app for Gen Z looks a lot different than your typical iPhone or WhatsApp conversation.It's called Daze, and CEO Willem Simons told Business Insider that 187,000 people had joined the waitlist for early access ahead of the app's launch next week.The app gained traction after the startup posted several viral TikToks that offered a glimpse at what a conversation on Daze can look like, filled with visually stimulating text strings with floating fonts in different shapes and sizes and interactive gifs.The videos drew millions of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@daze.chat/video/7415726395835469102?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7428319955400017438">views</a>. The emphasis on imaginative visuals was deliberate. Simons told BI that the app is aimed at middle schoolers and high schoolers. Of the 2,000 beta testers, Simons said most fall between 13 to 22 years old. You have to be at least 13 years old to sign up.Simons said he was partly inspired to create an interactive app by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-fighting-loneliness-making-friends-book-run-social-clubs-2024-8">his own experience as a teen</a>. The 27-year-old, who has cofounded other startups, including the messaging app Muze, said he grew up in a somewhat rural environment and couldn't always be in person with friends."So we were hanging out largely through messengers and things like Skype," Simons said, adding that, "messaging is not just about utility, it's also about hanging out with people."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-most-accomplished-loneliest-generation-blame-parents-fault-2022-4">In middle school and high school</a>, Simons said people tend to have much larger groups of people they consistently communicate with. Once people get to college, they're hanging out a lot more in person, he said."Texting is still obviously a huge part of college culture," Simons said. "But I think high school is really at the core of what we're going for."Simons said people are resonating with Daze's promotional videos because of the relatable narrative portrayed in the videos. Simons said the videos show real-life scenarios of kids interacting, like a guy asking out a girl."It's using the format to illustrate it in this creative way," Simons said. Simons said that when social media and messaging platforms started out with apps like Tumblr, it was more "freeform." Then <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-history-dorm-room-photos-mark-zuckerberg">Facebook </a>came along and standardized communication with templates, and the rest of the internet followed suit, he said.There's increasing interest in "expressivity" again, the CEO said, and TikTok and Instagram stories are allowing people to lean into it. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/snapchat#:~:text=The%202%20social%20media%20apps,other%20platforms%2C%20Emarketer%20data%20shows.">Snapchat</a>, which is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-leans-away-ai-into-real-experiences-gen-z-social-2024-5">especially popular for kids and teens right now</a>, "captivates people because it's super casual," Simons said."I think with Daze, we've kind of taken that a step further where you can just send a silly photo or you can make a drawing or make little collage," Simons said. "So it feels even more casual and playful."The app will be free, and Simons said the startup plans to monetize by offering users the ability to pay to unlock animated text styles or image effect filters. It's an opportunity to integrate AI as well through various formats.Simons pointed to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wonkeekong/video/7423222171398425902">viral trend</a> of people squishing an image of somebody and said he sees a similar type of premium feature with Daze."So you could picture somebody paying a small amount to basically unlock the ability to apply those sorts of effects to photos," Simons said. "And then, it's like you send me a selfie, and I inflate it and you float away."Daze is launching at a time when it's difficult to convince people to change their texting habits and download a new app. An <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/consumers-using-installing-fewer-mobile-apps-they-settle-on-favorites">October 2023 report from Emarketer</a>, a sister company to Business Insider, said that smartphone users aren't downloading or using as many apps.The startup will need to convince people to try Daze over competitors like Snapchat and as tech giants like Apple and Google add features to their own messaging products, including AI-generated visuals like the upcoming <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-intelligence-coolest-new-ai-features-announced-wwdc-2024-6">"Genmoji,"</a> in an effort to retain their user base.Daze isn't necessarily trying to replace other apps though. Simons said he sees people using different messaging apps for different people in their lives, and he sees Daze being a place to connect with close friends. There isn't a need to use expressive features to message people like your doctor, he said.Simons envisions Daze eventually expanding into a larger social platform. For now, though, he said the startup is focused on making "something really cool" that attracts millions of users. As the company validates its market fit and gets more people on board, Simons said it will put more effort toward monetizing it.Daze launches November 4 for iPhone and Android.

Nearly 200,000 people are on the waitlist to try out a new Gen Z messaging app that launches next week

New Delhi: 78 per cent of consumers now prefer to do most of their banking digitally through <keyword id="19915384" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-apps" source="keywords">mobile apps</keyword> or websites, according to the Alkami report. This shift is part of a broader trend towards <keyword id="21227659" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cashless-transactions" source="keywords">cashless transactions</keyword> and <keyword id="21012835" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="contactless-payments" source="keywords">contactless payments</keyword>, which have become the default for many, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, nearly 80 per cent of financial institutions have seen an increase in cashless transactions over the past two years. This change has been accelerated by the pandemic, with many consumers opting for digital payments to avoid handling cash. About 60 per cent of these institutions noted that the volume of cashless transactions has surged by more than 20 per cent. Cashless payments aren't a new concept--personal checks and credit cards have been around for decades. However, today's digital payments, whether made through a smartphone, laptop, or tablet, are quickly becoming the standard. The convenience and safety of these transactions, especially in a post-pandemic world, have made them more popular than ever. Allison Cerra, Chief Marketing Officer at Alkami Technology, said, "The banking leaders of the future will be those that can harness data for the best use, gain a holistic view of their relationships, and meet the rapidly changing needs of digital consumers." With more people turning to <keyword id="20028215" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-banking" source="keywords">digital banking</keyword>, there's been a noticeable decline in the use of ATMs and checks. Chad Rogers, Executive Vice President at Connexus Credit Union, noted that even millennials are moving away from traditional banking methods. "What we're seeing, even with our millennial users, is that they're no longer ordering checks, or making cash withdrawals from our ATMs as we would expect. Instead, they are self-serving from home or wherever they are. They're moving money through our digital banking platform," he said. Interestingly, even though fewer people are visiting bank branches in person, their overall engagement with banks has increased. Thanks to the ease of mobile and <keyword id="19998466" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-banking" source="keywords">online banking</keyword>, customers are now interacting with their banks more frequently, often on a daily basis. While cashless transactions are on the rise, the adoption of cryptocurrency is growing more slowly. Around 21 per cent of financial institutions reported that their customers are asking for Bitcoin products and services. Although this is still a relatively small percentage, 35 per cent of banks believe that offering cryptocurrency options could give them a competitive edge. Banks are also feeling the heat from fintech companies like PayPal, Stripe, and Venmo. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has called these fintechs "enormous competitive threats" to traditional banking. The popularity of fintechs has only increased during the pandemic, with many consumers turning to these platforms for their financial needs. Despite the competition, some banks are partnering with fintechs to stay relevant. According to the report, 50 per cent of banks and 40 per cent of credit unions have teamed up with fintech companies in the past three years to enhance their digital offerings. Looking ahead, many experts believe that the future of banking will revolve around personalised experiences. However, only about a quarter of financial institutions are currently using hyperpersonalization to gain a competitive advantage. There's a growing opportunity for banks to leverage personalised recommendations and offers to better serve their customers. Data is also playing a crucial role in this digital transformation. Most banks are now using data analysis to improve customer experiences, guide decision-making, and reduce development time and costs. By unlocking the potential of customer data, banks can better anticipate their clients' needs and offer tailored solutions. Allison Cerra Chief Marketing Officer at Alkami Technology, said, "We are now at a place where technology has democratised financial advice and counsel. It is no longer just the privileged upper class who can afford to get financially fit and prepare for the future."

78 pc of consumers choose digital banking over cash transactions

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="21230020" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="weight-loss-drugs" source="keywords">Weight loss drugs</keyword> like <keyword id="19918897" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ozempic" source="keywords">Ozempic</keyword> are overtaking keto in popularity, a new report shows.</li><li><keyword id="20037811" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GLP-1-drugs" source="keywords">GLP-1 drugs</keyword> lead to significant weight loss and are changing consumer habits.</li></ul>Hold the butter — the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weight-loss-glp-1-drugs-ozempic-wegovy-mounjaro-effects-future-2023-12">rise of weight loss medications</a> may be signaling an end to popular high-fat, <keyword id="21752741" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="low-carb-diet" source="keywords">low-carb diet</keyword> trends. Americans are now looking up Ozempic more frequently than keto on Google, according to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://newconsumer.com/2024/07/introducing-the-consumer-trends-2024-mid-year-report/">2024 mid-year Consumer Trends report</a> from The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital. The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/diet-nutrition/keto-diet">keto diet</a>, based on eating a whopping 70% to 80% of daily calories from fat sources and as little as 5% from carbs, has been a dominant force in the diet world for over a decade. Along the way, consumers' hunger for low-carb alternatives to their favorite treats has sparked a massive market of ostensibly better-for-you snacks, from zero-sugar candy to high-protein chips and cookies. The global market for keto products <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9312449/#b2-ms119_p0084">was valued at</a> more than $9 billion in 2019. But among Americans, interest appears to have stalled out in recent years: In surveys commissioned by the International Food Information Council, the share of self-identified dieters who reported following a keto or high-fat diet in the past year dropped to 4% in 2023 from 7% in 2022. At the same time, Ozempic has emerged — a brand name for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ozempic-treat-addiction-alzheimers-depression-2023-5">the drug semaglutide,</a> which has become the eponym for a class of medications called GLP-1s that can lead to unprecedented weight loss. As keto fades away, it's making room for a lucrative market catering to GLP-1 users' smaller but more refined appetites instead. <h2>Some doctors have called keto the worst diet for health</h2>Despite hitting its stride in the mid-2010s, the <keyword id="21521371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="keto-diet" source="keywords">keto diet</keyword> has been around for at least a century. Whether branded as Atkins, the Zone diet, or just called low-carb, keto promised that you could shed pounds and boost health by eating the foods conventional wisdom had forbidden, from juicy burgers with cheese to steaks slathered in butter. But for doctors, the potential weight loss boon comes with major caveats, prompting keto to earn the title of "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/keto-low-carb-diet-ranked-worst-healthy-eating-2022-1">worst diet for healthy eating</a>" several years in a row. Eating too much <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/diet-nutrition/saturated-vs-unsaturated-fat">saturated fat</a> and cholesterol has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and other illnesses. Consuming <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reducing-processed-meat-intake-lower-disease-risk-study-2024-7">processed meats</a> like sausages and ham has been tied to higher odds of developing cancer. Both saturated fat and processed meats are popular in low-carb diet variations like "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lazy-keto-diet-easier-to-follow-but-experts-dont-recommend-2021-6">dirty keto</a>," full of junk food. Still, the allure of losing weight while eating bacon and burgers has persisted, and research has uncovered <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/keto-diet-could-help-people-with-diabetes-control-blood-sugar-2020-12">promising benefits of low-carb diets</a> for controlling blood sugar levels, managing diabetes, and potentially aiding weight loss. <h2>Weight loss meds offer a new way to stop cravings and shed pounds</h2><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weight-loss-obesity-drug-fda-approved-wegovy-2021-6">Semaglutide</a>, the active ingredient in Ozempic, received FDA approval as a weight management treatment in 2021. Now, between 8 million to 20 million Americans are using some type of GLP-1 medication, according to estimates from The New Consumer report. There could be another 25 million to 50 million users over the next few years, the report suggests. GLP-1 drugs work for weight loss by mimicking various hormones that naturally occur in the human body and help regulate appetite. For patients, the medications help to combat "food noise," a persistent preoccupation with food and eating that can make long-term dieting difficult. GLP-1s can even make crave-able treats like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/semaglutide-ozempic-disgusted-favorite-foods-2022-11">fried foods or sweets seem less delicious</a>. As a result, weight loss drugs are changing the way we eat, and the food industry is taking note. GLP-1 users make up the biggest share of people trying <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ozempic-wegovy-users-about-to-get-own-frozen-foods-nestle-2024-5">new grocery products,</a> and they're more willing to splurge on expensive items, according to the recent trend report. The race is on among pharmaceutical companies to develop medications with even more powerful benefits and fewer side effects. <h2>But low-carb diets still have a major advantage over Ozempic</h2>While semaglutide and other GLP-1s have been called a "game changer" for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-weight-loss-meds-injections-compare-costs-results-side-effects">weight loss</a>, they're still largely unavailable to many people who might benefit. The medications can cost $1,000 or more a month, making affordability the biggest barrier for people seeking <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-ozempic-costs-with-insurance-2023-6">GLP-1 treatment</a>, followed by a lack of insurance coverage. Frequent shortages have also prompted a booming gray market for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-compounded-semaglutide-online-risks-wegovy-ozempic-2023-1">compounded GLP-1s</a>, which the FDA has warned can be ineffective and potentially risky. Even the brand name drugs come with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mounjaro-vs-ozempic-side-effects-2023-5">side effects</a>, most commonly mild to moderate symptoms like nausea or vomiting. In contrast, a major draw of low-carb diets has always been ease of access, offering a means for people to try fixing their health at home without a doctor's visit, dietitian-approved meal plan, or calorie-counting app. Combined with an emerging trend of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doctor-shares-foods-prescribed-to-fight-disease-2024-5">food-as-medicine</a>, tackling health issues at the grocery store instead of the pharmacy is still attractive to many people. Ozempic's star is still rising, but as long as the steep costs and healthcare hurdles persist, low-carb diets are likely to linger, even if only on the fringes. Correction: July 24, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misrepresented a keto-related finding of a survey. The survey, from the International Food Information Council, found that the share of respondents who said they'd followed a keto diet fell by 3 percentage points, to 4%, from 2022 to 2023; it did not fall by 4% in 2023.

Forget keto — Ozempic might finally kill the low-carb diet trend 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Capsule aims to revolutionize shopping with an interactive app for on-demand product discovery.</li><li>The app uses computer vision and generative AI to identify and recreate products globally.</li></ul>The way we shop is in for a revolution.Instead of walking into a store, browsing a catalog, or scanning the web for your favorite brands, imagine being able to shop just like you'd identify a song with the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/what-is-shazam#:~:text=Become%20an%20Insider%20and%20start,short%20sample%20of%20their%20audio.">music discovery app Shazam </a>— on demand, whenever, and wherever you're located. That's the vision behind the interactive shopping app Capsule.The e-commerce world has seen this concept before. In 2019, Amazon unveiled <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-launches-shazam-for-clothes-2019-6">StyleSnap, an AI-driven tool</a> that matched fashion photos users uploaded with products on its site. Brands like Asos, Wayfair, and Target have launched similar tools that rely on computer vision and deep learning algorithms to identify styles, shapes, and patterns from pictures.But Capsule's goal is more ambitious and far-reaching: It aims to become the default destination for online shopping. Instead of relying on its inventory or partnerships with other brands, the company scrapes data from some 20,000 websites nightly, ingests it, and uses it to power its product index.Capsule cofounder and CEO Michele Van Ruiten told Business Insider that its mapping out women's fashion, intending to own the space within two to a half years. Its eventual goal is to "create a universal horizontal data layer of commerce that exists above the internet," Van Ruiten said. "This data layer understands products, every shoppable product globally, what it is, who sells it, what it's made of, and its resale value."So, consumers will no longer need to conduct laborious online searches for a specific pair of heels or a water bottle. "A single search considers everything online," Van Ruiten said.<h2 id="e53b8a84-5b1e-4da1-a726-2ace3df2072b">Snap a picture, buy the dress</h2><div type="image" title="Capsule user guide" height="1050" width="2478" msid="112444035" hostid="261" sizebytes="93000"></div>In practice, Capsule works a bit like a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-images">Google reverse image search</a> on hyperdrive. Users simply take a picture of a product — whether that's an actor wearing a dress they like or a pair of shoes they've spotted in a store window — and upload it to the app, and it will show them the item, along with other, similar, shoppable styles.The company uses computer vision models to infer details about the items in its catalog, compare products to one another, and connect identical items.Beyond the image search, Capsule can also recommend a personalized color wheel for users based on their skin, eyes, and hair, using proprietary algorithms. It also allows users to augment their searches with generative AI. So, if they upload a picture of a white shirt but want to see it in colors not offered by the brand that makes the shirt, Capsule uses generative AI to recreate it in new colors, allowing users to search for options from other brands.Last month, Capsule also launched a new text search feature in beta that allows users to search for clothes based on a concept they have in mind — whether that's just a "simple white t-shirt" or "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sex-and-the-city-surprising-fun-facts">Carrie Bradshaw</a>-inspired dress" — rather than a specific picture.Eventually, Capsule plans to share data on what users are searching for or how they're augmenting products with brands to drive new product designs. It'll need to accrue a few million more users before then, but Van Ruiten said the company is already able to forecast trends before they hit apps like Pinterest or called out by fashion magazines like Vogue.It's paving the way for a new way of shopping that's driven by the consumer.Consumers are shifting away from "wanting to replicate things they see online in a one-to-one way," Van Ruiten said. The average Gen Z shopper, especially, finds fashion inspiration in tons of places across the virtual world — from brands to influencers to viral trends. So they're starting to see apps like Capsule as a place "where their own creativity could put them at the helm of product discovery," she said.

This new 'Shazam' for fashion app could change the way the world shops online

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gen Zers are bored of traditional dating apps, thinking they're no fun anymore.</li><li>Wingman's CEO Tina Wilson has introduced voice notes from friends to attract Zoomer users.</li></ul>Gen Zers <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.vox.com/technology/23665101/voice-message-whatsapp-apple-text">love a voice note</a>. And one dating app CEO is jumping on the trend.Tina Wilson, the CEO and founder of Wingman, said her app has a clear USP. It puts the success of your dating life in the hands of your friends or family, who create your profile for you.Your friends can then leave raving reviews to help get willing singletons to date you.The company also introduced voice notes, where friends or family leave an audio message about why their chosen bachelor or bachelorette is worthy of a chance.Focus groups with Zoomer users of Wingman suggest this is a hit, Wilson said, partly because they are turning away from some of the more traditional dating apps."The business model of some of these things is that they want to keep you single because as soon as you leave, then they lose you," Wilson said.Many Gen Zers have been on social media since they were tweens, and by the time they reached dating age, they were jaded."They demand authenticity," Wilson said. "For me it was like, how do we deliver something that's authentic and quick and easy to use, but also with the insight of helping somebody else?"<h2 id="2d2625f5-df39-4011-a3c2-64e06eb78abc">Dating used to be fun</h2>Many people believe dating apps aren't fun anymore. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/health/dating/dating-app-fatigue/">A Forbes Health survey</a> earlier this year of 1,000 Americans found that 79% of Gen Z respondents said they were experiencing dating app burnout.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1358185/us-online-dating-users-by-age">According to Statista data</a>, people aged 18-29 now make up only 26% of online dating service users in the US.Generally, the apps have lost touch with younger users, who think some of their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-rizz-first-redesign-gen-z-online-dating-apps-2023-11">marketing ploys are cringe-worthy.</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bumble-billboard-ads-celibacy-not-answer-dating-backlash-tiktok-2024-5">The great "Bumble fumble" of 2024</a>, for example, where the company put up billboards that seemed to poke fun at celibacy, was considered a massive misstep many young users have yet to forgive.Some say older apps miss the point of what made them fun in the first place — <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-hinge-okcupid-operator-match-sued-making-dating-apps-addictive-2024-2">going after profits</a> rather than real connections."We've just turned dating into more work," Anna Pompilio, a senior cultural strategist at the brand design agency Marks, told BI. "Dating is not always fun, but that was an unfortunate byproduct of dating. Now, dating is baseline unfun, and if you can get a few nice dates out of it, that's actually the byproduct."Some Zoomers are switching things up and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-virtual-first-dates-high-cost-of-living-2024-4">meeting virtually for first dates</a> to save time and money or wading <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-zers-are-leading-a-sober-dating-revolution-2024-7">into the dating world sober</a>.Others are opting for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-dating-trend-online-apps-friends-romantic-partners-relationships-2023-3">more traditional means of finding a match</a>, like hanging out in cafés and bars alone or being set up with friends of friends.The trend seems to be leaving apps struggling. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/05/dating-apps-college-students-tinder-bumble">An Axios poll</a> last year of 978 American students found that 79% of respondents didn't use a dating app even once a month.Shares in Match Group, which owns some of the big hitters, including Tinder, Hinge, and Match.com, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/content/d01eb409-10c4-5982-a80c-22b65c50f0df">fell 68% between 2020 and this summer</a> amid the dwindling number of paying users. The company also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0xj08l9055o">announced layoffs in July</a>."People are just actively trying to put themselves back into the real world again," Pompilio said. "And that's more fun."<h2 id="60860a11-13c1-4b81-81ef-e44e7259bc1f">The karmic reward of having a wingman</h2>Wilson agreed that many dating apps lack the energy they used to have, which is why she thinks the voice note feature has been popular with younger users, both in focus groups and with Gen Zers who use the app (a recent poll of 500 Wingman users found that 69% of Gen Zers used the voice note feature).However, Wilson said meeting with other industry "bigwigs" before Wingman's launch in 2017 was a bit disheartening because they told her the concept of friends setting up dates would never work."They were like, no one will spend time helping another person," she said. "Fundamentally, people are too selfish, and unless there's something in it for them, they're not going to do it. And I was just like, 'Well, you must just have horrible friends.'"Wilson believes these founders were wrong because Gen Zers enjoy the "karmic reward" of Wingman."As cheesy as it sounds, people are repaying kindness by being kind themselves," she said. "Even if they're doing it for fun or banter, there's something to be said for wanting to lend a hand or doing that part of somebody else's journey."Having somebody else answer questions about your life leans into the authenticity Gen Z craves because it gives a better snapshot of who you are as a whole, "rather than this very polite, curated voice, which doesn't actually tell you very much about the person," Wilson said.Wilson said that someone's friendship group tells you a lot about who they are as a person, and she wanted to tap into that."It's like somebody grabbing a mic and saying, let me talk about my mate," she said.Having a matching sense of humor is also vital in a relationship, and that doesn't always come across in a traditional profile."Lots of the voice notes, they want to throw them under the bus, but they do it with kindness," Wilson said. "One of my favorite profiles was a sister writing about her brother saying, I don't know why my brother Dylan says he's six foot because he's not. He's 5' 10" with a Cuban heel."Another woman posted a voice note saying her friend had a "banging set of baps.""Someone might listen to that crack up laughing and be like, oh yeah, that's my vibe," Wilson said. "But if somebody is offended by that and offended by someone's friend, chances are they're not your person."Of course, the quality of your reviews depends on the quality of your friends. Some may be tempted to lie or exaggerate to land their friend a date, or others may take jokes too far, leading their buddy to attract the wrong type of person.Overall, Wilson thinks having a "wingman" encourages better dating etiquette because someone is watching.Social media is full of young people who complain about their dates being a waste of time because the other person wasn't how they imagined or they didn't show up at all. Some report their dates becoming abusive if things don't go their way.There's also something charming about getting a glowing review from your grandmother, as one college student recently did."He got so much engagement," Wilson said. "All the girls were swooning."

Gen Zers don't think dating apps are fun anymore, but this CEO thinks she's cracked the code

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Duolingo has posted its fifth straight profitable quarter.</li><li>Its user growth in the past year could be attributed to its marketing tactics.</li></ul>Gen Z's favorite language-learning app is on a streak of its own.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/duolingo-lays-off-workers-ai-tools-2024-1">Duolingo</a> just posted its fifth straight profitable quarter. It posted a net income of $24.4 million, an over 500% increase compared to the same period last year. Daily active users, one of the company's most important metrics, grew 59%, while paid subscribers grew by 52%, the company said in its second-quarter earnings report."We also achieved two milestones: surpassing 100 million monthly active users, and reaching 8 million paying subscribers," Luis von Ahn, the company's CEO, said in an earnings call on Wednesday.The company's stock gained about 5.5% in after hours trading.<h2 id="a3485be3-7784-4c46-9f78-e7ce779a2049">A very specific marketing approach</h2>Duolingo's user growth in the past year could be attributed to its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/duolingo-will-run-its-first-super-bowl-ad-2023-12">marketing tactics.</a>The company is famous for its guilt-inducing in-app and email marketing messages, asking users to continue their learning on the app. Despite their controversial nature, experts think it's the right approach for gen Z users."They're looking for something that comes across more like a person," Brian Honigman, a marketing consultant based in Philadelphia, told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/duolingo-meanest-app-nagging-notifications-melting-icon-gen-z-marketing-2024-7">Business Insider last month</a>. "Duolingo does a fantastic job of not coming across like many other brands."The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/duolingo-meanest-app-nagging-notifications-melting-icon-gen-z-marketing-2024-7">app's iconic green owl mascot</a> is also perceived as authentic and consistent by users. Whether it's on TV or Youtube ads, or on TikTok, where Duolingo has over 12.5 million followers, the owl displays its smug and hilarious personality.The mascot and the Duolingo app alike have become a cultural icon, making appearances in user-generated content and even <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barbie-details-references-easter-eggs-missed-2023-7">Hollywood</a>."Our signature 'ding' was featured in the '<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-did-barbie-spend-marketing-box-office-success-explained-2023-7">Barbie' movie</a>, providing an incredible brand boost, and in many ways, that was indicative of our commanding presence in the zeitgeist last year," Matt Skaruppa, Duolingo's chief financial officer, said in the call.The brand is also doubling down on country-specific marketing.Duolingo's social media accounts in India, Germany, and France feature content based on viral memes, news events, and social media trends, amassing <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.instagram.com/duolingodeutschland/?hl=en">hundreds of thousands</a> of followers in each country.But the app's success on social media has not been enough to calm investors.It beat analyst expectations when it reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings in February, but missed them in the March quarter and saw shares slip because it gained new users at the slowest rate since 2022.Duolingo stock is down over 24% year to date.

One of Gen Z's favorite apps just had a very strong quarter

<ul class="summary-list"><li>More TikTok users are using the app to find their next vacation, the company's travel lead told BI.</li><li>Companies have leveraged the destination dupes trend, promoting alternatives like Bruges over Paris.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-ban-explainer-bill-courts-2024-4">TikTok</a> is helping travelers find new places for a vacation as users increasingly use the app for search rather than just scrolling for entertainment.That's according to Hannah Bennett, the travel lead in TikTok's global business solutions team. "People are now really leaning into TikTok to search for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-trips-to-book-for-2024-underrated-destinations-travel-planner">the next destination</a>, where to travel, and who to fly with," she told Business Insider.Bennett said that since 2021, TikTok has seen a fivefold increase in views of travel content. In a survey of UK users last year, 82% said the app inspired them to consider new destinations.Bennett told BI the "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-2024-destination-dupes-according-to-intrepid-travel-2024-5">destination dupes"</a> trend has been noticeable, with users interested in a location that's "not completely off the beaten track, but somewhere that's a little bit more undiscovered."Travel companies like Booking.com and Expedia have been leaning into the travel dupe hype with videos on the app promoting <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-tourist-cities-alternatives-2017-6">alternative destinations</a>. As examples, Bennett pointed to people choosing to visit Albania or <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millionaire-lifestyle-montenegro-yachts-luxury-photos-2019-4">Montenegro</a> instead of Greece or Italy, or the Slovenian capital <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-european-cities-according-to-frequent-traveler-2024-4">Ljubljana</a> instead of Prague. Taipei and Zanzibar have also recently seen more traction, she added.A record 6.19 million people visited Slovenia last year, and the Zanzibari government's most recent statistics show a 66% increase between February 2022 and this year.Airlines have also been taking advantage of TikTok's popularity.Bennett recalled how <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ryanair-easyjet-wizz-europes-budget-airlines-compared-2024-5">easyJet</a> capitalized on the virality of scenes from "Airline" — a reality TV show about the budget airline — by reconnecting with its former operations manager Jane Boulton to make a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@easyjet/video/7315094126217743648">video</a> for TikTok.She also said she liked how <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-airways-first-class-learned-how-to-be-cabin-crew-2023-4">British Airways</a> "championed their crew" in videos, making the company more personable. "We've focused very much as a company on the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-shop-better-at-keeping-customers-than-temu-shein-2024-4">e-commerce side</a>, and now we're able to really lean into travel as we continue to see that steady growth following COVID," Bennett told BI.Booking a holiday isn't an option on TikTok Shop, but she said the app will "dynamically serve you the destination that we think you would like based on the algorithm.""So the ultimate purchase will happen on the brand's website, but we'd be able to track that and optimize toward it, which is the next step for our brand conversations."

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