Micro-trends are cheap, stylish fashion items that are designed to last until the end of the current season and are often born from the screens of social media. These looks tend to disappear from storefronts as quickly as they entered, resulting in consumers constantly turning to their feeds in search of the newest designs.

  “I’d say that although my fashion choices are inspired by friends, designers, and people I see while out and about, online trends definitely influence my fashion choices, even on a subconscious level,” said Brenden Pollock, a graduate student at Columbia University. “Even if it’s not necessarily a part of a trend, repeatedly seeing types of pieces and brands that influencers are wearing and posting online introduces me to brands and styles I was once unfamiliar with and expands my idea of what is fashionable.”

 Online clothing companies such as SHEIN and AliExpress have risen to popularity for their inexpensive, low-quality outfits that are often on-trend with the latest season. Fast fashion corporations often offer items that are made of nylon and polyester, resulting in clothing that will not survive long term wear.

 These fast-moving, disposable micro-trends have created a reckoning within the fashion industry and the issue of sustainability. According to The World Bank, 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are created from footwear and clothing production, resulting in massive amounts of items ending up in landfills. 

 An interview with SHEIN CMO Molly Mio and published by Forbes revealed that the store “drops 700-1,000 new styles daily”, creating a revolving door of low-quality goods that often end up in the trash before consumers can wear them. 

According to the UNEP, “if demographic and lifestyle patterns continue as they are now, global consumption of apparel will rise from 62 million metric tons in 2019 to 102 million tons in 10 years”.

“I buy online. I don’t thrift too much,” said NYU freshman Hannah Choi. “I feel like because of the pandemic I’ve done a lot of online shopping. But it’s hard to find online stores that I trust, since some can have bad quality things.”

NYU freshman and Manhattan resident Hannah Choi shows off her TikTok-inspired manicure at Washington Square Park on Sunday, Sept. 12. Photo by Julia Bonavita

But it is impossible to deny the vast number of micro-trends that have been curated from the endless ‘For You Page’ on TikTok. Fashion icons, such as Gucci, Dior and Nike, boast a combined 4.6 million followers on the platform, showcasing the need for luxury brands to cater to the Gen Z audience. 

 Articles have surfaced with predictions of what looks will be “must-haves” for Fall 2021, and storefronts along New York City’s iconic SoHo are already boasting platform loafers, flare jeans, and blazers – all items that were first seen on TikTok’s fashion influencers. 

  “I like the styles I see on TikTok and I wish I could dress like that, it’s just hard to keep up with,” said NYU freshman Ali Chioffi. 

 With terms like “cheugy” – something that was once stylish but no longer is – and “camp” – outrageous fashion – floating around the internet, consumers are often faced with the decision to participate in fast fashion and micro-trends or be labeled as “out of style”. 

 However, many brands are encouraging consumers to shop sustainably, with current trends in mind. Harper’s Bazaar’s “10 Simple Steps to Being More Sustainable” urges buyers to shop for trans-seasonal clothing, learn how to maintain items and donate unwanted clothes, in an effort to reduce fashion waste. 

  “I like to incorporate trends with my own l interests to create a more individual sense of style. When I shop, I would buy something that I like even if others don’t get it or dislike it,” said Pollock.

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Ernesto Xavier, a Black actor, anthropologist and editor in chief of GQ Magazine in Brazil often posts in social media about race. His posts are getting more hits than ever.

“The difference is remarkable,” he said. “Because of the Black Lives Matters protests in Brazil, I gained 2,000 followers from one day to another. People seem to have woken up.” 

The legacy of racism in Brazil has been brutal.

The country’s population is  of 55.8 percent black and “pardo” (brown skinned) people. According to official numbers of a Brazil’s human rights report hotline, 615 complaints related to racism were registered in 2018.  Racism is considered illegal in the Brazilian constitution,  but the evidence of rampant racism in the country are overwhelming.

“It is important to follow the news to know if we are being discriminated against,” said journalist, Silvandira Costa. “We must know our rights so that we can pursue justice and a better future, consequently. It’s sad that this movement is only happening now after the death of George Floyd, but it’s better to happen now than not to happen at all. We can’t breathe.”

Brazil enslaved more than four million Africans.   That’s ten times more than the number of slaves brought to the U.S. and raced based inequalities are deeply felt by its Black citizens. 

Black people were seen as possession because of slavery,” Xavier said. “There were several public policies to eliminate us [Blacks] and to whiten the population, like when Portugal brought Europeans and gave them land in Brazil to populate the country. White people were the ones who created the term “negro.” 

The same issues that plague African American can be found in this majority Black country, ruled by a white president. Blacks make up 64 percent of the prison population, earn 57 percent less than whites and suffer from police brutality. Access to education, jobs, and income inequality also mirror the problems African Americans face in the U.S.

“Just a few years ago, when I went into stores, shop assistants used to follow me every time, afraid that I would steal something because I’m black,” said Silvandira Costa, a retired  housemaid. “I have also suffered several types of discriminations because of my skin color in several other situations in Brazil.”  

Dr. Luiz Herculano, a Portuguese professor at the Federal University in Santa Catarina, has also experienced racism. While traveling on behalf of the congress to Columbia, he was met with scrutiny at the airport.

“She triple checked my passport and all of my documentation when I was checking in,” he said. “She was not used to seeing a Black man travelling on business class, so she was suspicious.”

And because of poor health care, people are contracting and dying of COVID-19 in far greater numbers than whites. Brazil is quickly emerging as the next epicenter of the virus and expected to surpass the U.S.

“Racism is a system of oppression that kills, discriminates and maintains white privilege,” said journalist, Sayonara Oliveira. “It prevents Black people from having a job, opportunities, a place at a university or even be morally or physically abused.”

Xavier said the fight against racism is everyone’s fight. 

“People don’t realize that racism impacts all social relations in society,” he said.  “If a country has a significant level of poverty, or criminality, or low levels of education, it affects everyone. To recognize white privilege is a question of humanity and civility.”

 Brazil’s black citizens have long suffered from systematic racism  which  means racism is essentially everywhere in their lives, from lack of representation in big corporations, universities, housing and in every aspect of Black life. Racist jokes are also a common practice in Brazil. 

“We are often referred to in racist jokes so that we won’t reach the top,” Herculano said. “You inferiorize in order to maintain a white domination and privilege.” 

He said in Brazil, the deaths of Black people and children, such as Agatha and João Pedro have shown that black people are often not treated as citizens in the country.

But Oliveira, is  hopeful that because of the attention on racism now, will mean a better future. 

“I’m seeing a lot of white people who never showed any interest in racism asking me about it,” she said. “Friends are asking me for book recommendations , my opinions on certain matters. I’m optimistic that the future holds a better situation for Black people in Brazil.”

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Created both by amateurs and professionals, a vast collection of artworks rapidly spread on social media with hashtags such as #blacklivesmatter, #georgefloyd, #icantbreathe, #saytheirnames and #BLM.

Abby Zeciroski, 44, a Chicago based artist, combines traditional print images, digital scans and painting to present her views on segregation. 

Zeciroski has also been an activist in Chicago for LGBT rights, police brutality, the drug war, animal rights for more than 20 years.

“In my city, there are invisible walls,” Zeciroski said. “I want people to go beyond slogans. I want people to realize that all my art is interconnected.”

Emily, 20, painted a portrait of George Floyd’s face with his last words “I can’t breathe” and got almost four thousand likes on Instagram. She said that social media platforms enable young artists like her to deliver their messages to the world faster than ever.

“The fact that I posted a painting of George Floyd and someone knew him saw it and thanked me for it, It blew my mind,” Emily said. “I’m so happy that I am part of this movement now.”

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With teens checking their phones over 150 times per day, the younger generation is consuming news in a very different way than their parents.

For teens, much of that time is spent on social media apps. A national survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research stated that 75% of American teens are on Snapchat, a messaging app that has evolved into many users’ source for news and entertainment.

“I get my news on Snapchat, while I’m discovering people,” Jake Gomez, 15, said. “My mom, she be watching the news and she be on TV and stuff.”

Josie Murmann, 15, and a student at the United Nations International School, noticed the same generational gap. She said that most of her peers used Snapchat as their main news source, and that none of them watched the evening news as their parents did.

“I watch it (Snapchat) because it’s so short, and it gives me enough information that I can actually talk about the news,” Murmann said. “They just get to the point really quickly.

In 2015, Snapchat introduced their Discover feed, which mixes hard news content with entertainment and celebrity updates. Featuring content from major news outlets, it appeals to younger generations because it’s of it’s short and direct nature.

“The media is all about eye-catching things at this point, so they (Snapchat) focus on the things that you want to hear and they say it really quickly,” Murmann said. “That’s why I think a lot of kids my age actually listen to it.”

According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, the percentage of Snapchat users who get their news from the app increased from 17% to 27% between 2016 and 2017. Competitors such as Facebook and Instagram are also major news sources for teens, but experienced much smaller increases over this same time period. The jump for Snapchat followed an update that aimed at giving the Discover page an even more prominent and distinct role within the app. The new and improved feed placed news sources next to a variety of other engaging content,   which drives increased engagement among young users.

“They make it easy to understand,” Chris Jake, 15, said when speaking about why he prefers Snapchat over other apps. “There’s a bunch of channels that you can watch on Youtube and stuff, but on Snapchat you don’t have to watch a whole 25 minute video. It’s just the the basics.”

Emerson College professor, Vincent Raynauld, has studied social media and journalism and observed several trends among teens regarding how they get their news. It turns out, the “how,” “when,” and “why” of teens consuming news are all different from their parents’ generation.

“Teens increasingly rely on mobile media,” Raynauld said. “The second thing that’s important to keep in mind, is that they tend to provide bite-sized information. So, it’s less about long-form articles and its much more about bite-sized pieces of information.”

Raynauld noted a contrast between parents watching the news while sitting down at home, and students consuming the news through the same platforms they use throughout the day for socializing. According to Raynauld, teens are checking their phones from the very first moment that they wake up.

“When you look at Snapchat, there’s an overlap between the social and the news,” said Raynauld. “Now, with the news organizations, it’s less about delivering content but it’s more about delivering content that will fit well within the social life of news consumers.”

 Successful news sources that are unique to Snapchat, such as MSNBC’s Stay Tuned, have been careful to keep these trends in mind. With up to 35 million unique viewers per day, and 75% of those being under the age of 25, Stay Tuned appeals to young consumers by adapting their content accordingly. According to Raynauld, the key to success for modern news sources is cracking the news feed.

“So, what you want to do as a news organization is be able to penetrate that daily media routine,” said Raynauld. “By, for example, enticing these news consumers to subscribe and add them to their feed.”

With over 4 million subscribers and counting, Stay Tuned has succeeded in that goal. Targeting teens through style and strategy, they have reached young viewers in a way that traditional news sources are unable to. According to the executive producer, Andrew Springer, Stay  Tuned takes aim at younger consumers by having their hosts speak with casual language, keeping the reports concise, and including catchy titles and pictures. It’s these kinds of strategies that have driven it’s success over competitors such as CNN’s failed show called The Update, which flopped in under 5 months.

Despite differing sources, students and parents are still able to discuss top stories and current events. Traditional news sources like the New York Times and the Economist now offer mediums for every generation, from the touch screen to the printed page.

“We find out about [new stories] in different ways, but then we talk about them a lot at home all together,” said Cesaretti. “So in the end we all have the same information.”

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Members of DreamActivist.org and other supporters of the DREAM Act shut down Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, Calif. during a demonstration in May, 2010. Photo Courtesy of DreamActivist.org.

Juan Escalante discovered that he was undocumented in 2007. While he was applying to college, his mother revealed to him that his family’s visas had expired.

“My world just kind of shrunk in perspective,” he said. “I fell into a depression and I didn’t go to school that fall.”

Escalante and his family immigrated to the United States from Caracas, Venezuela in the year 2000 after his father was granted a work visa. Working with lawyers, the Escalante family was on their way to making a permanent transition to life in Miami, Florida.

“Our lawyers said we didn’t need to renew our visas anymore, that they could get us a legal permanent residence,” said Escalante, 23. “So we didn’t renew, thinking it was the best decision we could make, but guess what? Our application was denied and our case was closed without appeal because of our lawyer’s negligence. That’s why I’m trapped in this circle. We just fell into this grey area in immigration.”

Escalante, 23, said he turned to the Internet as a way to ease his mind and answer questions regarding his immigration status.

“My parents had some of the answers but they were very reluctant to explain the gravity of the situation to me, it was as if they were ashamed—like they had failed me,” he said.

Escalante found a forum, dreamact.info, which provides resources for undocumented youth. The site planned to expand and launch a national resource center after the failure of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act that fall in 2007.

“It just seemed so captivating to me, and I said I’ll become involved and volunteer,” he said. “The mindset was to allow a space for people who come to us, anonymous or otherwise, to give them the information or provide them with some sort of avenue to provide the information with no risk and without asking any questions.”
As social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have gained prominence in the public eye, Escalante and others like him have turned to the Internet as a platform to spread immigrant rights activism and awareness. Escalante is currently a part of DreamActivist.org, an online resource network by and for undocumented youth.

“The more I got involved with it, the more I gained an appreciation for this whole idea, or notion that we are able to use technology to spread a social movement without a huge budget or without us trying to cross every state,” he said.

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Escalante on online networks

The web site encourages undocumented youth to tell their story, while providing information and applications for immigration legislation such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which grants work permits to qualifying undocumented youth and allows them to remain in the United States for a limited period of time. Unlike the DREAM Act, which would provide a path towards permanent residency, DACA provides reprieve for only two years after an individual’s date of approval. After two years, individuals must apply to renew their deferred action status.

As President Obama and a bipartisan group of senators prepare a plan for immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants, immigrant rights organizations are using social media as a tool to quickly connect the undocumented community on a national scale.

“We use social media very intensely,” said Celso Mireles, online strategy coordinator for United We Dream, the largest national network for undocumented youth. “One of the main things we engage people through in social media is the End Our Pain program.”

The program draws mobilization online to call attention to current deportation cases with the intent of stopping undocumented youth from being deported. The web site features a case questionnaire and application where undocumented persons detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can seek to have United We Dream take on their case.

Mireles said the program is just one example of the power of online networks. Last month, when the mother and brother of prominent immigrant activist Erika Andiola were detained by ICE, the immigrant rights community quickly mobilized online to call on the agency to release her family using Twitter hashtags #weareandiola and #somosandiola to call attention to her case. Andiola’s family members were released promptly the next day.

Mireles, who just received deferred action, added that while there was some vulnerability in sharing your immigration status online, the risks were outweighed by the benefits.

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Mireles on being undocumented and unafraid

“Because she was so prominent in the DREAM movement she was able to mobilize a national network,” said Mireles. “I think without social media that would not have happened.”

“At the end of the day that the network we have built knows who you are and if something were to happen to you, that would act as a safety net should you be picked up,” said Escalante.

Audio3-EscalanteandAndiola

Escalante on Andiola and social media

Escalante added that the benefits of an online community went beyond the practical; there was a huge emotional component as well.

“A lot of times what people forget is that we use this as a coping mechanism, or at least we used to in the beginning because we didn’t know another undocumented person,” said Escalante. “We didn’t have network of support, it was actually very hard. Social media was kind of their for you.”

When Escalante first became involved with immigration rights forums and later Dream Activist, he was faced with his own dilemma on how much of his identity to share.

“In 2008 I started using my first name, in 2009 I started using my first and last name but I never alluded to the fact that I was undocumented,” he said. “By 2011 I was so sick and tired of trying to explain to people who I am, who I was and why I was affected and said you know what, it’s really time for me to let this go and face the issue with a strong face.”

Audio4-Escalante-IamwhoIam
“I am who I am”

“There is that fear in the beginning of using your real name,” said Mireles. “I used a pseudonym in the beginning—I used Sergio. But we realized there’s more power in really being unafraid and that means letting people know who you are.”

Escalante said his decision has made him more confident.

“It goes back to that sense of confidence in the community that people crave often because you were silent, you were sitting in the shadows and not given a seat at the table, so for us to come out as undocumented and declare our status doesn’t just empower yourself and our community but also people who look up to you and aspire to help this movement,” he said.

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Taha Siddiqui, 28, features writer for The Express Tribune, Pakistan, writes mostly on human rights issues.

In 2002, Mukhtara Mai, a Pakistani woman from the village of Meerwala, was gang raped on the orders of a village council. The rape was ordered as punishment because her younger brother was said to have committed adultery with a woman from a higher-caste tribe.

Pedro Pizano, the Global Media Liaison for the Oslo Freedom Forum, said that as soon as he posted an article about Mai on his Facebook page, he was flooded with responses from all over the globe. He said by sharing posts online, women experiencing similar traumas can better identify with cases like that of Mai.

“Posting on the social media definitely drove a lot of traffic,” said Pizano.

Social media is increasingly being used as a tool in highlighting issues of women from the developing world. Through the use of photos, videos and blogs on Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook,Twitter and other social media sites, organizations and activists are engaging faster with readers and internet surfers.

“We have Twitter accounts in Spanish and English and use these to spread news,” Pizano said. “But those 140 characters have to be backed by a link such as an article, a photo or a survey or they don’t add any value to news.”

Audio_for_class.mp3

Pedro Pizano talks discusses the power of social media

According to a Reporters Without Borders annual index of the countries where freedom of expression does not exist – such as Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Pakistan and Iran – social media plays a central role by highlighting issues the mainstream media does not.

“In developing countries like Egypt and Syria, where there’s a lot of repression, it’s a powerful tool for people to reach out,” said Pizano.

A photo of ‘The Girl in the Blue Bra,’ a female protester beaten by Egyptian police during clashes in Cairo’s Tahrir Square last December, is on Pinterest, an online pinboard, where people organize and share photos of interest to them.

“When people see a powerful picture such as the girl in Egypt, it resonates with them,” said Nina Mandell, a reporter for the New York Daily News, who also covers social media. “We find out about a lot of stories in the developing world through Facebook.”

Mandell said she and her colleagues find Twitter to be the best way to find photos.

Taha Siddiqui, a features writer for the Express Tribune who covers human rights issues in Pakistan, said that at times he finds serious international issues only on tweets.

“Lots of times there are killings or violence in places like FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), where journalists are seen tweeting about news while it never makes it to mainstream media,” Siddiqui said. “Even if it is reported through unverified sources, it makes one feel there is more to it than what is being shown.”

Twitter and Facebook are increasingly being used to engage people and generate debates on issues of social relevance. Many NGOs now tweet about social events, fundraising and emergency situations.

“The increasing popularity of Twitter and Facebook has made people contact us from the third world,” said Caroline Berger, a website and social media administrator for Equality Now, a non-profit organization that addresses discrimination against women around the world. “Even if they don’t have Facebook for assistance, they send us an email and we use our social media platforms to bring attention to issues of discrimination and women’s rights.”

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The new Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon" offers Facebook users a chance to win show tickets. More productions are now using social media to broaden their audiences.

The Broadway shows “The Book of Mormon” and “Chicago” couldn’t be more different on the surface. One follows two mismatched Mormons on a mission and the other tells the story of murder, greed and the luster of celebrity in the jazz age through a series of Vaudeville inspired song and dance numbers.

Yet they do have one thing in common: Facebook and Twitter.

The two productions have both taken creative approaches to appeal to theater lovers and broaden their audiences. Reaching across the footlights to connect with patrons, both shows are getting noticed for the clever application of social networking tools.

Set to open this spring, “The Book of Mormon,” a new musical by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, as well as Tony Award winner Robert Lopez, is already making its presence known on popular social networking websites.

Freelance writer Matt Patches, 24, said his online connection with the production first began when the “The Book of Mormon” Twitter account came knocking.

“I only followed them because they followed me,” Patches said, referring to the site’s terminology for interacting with other users. “They’re really trying to push social media. I haven’t really seen others out there doing it the way that they have.”

Patches attended a special 25-minute preview performance of the production last month, after the show’s press representatives invited his news outlet, Collider, to stop by.

He said the invite was unusual and unexpected; Broadway shows rarely reach out to sites like Collider, which focuses on movies, television and tech content.

“There were some Broadway writers there that were covering their beat, but a lot of us cover humor and movies,” Patches said. “I think they’re saying to the non-theater people that ‘Hey, you can go see this show and it will be up your alley too.’”

Ian Klein, dramaturg and M.F.A. candidate at Columbia University, also attended the show preview. Moments after sharing his thoughts on his website, “The Book of Mormon” sprang into action via Twitter.

Ian Klein, dramaturg and M.F.A candidate at Columbia University, was one of many invited to a preview performance of "The Book of Mormon." Photo by Ryan Chavis.

“I went home that evening and I had taken notes and everything,” Klein, 25, said. “I wrote an article and within minutes it was picked up by “The Book of Mormon” Twitter feed – I think they really appreciated the content.”

“The Book of Mormon” social media campaign has implemented a game on Facebook that allows users to perform a set of daily tasks to earn points and ultimately spread word of the production with their friends online. The top 50 “missionaries” will receive two free tickets to the final dress rehearsal of the show Feb. 23.

On the other end of the musical spectrum, the revival of “Chicago” is proving that after 14 years on Broadway, it too can benefit from social media. The production offered a performance Jan. 30 for Facebook fans, free of charge.

But there was a catch: fans had to spread word of the show’s Facebook page with 10 friends in order to gain admission to the special performance.

Despite its age, “Chicago” is still kicking its legs sky high. The production announced earlier this month that Christie Brinkley would be joining the cast as murderess Roxie Hart, a message that was heralded on both its Twitter and Facebook accounts after Brinkley herself made the announcement on “Oprah.”

Still, Klein said, even with the creative latitude older shows have through social media, they can still be at a disadvantage.

“It’s easy for new shows to say ‘Yeah, we’re young, hip and with the times,’” he said. “But with the shows that have been running a long time, they need to constantly re-evaluate their marketing campaigns and that can be hard.”

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