Three Recs: February 28, 2024

Apple Vision Pro, a recommended newsletter, and a disturbing social media phenomenon

Hello there! I’m headed home to the Nashville area after a fun few days in Chicago with my colleagues. Man I love that city, even in the winter.

Below are some recent readings and such I’ve come across that I’d love to recommend to you!

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#1) These Are the Days

One of my work friends, Ashley Torres, started a newsletter, and I want to recommend it to you all! In her first newsletter, she reflects on “The Day That Scares You to Death.” Here’s a bit of what she wrote:

Who am I when my worst nightmare comes true? When pain and suffering come. When my heart is truly broken. Will I stay close to Him? Will I praise Him no matter what as I have always proclaimed I would?

I don’t know. I felt so close to knowing and it shook me. I guess it’s preparing me. On this day, I truly experienced and learned for the first time how helpless we are.

Go subscribe to Ashley! I am sure her writing will bless you.

#2) A Great Apple Vision Pro Review

Coming as no surprise to anyone who knows his work, Marques Brownlee posted some of the best content around the release of the Apple Vision Pro, and his main review (embedded below) is as good as any out there.

As self-confessed Apple fanboy (and investor), I’m intrigued by Apple Vision Pro. But, to this day, I have never used a VR headset, and I really have no desire to do so, outside of sheer curiosity. I maintain that, at this moment, “spatial computing,” and VR headsets are trying to solve problems that virtually no one has. Perhaps someday soon there will be some great use cases in healthcare or other such fields. But I don’t see myself buying anything like this until there is truly a killer app sort of experience that feels unmissable.

#3) A Marketplace of Girl Influencers Managed by Moms and Stalked by Men

A harrowing article at the New York Times on parents who seek stardom for their teenage girls and find something else entirely.

Thousands of accounts examined by The Times offer disturbing insights into how social media is reshaping childhood, especially for girls, with direct parental encouragement and involvement. Some parents are the driving force behind the sale of photos, exclusive chat sessions and even the girls’ worn leotards and cheer outfits to mostly unknown followers. The most devoted customers spend thousands of dollars nurturing the underage relationships.

The large audiences boosted by men can benefit the families, The Times found. The bigger followings look impressive to brands and bolster chances of getting discounts, products and other financial incentives, and the accounts themselves are rewarded by Instagram’s algorithm with greater visibility on the platform, which in turn attracts more followers.

Man. So sad.