With less than four months until the November election, the race is a fundamentally different one than it was just this spring.

Popular romance books promote and romanticize toxic and often abusive relationships, making them seem more normal and even desirable. However, choking, stalking, physical violence and other behaviors aren’t sexy; they’re dangerous and unhealthy.

Instead of wasting our summer playing video games or watching TikTok, let’s pick up a book and sit outside.

Known as “The Urban Rescue Ranch” on social media, Christie’s nonprofit has amassed 4.2 million TikTok followers, 2.92 million YouTube subscribers and 701,000 Instagram followers since 2020. The Urban Rescue Ranch is now doing business as Waco Wildlife Rescue and is looking for Baylor student volunteers to help with animal care and social media.

The pressure of being an influencer is hard to conceptualize. Imagine going viral for a “get ready with me” video and, only a few months later, being asked to share your opinion about controversial topics you know nothing about. As a society, putting this pressure on our favorite influencers does more harm than good and is setting them up for failure.

If your realization is that you really don’t know all that much about journalism, don’t worry — you’re not the only one. Mob mentality spreads like fire on the internet, and it’s all too easy to connect the negativity and offensiveness of what’s happening in our world to the source that reports it. But we ask you, please, don’t shoot the messenger.

With four songs that went “Unheard” until last week, Hozier released a new EP that does not disappoint.

Our generation loves to hate on iPad kids, when in reality, we’re all just iPhone adults. How many times a week do you sit down on the couch, open TikTok and start scrolling? When you finally snap back into consciousness, three hours have passed — and you haven’t moved a muscle besides your thumbs. It’s an endless cycle known as “doom scrolling,” and I believe this phenomenon is killing not only our time but also our creativity.

“I just say bring back Vine,” Carlsbad, Calif., sophomore Camille True said as she expressed how complicated and problematic current social media apps like TikTok have become.

Over the past five to 10 years, I have witnessed a phenomenon: anime, the treasure I used to hold so dear to me, is beginning to spread nationwide. I have a fear that once it becomes mainstream in America, the quality of anime will decrease due to us forcing our societal norms onto the shows.

“It’s a relationship, not a religion.” Or at least, so say the Christians of Generation Z, who are attempting to paint their faith in a less legalistic light than their predecessors. However, pretending to be a nonreligious Christian is disingenuous and oxymoronic.

X will never be perfect. Twitter never was. But for someone who is so confident in his abilities as a leader, Elon Musk has really underwhelmed in this role.

Here’s a tough pill to swallow: Whichever idol you adore could be a completely different person in real life than they choose to project to the world. So, why do so many fans of celebrities and influencers describe, defend and bond over these stars as if they’ve spoken face to face?

Social media giant Snapchat released an ad for the 2024 Super Bowl in which it called for “less social media” and “more Snapchat.” Let’s face it: It’s just one of the app’s many tricks meant to keep turning your mindless scrolling into billions of dollars.

When TikTok Shop came around, advertisements masquerading as regular videos became even more common. Not only that, but the same products would be advertised again and again in an attempt to pressure users into purchasing via the platform.

In 1961, the machine sang its first words. Surrounded by engineers and programmers, the IBM 7094 became the first computer to carry a tune. Now, as artificial intelligence sings covers of songs and creates them from nothing more than a prompt, we have come a long way since the earliest babbling of machine-generated music.

Sure, it’s true other people in public perceive your significant other. So, why is a video about it bad? Because social media material on subjects like this takes a simple thing and runs with it. It serves as a constant reminder of insecurities and encourages viewers to assume the worst of their partners.

In 40 days, hundreds of women will receive a bid for their dream sorority, and social media will be flooded with bid day posts filled with matching T-shirts, color-coordinated tutus and group photos. But for every jubilant post, there are bound to be those who end up feeling less enthusiastic about the process.

It’s easy to joke about trends, but the visual aspects of them do influence the way we think about ourselves, even if we know what we are seeing isn’t real. The bottom line is, you need to remember that your appearance doesn’t determine your health, nor does what you see online.

When she’s not on the court, sophomore opposite hitter Allie Sczech is training for media row.

When the clock strikes sweet treat o’clock, where is the best place to find a delicious dessert? I’m here to tell you!

It’s difficult to conceptualize a solution to propaganda on social media. However, what we can do is check the source of the media we consume. Is this a 35-year-old filming commentary in their mom’s basement or an article from The Wall Street Journal?

While tradition can feel cheesy even to the biggest of Baylor Bears, I would never call Baylor Homecoming “overhyped.”

While we’re not telling you to shun all social media trends that are cute and funny or to look down on others for liking reality television or romantic comedies, it’s important to examine the implications of trends like the Roman empire, “girl dinner” and “girl math.”

Remember, you’re the author of your own happiness. It’s no one else’s job to make your day more fun — only your own. So, if you find yourself growing to despise the humdrum of the daily grind, don’t let the negativity and boredom take over. Create a little game, task or challenge to keep yourself entertained.

As a society, we need to be careful with technology. We can’t let it be our downfall or truly rely on it for everything. The growth of AI can be seen as cool, but it can also be very dangerous to us. Be careful with what you say near your phone because you never know who may be listening.

Being in college for three years has taught me many things, the most important being the best ways to elevate a 50-cent cup of instant noodles. There are a lot of different ingredients that can be added to this staple to make it a little more interesting.

Aging is a natural process — one that will happen to us all. It means that we’ve lived a full life, experiencing the highs and lows that come with it. Scars that tell either really silly or super cool stories. Smile lines that show we’ve enjoyed the time we have had. Aging is inevitable, but some spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to prevent it. Why do we still try to preserve something that we know is so fleeting?

As I enter my 20s, I’m starting to figure out my style. My inspiration? Sophia Richie Grainge.

You are a person — not a receipt — and your identity and personal taste add up to more than just what you spend your money on and the ads Instagram sneaks into your feed.