The Verge’s summer ‘in’ / ‘out’ list

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Photo collage of two arrows going in and out of an open doorway.
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Just having fun while we make this website.

At the time of this writing, the latest “war” being waged over what’s cool and what’s not is about how tall your socks are. Ankle socks: OUT. Old. Uncool and millennial, apparently. Crew socks: IN. Evolved. Rebellious (???). The preferred sock for Gen Z, some are saying. Does it matter if any of this is empirically true? No! But manufactured generational warfare is probably selling a lot of crew socks right now.

The lifecycle of trends has never been shorter — current fads disappear as quickly as they bubble up. When anyone can prompt a discourse or viral feud, no trend ends up mattering much in the long run. So here’s The Verge staff taking a temperature on what’s hot and what’s not. Maybe some of this will catch on. And I’m sorry if any of it hurts your feelings.

Mia Sato, reporter:

IN OUT
Voice memo texts Voicemail
Portable fans Climate change
Digital cameras (watch this space…) Film cameras
The court of public opinion The Supreme Court
Curators Influencers
Tennis Pickleball (always)

Sarah Jeong, deputy features editor:

IN OUT
The New York Times Connections game The New York Times crossword
Blurple Camo print
Also: AI-generated images Also: hating on AI-generated images ChatGPT
Department of Justice Antitrust Division The Supreme Court
Flying in planes with holes in them Rockets, space tourism

Elizabeth Lopatto, senior writer:

IN OUT
Copyright law Contract law
Cat Cat
Delaware Chancery Court The Supreme Court
Cat Cat
Jeff Bezos Elon Musk

Jay Peters, news editor:

IN OUT
Ugly, customized iOS 18 homescreens AI chatbots
Playing Elden Ring at a snail’s pace Margit the Fell Omen
Walking to farmers markets Paying for expensive meals at crappy restaurants
Preparing to vote on Election Day The minutiae of the presidential election. Turn off the TV, y’all.

Andrew Hawkins, transportation editor:

IN OUT
Bikes Any car
2010s nostalgia 2000s nostalgia
Carless drivers Driverless cars
Congestion pricing Fare hikes

Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor:

IN OUT
Intragenerational fighting Extra-generational fighting
Surviving Crossing the street with eyes on the phone
Tabletop game marathons Video game marathons
Screw you, I’m wearing a mask Mask embarrassment

Tristan Cooper, social media manager:

IN OUT
Streaming TV shows with weekly episodes Streaming TV shows that drop all at once
Buying new video games Finishing games I already own
Electric mowers Smelly, hand-numbing gas mowers
Marvel Snap Marvel Snap after I lose one time
The sleepy cat at the hardware store The Supreme Court

Kevin Nguyen, features editor:

IN OUT
Movies TV shows
Saving your best jokes for the group chat Posting on social media
Cheap Chinese handhelds Steam Deck
Buying WAV files Streaming music
Keeping your phone in a tote / purse The weird outline of your phone in your pants pocket

Cath Virginia, senior designer:

IN OUT
Gel X Nail polish
Sewing your own clothes Buying clothes
Gluttony Ozempic
Line dancing FOMO
Brat The Supreme Court

Sean Hollister, senior editor:

IN OUT
Transparent gadgets Aluminum gadgets
Begging Microsoft to make an Xbox handheld Begging Sony to make a PlayStation handheld
Feeding the AI Privacy
TOPS GHz
3D-printing a new Dyson button Swearing at your broken Dyson button

Allison Johnson, writer; mom to a toddler:

IN OUT
Robots robots.txt
Steam engines Search engines
Mac and cheese Mac or PC
Construction sites Websites
Paw Patrol-ing Doomscrolling

Jess Weatherbed, news writer:

IN OUT
Individually consuming “family-sized” snack bags in one sitting Single-use vapes
TikTok drag queen educators in STEM The Duolingo bird
Chris Pine Chris Pratt
Extremely sapphic pop music Misappropriation of the term “punk”
Orange lipstick (it’s her time) Washed-out beauty filters

Esther Cohen, associate director of audience development; pop culture connoisseur:

IN OUT
The Rabbit The Rabbit
The first half of Bridgerton S3 Second half of Bridgerton S3
Asking tech CEOs to sign your body Throwing things at performers onstage
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Andrew Scott at the Eras Tour Tom Cruise at the Eras Tour

Alex Heath, deputy editor:

IN OUT
TV shows that are 40 min or less All the others
Deepfakes Pretending you’re worried about deepfakes
Bumping iPhones to exchange contacts Exchanging social media handles
Gas cars EVs
Cash-back credit cards Credit card points