Millennial Midlife Crisis

PRESENTED BY TIME-LINE

Happy Monday, Future Party. Real life has once again caught up to science fiction — there’s now a chatbot aboard a space station. Beijing announced that the China National Space Administration has installed “Wukong AI” on the Tiangong station, designed to boost “work efficiency, in-orbit psychological support, and coordination between space and ground teams.” Wukong has already assisted three astronauts during a spacewalk. Naturally, the mind jumps to HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey — let’s just hope the CNSA skipped the lip-reading feature. IYKYK.

Microschools — for-profit institutions with typically fewer than 150 students and largely operating beyond government oversight — are becoming popular with Silicon Valley’s elite.

The Big Picture: The classic education system is being disrupted by the rise of AI, government cutbacks, and an evolving job market that’s making college a less viable option for many people. For those used to “disruption,” microschools are emerging as a way to shape a child’s destiny in a rapidly changing environment.

Behind The Lesson Plans: Research organization RAND estimated in 2024 that between 750,000 and 2.1 million students in the US are going to some form of microschool.

The Future: These microschools are about to undergo a disruption themselves thanks to AI, which is theoretically equipped with all the knowledge. Precedence Research believes the global market for educational AI will hit $112.3 billion by 2034. Musk’s Alpha School (which has locations in Austin, Miami, and Brownsville, Texas) already provides kids with personalized AI tutors.

Next Semester: Mirroring the fractionalism of culture, expect several different types of microschools to pop up, each catering to highly specialized subjects — such as a trade school for grade schoolers.

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Many of the brands that rose to prominence during the millennial heyday are now facing growing pains — forced to either go mainstream or close shop.

Why It Hits: Millennial-era startups thrived on putting a trendy spin on everyday items, often wrapped in social justice branding — and if they could be delivered direct-to-consumer, all the better. But culture and e-commerce have evolved since then, prompting a potential crisis of relevance.

Behind The Brands: The pastel-hued, quirky-copy, DTC era of the millennial startup is officially “over,” according to Insider.

Last Order: These startups have had to change because… well… so have millennials. The generation is no longer the youthful culture driver clustered in urban areas and willing to spend to stay on trend. Now, they have families, live in the suburbs, and want things that simply work — not a mission to change the world (case study: WeWork). Startups that couldn’t make the generational leap became cultural footnotes, like tired memes, Facebook statuses, or even the idea of being — or calling someone — a “hipster.”

Prediction: So, what’s the cool marketing angle these days? The brands and agencies soaring right now are pulling off truly creative stunts that cut through the digital noise — welcome to the era of originality.

56.7% of you voted No in Friday’s poll: Do you consider audiobooks to be “real reading?”

“I certainly don’t want to disparage audiobooks because anything that can divert us from streaming services is a good thing! But there’s nothing like actually reading a book, as it engages your senses and allows you to create the world that the author wants you to ‘see.’ You’re imagining the characters, the environment, the narrator’s voice, etc. I also think there’s a level of commitment that goes along with reading, as it’s harder to multitask and you need to give your energy to focusing on the words. Again, I don’t think audiobooks are bad, as I actually may prefer them for autobiographies if the subject is also the narrator. And I understand that if you are dyslexic or have attention issues, then maybe audiobooks are a better alternative. But if I’m being honest, yes, I’m a book snob, and I don’t consider it to be ‘real reading.’”

“Oral storytelling predates any type of written word — it’s the OG.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

💰 The Weeknd is reportedly looking to raise a billion dollars from the sale of his music catalog.

⚾ The MLB is locking up a three-year, $1.65 billion media-rights deal with ESPN.

🎆 Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo is taking a stake in Kimball Musk’s drone-entertainment company, Sky Stories.

📱 Apple is in talks with Google to use Gemini to power Siri’s AI upgrade, as the tech giant falls behind in developing its own system.

👓 Snap is weighing outside funding to make its next phase of smart glasses, as it lags behind rivals.

🛩️ Aviation firm Cirrus and navigation company Garmin have built an autonomous landing technology for small aircraft.

👨‍💻 Donald Trump has named Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia as the US government’s first-ever chief design officer.

👗 The co-founder of Rent the Runway has handed control over to private-equity firms after failing to become economically sustainable.

⚽ Justin Bieber’s SKYLRK brand is collabing with adidas on a soccer capsule collection.