The average TikTok user spends almost one hour each day on the app. However, the screen time of American users is about to be rapidly reduced, as the app is set to be banned in the US. On Friday the US Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a law that would see the social media…
On a recent Monday morning, Olivia Shalhoup opened her laptop and steeled herself for a day of meetings. Around 40% of her work as the founder of Amethyst, a marketing and PR agency, focuses on helping musicians navigate TikTok. On this particular day, the fate of the app in the US hung in the balance,…
Music was everywhere when I grew up, not just on the stereo. My mother had a piano. My father played guitar and collected percussion instruments: drums, bongos… My parents both had a deep connection to music. I could see it brought them a kind of serenity. And they encouraged me to play. Painting, poetry, literature…
In the spring of 2004, I was working in sales in Melbourne. An IT guy was deployed from our Sydney headquarters to help set up the internet in our new office. Al had a laid-back vibe and played bass in a band and I immediately liked what I saw. I was in my late 20s…
I am a complete sucker for a chocolate biscuit, one of the most exciting things about a 1980s childhood. Before structured playdates, Roblox and MrBeast videos, our thrills came in a biscuit tin full of Penguins, Clubs and Breakaways. The more chocolatey the chocolate, the better. Bliss. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn…
In 2018, when Jan Schölzel was on the Malaysian archipelago of Langkawi, some days were so humid, he found it difficult to leave his accommodation. “It was the hottest, most humid place I’ve ever been,” says Schölzel, who currently lives in Hanover, Germany. “This must have been one of the cooler days, because we went…