The overnight appeal of TikTok model Alix Earle

warned would happen.

This problem concerns more than one branch of the government. On January 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to examine Ticketmaster’s power over the industry. They questioned whether Live Nation has a monopoly, and senators discussed lack of competition in the market as well as high fees and website failures. Live Nation president and CFO Joe Berchtold blamed scalpers and bots.

Ticketmaster’s dominance in the industry has allowed it to raise prices significantly over the past several years in several ways: by setting the base ticket price, by charging lucrative fees to all buyers, and through the use of dynamic pricing, which will make ticket prices rise depending on how many people are trying to buy them. For Harry Styles’s last tour, fans watched ticket prices go up as they tried to complete their purchases. Last summer Bruce Springsteen tickets were as much as $5,000. Swift chose to opt out of dynamic pricing, but many of her fans were priced out anyway.

Many teenagers love going to concerts but struggle to afford the tickets. Junior Nitza Hanan said that she went to four concerts this year and still wanted to go to more. She pays for concert tickets using birthday money, babysitting money, and from work over the summer. She described getting Taylor Swift tickets as “the most stressful experience of anyone’s life.” Hanan also commented on the drastic price difference between Ticketmaster prices and SeekGeek, with Ticketmaster being double the price. She experiences these struggles with smaller artists as well. She expressed multiple times that she “hates Ticketmaster,” yet she keeps going back to them because, in so many cases, it’s the only option.

Like many high school students, junior Perline Castro didn’t know what a monopoly was until she failed to get Taylor Swift tickets and found out about the DOJ investigation. Now, she and many other Swift fans are following the case closely.

Lessons in Chemistry Book Review:

By Sylvia Saad Sophomore Editor

There are only a handful of books I can say that I fell in love with from the very beginning. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is a remarkable example of a book that captures your utter and complete attention from the first page.

The protagonist, Elizabeth Zott, is a chemist dealing with constant gender discrimination in the workspace during the 1960s. Although she is often the most knowledgeable in the room, Elizabeth’s coworkers refuse to see her as the true chemist that she is. The only person who acknowledges her genius is Calvin Harris, her boyfriend and an esteemed chemist. Zott eventually falls into the role as the host of a cooking show, incorporating chemistry and female empowerment into the daily program.

Elizabeth’s unintentionally funny personality and undeniable wit make her easy to love. Elizabeth endures rape, discrimination, and men rooting for her failure, but through it all she manages to maintain her confidence and determination. Per-

By Robyn Beyda School News Editor

For many young women, it’s become nearly impossible to spend 10 minutes on TikTok without encountering some mention of Alix Earle. The 22-year-old University of Miami student’s “get ready with me” videos have taken over the For You pages by storm.

While Earle is certainly not the first influencer to gain popularity through makeup videos, her rapid growth in followers and her friendshiplike connections with fans are what make her unique. Just mere months ago, in September 2022, Earle had 17,900 followers—now she has over 4.5 million. Not only has her continuously growing fanbase exploded in such an unusual amount of time, but the loyalty her fans feel toward her is unlike any other fanbase. Phrases like, “Alix Earle broke up with her boyfriend, so I broke up with my boyfriend,” and “Trying Alex Earle’s viral makeup routine,” have been popping up all over the internet. The products she uses, such as the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand, are sold out everywhere. She makes about $40,000-$70,000 per post from brand deals due to her effective marketing skills.

So what makes Alix Earle so entrancing? What makes her so good at promoting a product? For starters, she’s more honest with her fans than most content creators. Instead of making an effort to look perfect, Earle constantly opens up to her fans about her plastic surgery, breakup with her boyfriend, and messy lifestyle. This makes Earle feel more relatable and sistence is an understatement.

Elizabeth isn’t the only character who makes the book what it is. Practically all of the side characters contribute to the novel’s overall lightness and digestibility. These side characters are relatable and I constantly had the urge to to hug each one of them throughout my read. Her dog, Six-Thirty, is a byproduct of Zott’s brilliance and is my new favorite literary pet.

Garmus somehow manages to cover less intimidating to the everyday person scrolling on TikTok. The style of her videos make you feel like you’re on FaceTime with her while she fills you in on the drama of her life. By letting her followers into her world, she makes them feel like they’re actually friends, which is what creates the staunch loyalty her fanbase exhibits. While this one-sided parasocial relationship obviously isn’t real, it’s enough for users to give Earle their unwavering support, and trust her when she tells them to buy new products. the heaviest of topics while simultaneously making the audience laugh at all times. The novel feels like a breath of fresh air while also bringing a unique and devastating perspective on women in STEM fields during the 20th century. Elizabeth is a true inspiration for all women to never lose sight of their goals despite everyone’s doubts and unsolicited opinions. The novel is brilliant in all ways, incredibly well-written, and my first five-star book of the year.

Alix Earle’s popularity speaks to a culture shift going on within social media. It’s indicative of the decline of “hustle culture” and the “that girl lifestyle,” which promotes building healthy habits, becoming the best version of yourself, and climbing the corporate ladder. Videos under the hashtag #thatgirl, as in “that girl who has her life together,” often feature a perfectly curated series of video clips of green smoothies, exercising, journaling, and gorgeous looking school notes. While these videos have been popular for the past couple of years, social media users are starting to see through this type of content and long to consume more realistic, relatable content. As TikTok strategist Keith Blackmer said in one video, “The Instagram era of perfect, photoshopped lives, where everything you do is perfect and beautiful, is over. If you want to be a viral account on TikTok, you’ve got to be imperfect, open, honest, authentic.” Both on and off social media platforms, young people are coming to appreciate the sloppy richness of life that transcends faux self-improvement.