Youthquaker Magazine’s sophomore issue revives beloved traditions of physical media while linking young creatives across a developing digital landscape.
By Grace Henkel
Elijah Jones-Young and Emmalyn Kwan Yue Tsang read Youthquaker Magazine’s Digital Disruption at the Issue 02 launch party on April 5, 2024. (Grace Henkel/CanCulture)
With a retro-futurist vision, Youthquaker Magazine’s Digital Disruption calls back to beloved bygones of tech and media, fueling Gen Z’s nostalgia for tangible forms of storytelling in our highly digitized present time. The student-run magazine’s second issue, with its distinctly anachronistic aesthetic, explores how tech advancements have permeated the contemporary cultural landscape.
The Issue 02 launch party was teeming with well-dressed attendees; the evening’s attire ranged from bell bottoms and platform boots–reminiscent of ‘60s and ‘70s vintage–to leg warmers and low-rise jeans that marked a distinctive Y2K twist. This intermingling of the past and present is replicated in the recent issue’s collection of creative and critical discourse.
Youthquaker’s Editor-in-Chief, third-year Creative Industries student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Daisy Woelfling, said the magazine’s thematic focus has sharpened with the inception of Digital Disruption.
“I think we've all worked really hard on this issue, and we've tried to make it even bigger and better than our first one,” said Woelfling. “Our first issue was kind of laying the foundation.”
“I feel like there is no part of our daily life that can be divorced from digital technology,” said Woelfling. “[In Issue 02], we talk about the impacts of digital technology on music, on art, on advertising and media.”
From waning human attention spans in a scrolling-heavy age, to the “revival of retro tech in fashion,” Digital Disruption contemplates both the consequences of technology consumption and the cultural potential it holds.
“The digital revolution has [given] rise to a multitude of subcultures, niches, and online communities that have reshaped the very essence of pop culture,” wrote TMU journalism student, and CanCulture Music Section Editor, Nalyn Tindall, in a piece featured in Issue 02.
“No longer are audiences passive observers; they are active contributors and co-creators of the cultural landscape.”
Emmalyn Kwan Yue Tsang, a DJ and University of Toronto student, attended the Issue 02 launch party in support of her partner, TMU Criminology major Elijah Jones-Young. Jones-Young co-wrote an article for Youthquaker with Sam Dubiner on the impact of AI on song sampling.
“It really dives deep into what the experience is like, and I think that’s beautiful,” said Tsang, while showing off the details of their outfit and jewelry, including a ring made from her late grandfather’s gold teeth.
“It was a little bit tumultuous; we had to do a lot of research but we got it done,” said Jones-Young.
Tsang, who is also a member of the Victoria College Environmental Fashion Show (VEFS) said that student-run publications like Youthquaker can open doors for lesser-known young creatives across several disciplines.
“There’s so many under-appreciated artists that need that exposure,” they said. “It’s so important to get it out there.”
Jahmari Jones, who attended the launch party to support his friend and the event’s headliner, DJ Headphone Jack, noted how a community has sprung up around the print-only publication.
“I feel like it's important in this digital age to actually pick up something and read it,” said Jones. “And it's important to support with just not clicks, but with purchasing, and honestly supporting your peers because it all starts from the ground up.”
“It all starts with everybody just coming out to an event and collaborating, shaking hands and supporting each other.”