We've got the zoomies ヾ(｡ꏿ﹏ꏿ)ﾉﾞ
Earlier this month, NOS reported that almost 40 per cent of Dutch 15-year-olds can't read well enough to keep up at school. The usual suspects were rounded up within the hour: phones, TikTok, kids these days. Things might be more dire than we think. A recently published study of English literature students in Kansas universities found some not very encouraging results – at least as far as their comprehension of Bleak House by Charles Dickens is concerned. (Though it was published in 2024, it was actually done in 2015, pointing to a longer and more concerning trend.)
Back in May, at Symposihmm 💬 The New Orality, we asked whether short-form video is ushering in a second oral age, where information travels by voice and clip rather than the written line. The causal link is hard to prove, and yet young people's internet use is often the subject of heated debates. Brainrot, addiction, loneliness, stranger danger, doomscrolling... In parliaments across the world, legislators discuss policies that claim to have young people's safety in mind – and ultimately end up regulating the users instead of the platforms. Australia banned under-16s from social media last December, France's under-15 ban took effect this month, and last week the European Commission announced plans to bar under-13s across the EU, with the Dutch cabinet backing a limit of 15. Researchers like UvA psychologist Wouter van den Bos have argued that a blanket ban cuts young people off from the connection and creativity they find online, when the better target is the design itself, from infinite scroll to influencer ads aimed at kids.
But what do young people think about all this?
At The Hmm, we approach what people do online with the curiosity of a digital anthropologist. Many of the themes we explore belong mostly to the online world of young people. Too often, young people become spectators of their own lives, their behaviour picked apart by people who never took the time to understand the platforms, or the kids on them. We think they belong in the conversation, not under the microscope.
For the Zoom Zoomer zine, we brought our yearly research back to young people in Amsterdam for a deeper conversation on gender norms, which we pick apart via the manifold internet subcultures of the past years. From looksmaxxing to girlmath, gender is constantly reinvented to fit the memetic zeitgeist – what does this mean for young people? This report was created on behalf of the Young Netizens Programme of the City of Amsterdam. You can read and download the PDF versions in Dutch and English on our website!
Keep scrolling for the rest, like: our Symposihmm 📡 Capture & Control on 24 October, workshops for kids and their grown-ups at Brainwash Festival on 31 October, and our 10-year party and book launch at W139 on 11 December. Working on youth culture online? Share it in # on our Discord. See you soon!
Zoom zoom,
◌ ◌ ◌ The Hmm ◌ ◌ ◌
Suggested For You 📖 Reflecting on a decade in the feed
For ten years we've tried to trace, interrogate and intervene in the forces shaping our online lives, the algorithmic feed among them. 2026 has spent the whole year relitigating 2016, so what better time than now to reflect on ten years of Hmm-ing. The Hmm was founded in 2016, and to account for – and yes, celebrate – a decade of accumulated reflections, we're launching a publication! Suggested For You: Reflecting on a Decade in the Feed is part celebration, part reflection on the algorithmic feed and the decade of internet cultures that has unfolded around it.
The book gathers essays, interviews, image contributions, and artist profiles from some of the best in the game: Ruba Al-Sweel, Evelyn Austin and Rejo Zenger, Jak Ritger, Soyun Park and Leo Scarin, Noura Tafeche, Neema Githere, Alex Quicho, Constant Dullaart, Mamali Shafahi and Ali Eslami, Danielle , K , and Aidan Walker.
Pre-order the book now and pick up your copy at the launch: a festive evening at W139 in Amsterdam on Friday 11 December, where we'll be celebrating ten years in the feed with one party out of it.
Hmmterviewee of the month: Annike Tan
This month, we slid into the DMs of Annike Tan. You might know her as Ubeboobey on TikTok. Annike is a London-based content creator in the tech circle known for customisable and personalised technology. Her whimsical take on cyberdecks challenges what we think technology is supposed to look like. Her first build, posted in March with no prior tech experience to speak of, is a Raspberry Pi tucked inside a refurbished pearl-and-gold purse, styled like a mermaid's laptop washed ashore. It runs off-grid with no internet connection, the most-searched Wikipedia articles loaded on board.
From DIY electronics and cyberpunk culture to creative coding and hardware, Annike shows us that technology doesn't have to be intimidating. Here's a sneak peek into our chat – some light reading before our mesh-berry workshop this Saturday, 26 September.
You've said you're always anticipating the end of the world. If everything went down tomorrow, what's the one thing on your offline drive you'd be most relieved you saved?
Offline Wikipedia and medical documents. Also, of course, entertainment like video games and music!
A lot of cyberdeck tutorials still default to the tactical look. What did you have to unlearn to make yours feel like yours?
I didn’t have to unlearn anything, actually. I believe the tactical look is actually rooted in the patriarchy. When women create things that have glitter or are in pastel colours, they are automatically perceived to be less functional. Meanwhile, the more military and utilitarian aesthetic is seen as the more ‘tech savvy’ or serious one. I’ve always been a feminist. I have grown up in feminism, and so I knew I wanted to make a cyber deck in my own aesthetic, and I knew I didn’t have to compromise on functionality.
What's the hardest part to source second-hand, and where do you actually find it?
I would say the hardest part of sourcing secondhand things would be knowing what you can use. Sometimes you source a lot of junk that you end up not using, which can end up being a hoarding issue.
What's a recent meme that resonated with you?
People making fun of Ed Sheeran because he kicked Macklemore off of his tour because he supports Palestine. The memes that came out of it were funny, and it backs up my belief that celebrities and influencers sometimes chase money more than morals. Sometimes it can be harmless; sometimes it's just straight-up shameful.
You can follow Annike's creations on TikTok.
Paranoia or reality? Symposihmm 📡 Capture & Control @ A Lab
With our second Symposihmm of the year, Capture & Control, taking place on 24 October at A Lab, we’ll be exploring the entanglements between processes of physiological and geological capture. How can we make sense of this paranoid era in online platforms? And how are our minds and our planet being captured, rendered, and manipulated?
Tune in (physically or digitally) to catch talks and workshops by Daniël de Zeeuw, Noura Tafeche, Sophie Publig & Mikkel Rørbo, Marina Otero Verzier, Francis Tseng, Emilia Tapprest & Søren Siebel, and more.
📅 Date: Saturday 24 October
🕗 Time: 11.00–17.00 CEST
📍 Location: A Lab and livestream on The Inbetween
🎟️ Tickets: Onsite €27,50/Student €20/Livestream 7,50
♿ Accessibility notes
Image by Susann Mielke from Pixabay
Hmm-ing in the wild
Come find us at the following events!
◯ 26 September જ⁀➴ Experimental event: Build your own mesh-berry workshop with Heerko van der Kooij @ The Hmm Studio
◯ 3 October જ⁀➴ The Cowan Paradox with Sjef van Beers @ The Hmm Studio (NDSM OPEN)
◯ 5–16 October જ⁀➴ Make Your Own Slopject @ Cinekid
◯ 17–25 October જ⁀➴ Make Your Own Slopject & Squish the System @ Dutch Design Week
◯ 19 + 20 જ⁀➴ October Digital Creators Economy ECF @ The Hmm Studio
◯ 20 & 22 October જ⁀➴ Make Your Own Slopject @ Bibliotheek Deventer
◯ 24 October જ⁀➴ Symposihmm 📡 Capture & Control @ A Lab
◯ 27 & 29 October જ⁀➴ Squish the System @ Bibliotheek Deventer
◯ 31 October જ⁀➴ Make Your Own Slopject & Squish the System @ Brainwash Festival, Ijzaal Tolhuistuin
Had a taste and want some more? The Hmm workshops are available to book here.
Activities in the digital field
◯ The Grant Desk જ⁀➴ A free, hand-picked directory of paid open calls, fellowships and residencies for people working in digital media, AI, and technology, and society.
◯ V2 જ⁀➴ 45 Years: Still Unstable (Programme: 24–26 September, Exhibition: 24 September–18 October)
◯ Medialab Matadero જ⁀➴ Open call for situated research residencies (Deadline: 27 September)
◯ The Supporting Act Foundation જ⁀➴ Grants for emerging artists (Deadline: 1 October)
We hope you enjoyed this editorial newsletter! Welcome back, and see you soon!
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