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The Surprising Benefits of Online Dating You Never Knew

If you ask almost anybody these days if they have used online dating, you are likely to receive the same answer, which is either yes or they have at least dabbled. It has become the go-to method of finding love in a world that has become ever more connected but increasingly lonely, and it is very good at doing so. However, for many, it can be the only way to find that special someone to spend the rest of their lives with or for a quick hookup if that’s their thing!) This post is for those who may still be on the fence about using online dating as a means to find a partner, and hopefully, by the end, you should be thoroughly convinced that the online world is the way to go.

Online Dating Is More Accessible Than Ever

This first benefit might not come as a surprise to many, but it should be mentioned that online dating has opened up entirely new worlds for a specific type of person who may never have had the opportunity to find the love of their life. This could be introverts who have trouble reaching out to others due to their preference for peace and quiet or those who have a particular set of interests that might not be what most people consider mainstream. When you use the right app, you can identify the types of individuals with whom you vibe much better than you could ever hope for in real life. Aside from the sheer number of people actually using these apps when compared to the past, you now have the ability to finely hone your profile and set expectations that match what you’re after in a partner, and the app will match you with the most compatible. This cuts down the amount of legwork you have to do massively and saves you a considerable amount of time and money in the process. 

Discover Shared Interests More Easily

If you are the kind of individual who has a particular hobby that you do not necessarily share with a huge number of people in your usual social circle, then online dating has you covered. It really doesn’t matter what your interests are since it is very likely that there will be someone, somewhere, who shares it and, as such, could be the right person for you. Unlike traditional dating, where identifying common hobbies or preferences can be a lengthy and sometimes frustrating process, online platforms are designed to enable users to filter through profiles with precision, pinpointing individuals who share specific passions or activities. This means you can rapidly identify those who are likely to be compatible, transforming the dating experience into one that is not only more efficient but also far more enjoyable. To put it more succinctly, online dating provides a sophisticated and intuitive way to connect with like-minded people, ensuring you are able to concentrate your efforts on those who generally appreciate who you are as a person and avoid the usual hassle that comes from spending time wooing another who you later find out is utterly uninterested in anything about you (and vice versa for you).

Offers A Variety Of Choices For Different Dating Styles

Are you recently divorced and looking to meet up with those who are in a similar position? Online dating has you covered. How about if you are just seeking partners to hook up with and have a bit of no-strings-attached love? You got it; you can find that online (just be careful!) The point is that whatever you’re in the market for, as long as it’s legal, the world of online dating has pretty much every possibility you could ever imagine. 

Great For Those With Limited Time

Perhaps the main reason why this form of dating became so popular is that it enabled those with very limited time to meet others sans the usual rigmarole and expense of going to the bar and trying your best to hit it off with those who they probably would never fall for anyway. Nowadays, you can spend a few hours setting up and crafting an amazing profile, then hit up a few people per day who meet your requirements and see if you meet theirs. While it’s not quite a set-and-forget kind of activity, it’s far more manageable than the more traditional ways of which we used to date. Once you find a match and believe you have a decent enough connection via the various chat methods, you can choose to bring things into the real world, safe in the knowledge that you have already performed all the small talk and can move on to deeper conversation that you are both actually interested in.

Boosts Self-Confidence Through Interactions

If you have never been the sort of person to have the confidence to strike up a conversation with another, online dating can help you bridge the gap between speaking with real people without having to be present in real life. Although you should never use these platforms for this purpose alone (remember you are speaking with real people with their own hopes and desires, not to be toyed with), it’s a great chance to get the confidence to have an active conversation whereby you understand when to listen and when to talk. 

Provides A Platform To Express Yourself As You Might Not Be Comfortable In Real Life

Online dating provides a unique platform for self-expression, Especially For those who may not feel as comfortable in real-life interactions. It’s a space where you can truly be yourself, which can be a refreshing change from traditional dating methods. Because you are hidden behind a screen, you are given an opportunity to let loose and show others who you are and what your hopes and dreams are. If the person on the other side chooses to ignore you and fails to reply, no biggie; you can simply move on to another match and begin again! The beauty of this is that you can be yourself where you might not be able to when in person. 

Online dating has been a huge net positive for a great many people, ranging from those who simply don’t have the time for standard dating to those who have been shut out of the process due to personal proclivities. As long as you understand the etiquette and select the right sites and applications, your dating journey should go swimmingly, and who knows, you could even end up with a partner of your dreams.

Ice Spice Shares Video for New Song ‘Phat Butt’

Ice Spice has dropped a new single, ‘Phat Butt’, alongside an accompanying video. Produced by longtime collaborator RiotUSA, it’s the third preview of Ice Spice’s upcoming debut album Y2K!, following ‘Think U the Sh*t (Fart)’ and ‘Gimmie a Light’. Check out a video for it below.

Y2K! will be released on July 26 via 10K Projects and Capitol Records.

Post Malone Previews New Country Album With Blake Shelton Collaboration ‘Pour Me a Drink’

Earlier this week, Post Malone announced his sixth studio album and first-ever country record, F-1 Trillion. It will be out August 16, and today, he’s shared a new single with country star Blake Shelton called ‘Pour Me a Drink’. Listen to it below.

Post Malone’s collab with Morgan Wallen, ‘I Had Some Help’, has now spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. F-1 Trillion will follow Posty’s 2023 album Austin.

NewJeans Enlist Pharrell Williams for New Song ‘Supernatural’

NewJeans have teamed up with Pharrell Williams for their new Japanese single ‘Supernatural’. It’s part of a “double album single” that features ‘Right Now’, which arrived earlier this week along with a Takashi Murakami–directed video, as well as instrumental versions of both tracks. Check it out below.

In a press release, NewJeans said  they are “really excited and happy to make our Japanese debut” and that it “feels like we’re opening a new chapter.”

Last month, NewJeans released the single ‘How Sweet’, which featured the B-side ‘Bubble Gum’.

Watch Chappell Roan Perform ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ on ‘Fallon’

Chappell Roan appeared on last night’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she performed her recent hit single ‘Good Luck, Babe!’. She also sat down for an interview with Fallon to talk about her meteoric rise. Watch it happen below.

Chappell Roan’s debut LP, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, arrived last year.

Ouri Enlists Jonah Yano for New Song ‘Quiet Drumming’

Ouri has teamed up with Jonah Yano for the new song ‘Quiet Drumming’. It follows last month’s ‘Baby Has a Frown’. Check it out below.

“When I had an afternoon with Jonah in my studio last summer, I knew that the music we made couldn’t feel like fiction, it had to feel like a documentary of that moment,” Ourielle Auvé explained in a statement. “We naturally went for an epic longing, his beautiful folk touch and my explosive production met in the middle.”

Ouri’s debut LP, Frame of a Fauna, came out in 2021. Yano released his sophomore album, portraits of a dog, last year.

Coldplay Share New Single ‘feelslikeimfallinginlove’

Coldplay have released ‘feelslikeimfallinginlove’, the first single from their just-announced album Moon Music. Max Martin produced the track, which you can hear below.

Moon Music, the follow-up to 2021’s Music of the Spheres, is out October 4 via Parlophone. Next Saturday, June 29, Coldplay will headline Glastonbury for a record fifth time.

Albums Out Today: Been Stellar, Kehlani, Gracie Abrams, O., and More

In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on June 21, 2024:


Been Stellar, Scream From New York, NY

New York five-piece Been Stellar – vocalist Sam Slocum, guitarists Skyler Knapp and Nando Dale, bassist Nico Brunstein, and drummer Laila Wayan – have released their debut album, Scream From New York, NY, via Dirty Hit. Produced by Dan Carey, the 10-track record was previewed by the singles ‘Passing Judgment’‘All in One’, ‘Sweet’, and ‘Pumpkin’. It follows their 2022 self-titled EP.


Kehlani, CRASH

Kehlani has dropped her latest album, CRASH, via Atlantic. It marks her fourth studio album, following 2022’s Blue Water Road, 2020’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, and 2017’s SweetSexySavage. It was preceded by the singles ‘After Hours’ and ‘Next 2 U’, the latter of which came with a video that opens with a quote from Palestinian poet Hala Alyan: “Keep your moon/ We have our own/ Keep your army/ We have our name/ Keep your flag/ We have fruits and in/ All the right colors.”


Gracie Abrams, The Secret of Us

Gracie Abrams has followed up her 2022 debut Good Riddance with her sophomore album, The Secret of Us. The LP was mostly produced with Aaron Dessner and includes additional production from Jack Antonoff, Sam de Jong, and Taylor Swift, who guests on the song ‘Us’. “We had real, true fun writing this album,” Abrams wrote on social media. “There were also the occasional tears.”


O., WeirdOs

O. – the London-based duo of baritone saxophonist Joe Henwood and drummer Tash Keary – have unveiled their debut album, WeirdOs. “WeirdOs is a dark, heavy album based around our love of riffy basslines, blast beats, dub, noise, and all the weird sounds in between,” the duo said in a press release. “It was recorded live across 2 weeks in the studio with Dan Carey and aims to replicate the feeling of being at one of our gigs.” It was preceded by the tracks ‘Green Shirt’, ‘176’, and ‘Micro’.


Pond, Stung!

Pond have released a new album, Stung!, via Spinning Top. The follow-up to 2021’s 9 spans 14 tracks, including the previously unveiled songs ‘So Lo’, ‘Neon River’, and ‘(I’m) Stung’. “To be stung is to be childishly, gleefully infatuated, with a person or a piece of art or an idea. We love, we hurt, we feel alone and misunderstood in ways so shockingly similar that the old Jungian ‘collective unconsciousness’ stuff seems like straight facts,” frontman Nicholas Allbrook explained in a statement. “We’re all part of the same hive, and we keep on grinding along, working for the colony, ‘so tired of living but I don’t want to die’.”


Sis, Vibhuti

Sis – the recording project of Jenny Gillespie Mason – has issued a new LP titled Vibhuti, a term that refers to sacred ash used in Hindu ceremonies. Out now via Native Cat, the record draws inspiration from the works of 20th century Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo and his partner, the Mother. It features longtime collaborators Brijean and Doug Stuart on percussion, bass and production, and Will Miller of Resavoir on trumpet, and Devendra Banhart on electric guitar.


Other albums out today:

Peso Pluma, Éxodo; Islands, What Occurs; Hayes Noble, As It Was, As We Were; Linda Thompson, Proxy Music; Alcest, Les Chants de l’Aurore; Daniel Davies, Ghost of the Heart; The Joy, The Joy; Your Old Droog, Movie; Kate Nash, 9 Sad Symphonies; Alice Ivy, Do What Makes You Happy; The Story So Far, I Want to Disappear; Moon Diagrams, Cemetery ClassicsRich Ruth, Water Still Flows.

Rina Sawayama and Paris Hilton Team Up on New Song ‘I’m Free’

Paris Hilton has teamed up with Rina Sawayama for a new song titled ‘I’m Free’. It’s set to appear on Hilton’s sophomore album Infinite Icon, which is set for release September 6. Give it a listen below.

“A song can change your life, and that’s what ‘Free’ by Ultra Naté did for me,” Paris Hilton said in a statement. “I heard it for the first time at a club in New York City shortly after being released from the Provo Canyon School where I experienced mental and physical abuse. For me, the song represents the journey of healing and finding your voice.”

“It has served as an anthem of hope and a guiding light, and I’m honoured to have had the chance to create this new version,” she added. “I’m also so grateful to have Rina Sawayama’s mesmerising vocals and lyrics on the song. Together, Rina and I hope to inspire fans around the world to embrace their own strong voices and feel free to fully express themselves.”

 

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Memorial Portraits of the Pandemic: Xiaosu Jing’s Art and Social Reflection

In the realm of contemporary art, Xiaosu Jing’s work masterfully integrates profound reflections on social phenomena with philosophical enquiries. Xiaosu Jing boasts a rich and specialised educational background having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Digital Media from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (2008-2012) and a Bachelor’s degree in Painting from Camberwell College of Arts (2018-2023). These academic experiences have laid a solid foundation for her artistic creation and provided her with a broad perspective. Her artistic style has evolved through various stages, each showcasing her extensive understanding of art. She explains, “My inspiration primarily comes from observing life and reflecting on social phenomena. I enjoy expressing my views and thoughts about the world through art”. When discussing her creative process, Xiaosu Jing shared her most memorable piece “Cloud” (2020). This work was created in a small 7 square metre space during the pandemic lockdown in London. She collected over 6,000 promotional images released by companies before the pandemic, printed them on thermal paper and used these prints to cover the ceiling and walls. The thermal paper gradually faded over time, becoming a symbolic medium that perfectly reflected the decline of these companies during the pandemic. Each print was marked with the time of release, forming a strict timeline that enhanced the work’s historical and commemorative significance. “Cloud” is an art piece that spanned four and a half years, starting from the first lockdown in London (23rd March 2020) and continuing until October 2024. The four-year time dimension added depth to the piece. She arranged these images in the shape of clouds, further imbuing the work with dynamism and fluidity, representing the impermanence and cycles of life.

 

The core theme of the artwork focuses on the devastating impact of the pandemic on businesses and society. Each image symbolises a business that closed due to the pandemic, serving as a “memorial portrait” of these enterprises. These “memorial portraits” not only document the demise of businesses but also symbolically represent the broader social and psychological deaths brought about by the pandemic. By shaping these images into clouds, Xiaosu Jing conveys the concept of life cycles and rebirth. She believes that businesses closed due to the pandemic will eventually reopen, just as in the cycles of life, where old business models disappear and new ones emerge.

Xiaosu Jing’s creative backdrop is the shadow of the global pandemic, which led to countless business closures and economic downturns. Through this work, she captures the characteristics of this historical moment, showcasing the profound impact of the pandemic on daily life and economic activities. Her artwork extends beyond a personal artistic expression but also a keen response to social reality. Through these “memorial portraits”, she erects a monument to the commercial entities that vanished during the pandemic. Viewers are immersed in the space surrounded by these “memorial portraits”, experiencing a powerful visual impact and emotional resonance. Each image represents a lost business entity, prompting viewers to reflect and empathise as they observe these pictures. By depicting and outlining the images on thermal paper, viewers also feel the passage of time and the gradual fading of memories, invoking deep contemplation on the impermanence of life. Over time, the images on the thermal paper will gradually disappear, but her handwritten notes and creation dates will remain, making this process of the old and the new itself a new form of artistic expression.

Xiaosu Jing’s artistic intent is to capture and reflect on the profound impact of the pandemic on society by documenting and showcasing these vanished businesses, while exploring the cycles of life and commerce. She hopes that viewers will not only witness the demise of businesses but also see hope and rebirth. By depicting images on thermal paper, she also explores into the relationship between memory and time, expressing nostalgia for lost things and hope for the future.

From an aesthetic perspective, Xiaosu Jing’s work is characterised by strong visual impact and expressiveness. She chose thermal paper as a medium, utilising its fading properties to enhance the sense of time and impermanence in her work. By collaging these images into the shape of clouds, her work gains natural beauty and philosophical depth. Her distinctive style lies in her ability to convey complex and profound thoughts through simple materials and images, forming a unique artistic language. In consideration of these perspectives, Xiaosu Jing’s works does not only possess strong visual appeal but it also expresses profound thematic and content significance. Through her art, she explores the deep impact of the pandemic on society and uniquely expresses reflections on life, memory and time. This piece serves both as a commemoration of the past and a hope for the future, demonstrating the essential role of art in recording and reflecting on key historical events.

This piece holds significant cultural and social value. It is not only a record and reflection of the economic hardships during the pandemic but also an in-depth exploration of human vulnerability and resilience in the face of disaster. Through showcasing these “memorial portraits”, Xiaosu Jing evokes a strong resonance with the immense losses brought by the pandemic, while also reminding people to cherish and reflect on the past. Her work serves as a visual archive, documenting the memories of the pandemic and carries deep social significance.