✳flâneur — a map of the web's best reading

requiem for originality - by tina zhang - digital tinz

digitaltinz.substack.com · 1,381 words · saved by 1 readers

Earlier this year one of my own videos came across my feed. It was something I had thrown together in my living room with some light editing before hitting post. I didn’t think much of it until it hit my timeline a few weeks later and I watched it again: a familiar square of colour and motion illuminating my phone. Except it wasn’t actually my video, but someone else’s content that was made in the exact same way. Same concept, same edits, and its creator was even wearing the same outfit. At the time, I was bewildered, and to be honest, offended (!!). But I complained emphatically to my friends and then promptly forgot about it. A few weeks later, this exact scenario happened again, and then a few more times after that. ✧✧✦ At coffee with Arden, we talk about the idea that everything online is starting to look the same. I confess my annoyance with seeing others online replicate my videos. It feels incredibly neurotic to bring up since no one else would really even know outside of me and

requiem for originality how to have a pov, part 1 tina zhang Dec 18, 2025 666 33 119 Share Earlier this year one of my own videos came across my feed. It was something I had thrown together in my living room with some light editing before hitting post. I didn’t think much of it until it hit my timeline a few weeks later and I watched it again: a familiar square of colour and motion illuminating my phone. Except it wasn’t actually my video, but someone else’s content that was made in the exact same way. Same concept, same edits, and its creator was even wearing the same outfit. At the time, I w

Explore this link on the map →

saved by

related reading