Legend has it that the In/Out list originated in The Washington Post, when fashion editor Nina Hyde launched a column in its Style section in 1978. Said column, “The List”, is still running more than 40 years later, but–having been popular on social media for all of two years–X, TikTok and Instagram are already over the format. Now that I am in on the game, it guarantees that the very concept is now on the OUT list.

2024 In / Out

My amateur take on what will be on and off trend in 2024. A baker’s dozen of spurious prognostications.

In: Disallow Notifications
Out: Social Media

Everyone else is finally going to start treating their phones the way my Gen-X siblings have been doing since forever. Asynchronous communication is coming back in style.

In: Group Forums
Out: Group Chat

Somebody is finally going to make a half-decent app-first forum software that acts like Discord, but with, you know, history and topics, and Telegram is going to tank overnight.

In: Public Library Cubicles
Out: Work From Home

Somebody with influence will cotton on to the fact that some libraries have study cubicles and hordes of co-working space refugees will descend on the world’s collective libraries. Librarians will rejoice for one day before realizing they have become unpaid receptionists for elventy-seven blockchain startups

In: Tiki Drinks
Out: Espresso Martinis

Urban streamlined slickness and thumping bass tracks will give way to exotic make believe and lounging over giant cocktails

In: Closer European military integration
Out: Closer European financial integration

Why argue with autocratic Slovaks, Hungarians and (sometimes) Poles, when you can just bankrupt them with mandatory commitments to a European Fast Reaction Force?

In: Wool Trousers
Out: Chinos

The adult-ish male wardrobe will finally embrace a proper jeans replacement instead of stealth cargo pants

In: Matriarchy
Out: Tradwife

Multi-generational female run households will be the most stable solution to economic woes and housing shortages

In: Single Player AAA video games
Out: Indie videogames

Endless languishing in “early access” brought us AAA games with Day-1 DLC. Cozy indie games will this year bring back big-budget single-player games. They’ll all still be always-online DRM though

In: Live Music
Out: Spotify

The festival season is slowing re-expanding in response to paltry online earnings, and the begining/return of close-to-constant touring is going to become the norm for more and more bands.

In: Radler
Out: Shandy

Shandy is a radler made with lemonade. A Radler is a beer blended with fruit juice of any kind. Non-Lemonade radlers will be the summer drink, especially bottled grapefruit radler as a vodka mixer.

In: Teen Vogue
Out: Financial Times

Teen Vogue shed their aspirational fashion roots to become unabashedly social and political and skyrocketed in popularity as a result. Aspirational bourgeois mouthpiece FT has doubled down on Owning-Class propaganda and has lost most of its readership and ended the year with a 35 million euro loss.

In: Alerta Antifascista
Out: The Flenser

Indie-rock influenced marketing agency metal is waning. Crust punk influenced street fighting metal is waxing.

In: DMT
Out: Ketamine

The American demand for instant gratification and the studied efficacy of ketamine-assisted therapy is going to explode into $1500 One Day Reset DMT-Assisted Therapy.