A brand called Fear of God sells must-have hoodies, the Freemasons are recruiting heavily from Gen Z, and what parents need to know about how gore travels online. But first:
Song of the Week: “Janice ST*U” by Drake
Rocketing to #1 on Spotify’s Top 50 – USA chart and #4 on Top 50 – Global, “Janice ST*U” shows that the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar is far from resolved. While Kendrick rode the aftermath of their dueling 2024 diss tracks all the way to the Super Bowl stage, Drake went quiet—until now, when he’s released three albums at once: ICEMAN, MAID OF HONOUR, and HABIBTI. “Janice ST*U,” from ICEMAN, is an explicit, Sopranos-inspired, muttered and distorted rebuttal to Drake’s enemies and naysayers. Drake insists his work isn’t “soft,” it’s “silk,” and refuses to pretend he doesn’t care what others say, rapping, “You say what my work means to me will one day be the death of me / They tried to kill me once, but, darling, you just resurrected me.” Lyrics Lyric video (language)
And now for our three conversations..
1. The Beginning of Wisdom?
What it is: Hoodies from the brand Fear of God Essentials have become a mainstay (paywall) for teens and pre-teens alike.
Why it’s trending: The brand’s name comes from fashion designer Jerry Lorenzo’s Christian faith, specifically from reading My Utmost for His Highest with his family growing up. Customers say they like how comfortable the oversized hoodies are, and how simple the style is; usually, just the phrase “Fear of God Essentials” is printed over an earth-toned cotton fleece. While hoodies from the original Fear of God line might cost between $395 and $1,170, the Fear of God Essentials line prices its hoodies somewhere between $130 and $200. Fear of God also recently launched a collaboration with the “Don’t Stop Your Future” campaign, which protests knife crime in London in connection with the Elba Hope Foundation.
Continue the conversation: Do you think clothing that says “Fear of God” will encourage people to actually fear God?
2. FreemasonTok
What it is: The mysterious secret society is now recruiting on TikTok.
What it looks like: To some people, Freemasonry represents the pursuit of communal bonds and personal development for (mostly) men. To others, the Freemasons are more like a demonic cult, associated with the Illuminati and/or the idea that all religions are the same. Rumors about initiation rituals and occult symbolism abound; but the official Freemason TikTok account looks a lot like other TikTok accounts, with members of the Lodge shimmying to electronic music. The article from The Standard speculates that high rates of friendlessness could be a contributing factor for young men wanting to join the Freemasons—a trend we explored in our Parent Guide to Loneliness.
Continue the conversation: How do you decide whether something goes against your beliefs?
3. GoreCore
What it is: Gore content—depictions of violence, bloodshed, traumatic injury, and death—is finding its way out of niche forums and on to TikTok, where teens are consuming it. AI might be a contributing factor.
Why it’s a thing: Some might argue that for teens in 2026, encountering violent content is just part of the bargain of being online. A 2024 study by Ofcom, the UK’s equivalent of the FCC, showed that exposure to gore content can happen as early as elementary school. Gore content is exactly what it sounds like: gory. The genre includes photos and videos depicting suicides, torture situations, graphic war and conflict footage, and traffic accidents. In the past, actual footage of these traumas was preferred. Now, AI-generated overlays can sneak it past the algorithm’s filters and onto social media feeds where teens aren’t necessarily looking for it. One teenage girl who enjoys watching gore videos told Slate (paywall) that her hobby started at age 11, when she came across an AI-edited video of the Christchurch mosque shooting on TikTok with Minions (yes, the yellow blobs from Despicable Me) in place of people. After that, she started watching and exchanging gore with her friends. Boys between 10 and 14 reported feeling forced to regard this material as amusing, out of fear that they might not fit in if they were to respond negatively.
Let’s translate this one further…
Novelty is part of the reason why social media is so successful—you never know what video or photo you will see next. By design, it keeps us hungry for more, without ever actually feeding us.
Social media companies’ goals are not to keep users happy. The goal is to keep them engaged. Algorithms track comments, likes, shares, and watch time. So, even if you see something that grosses you out and you do not ‘like it,’ if you share it with a friend or watch it for more than a few seconds, you will keep getting videos like that on your feed.
When videos depicting bombings, graphic war footage, or mass-casualty events come up unexpectedly, the human instinct is often not to look away. It’s the same kind of morbid curiosity that might lead someone to cover their eyes but still peek between their fingers during a scary movie.
That’s why gore content generates high engagement, and their reach becomes unlimited. Depictions of murder, torture, and abused corpses can be pushed to any teen’s TikTok feed, and if they watch for even a few shocked seconds, their likelihood of seeing more increases. And gore “content creators” will tag their content with popular hashtags so that unrelated searches will surface their posts.
Limiting teens’ screen time is a worthy endeavor, but won’t protect them from ever seeing this kind of content—as one mom in Slate’s reporting learned. Despite efforts to limit her son’s screen time at home, he watched the violent videos on his school-issued Chromebook.
At Axis, we believe that one of the best things a parent can do for a teen is to have open conversations with them. Asking your teen open-ended questions about what they are seeing online, or hearing about at school, practice, or church, might not always prove to be fruitful (“I don’t know, mom”), but you are showing them that you are willing to speak their language—and that you’re there when they need you.
When kids come across violent content online, they might feel guilty for watching it, even if they were not seeking it out. And if they do not think their parents know about gore content, that makes it that much easier to go to a friend, or the internet, for answers, instead of talking to you.
We have some conversation starters below, but if you have seen gore content before, it could be as simple as saying something like, “The other day I had a violent video pop up on my Instagram. It made me feel so weird. Has that ever happened to you before?”
For more context and nuance, check out our Roundtable podcast on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the meantime, here are three questions to help you continue the conversation with your teens:
Parenting together,
Jenna Mindel and the Axis Team
In Other News…
- The Mandalorian and Grogu, a Star Wars adventure starring Pedro Pascal and his travel-sized “baby Yoda” sidekick, is expected to earn $160 million this weekend.
- A new Instagram feature called “Instants” allows users to send quick, unedited photos through direct messages. Similar to features on Snapchat and BeReal, Instants disappear within 24 hours, or after they’re viewed.
- The American Music Awards (AMAs) will air on Monday, May 25, and feature performances from KATSEYE, Teddy Swims, and sombr—as well as the Pussycat Dolls and Busta Rhymes.
- Spotify celebrated its app’s twentieth anniversary with a suite of special listening history features, and also temporarily switched its icon to a glowing green mirror ball. But the logo switch was confusing, and users became irate.
- Teen Vogue predicts that the wave of preppy, 90s fashion nostalgia will continue to swell into the summer, with bandanas, sweaters tied around the waist, checkered and polka-dotted prints, and loafers with socks all trending.
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