What is a VSCO girl? That's what everyone wants to know. VSCO CEO and co-founder Joel Flory told Cheddar the topic "really shot up" this year as Google recently revealed the eponymous term was the second most popular "What is…" search of 2019.

There is no official definition, but a quick search seems to reveal a VSCO girl as a teen or tween who takes selfies of herself decked out in trendy gear (think oversized T-shirts and Hydro Flask water bottles). But according to Flory, to its users, the term means more.

"It's a young woman that you'll see in the Google search that is an 'activist'," said Flory. The company's new survey of more than 1,000 Gen Zer's ages 14 to 23 found that "activist" is a label many are happy to hold..

"They're proud and thankful about how social media helps them really label themselves and figure out who they are in their identity," he added.

But, according to VSCO's survey, while 46 percent of Gen Z take pride in being "activists," 37 percent feel they have to hide their political beliefs around family members during the holidays. "Coming into the holidays, they're really anxious to how their family views them and 45 percent say they feel judged by their family for their social media posts," Flory said.

He also discussed VSCO's acquisition of Rylo, the camera and video-editing app company. VSCO sold off the brand's hardware to Best Buy and will be focusing on ways to utilize the software.

"We were able to see an early prototype and beta version of their new consumer mobile app that actually helped people be more expressive with all these great video tools and loved it so much that we really wanted to bring it into the VSCO suite," Flory said regarding Rylo.

As smartphones continue to come with better camera and video editing features already built into the hardware, an app like VSCO is focused on how to leverage the technology smartphones already provide.

"I view it less as a competition and actually more as an accelerant, and so if we think about creativity, it used to just be for those who self-identified as creative. The advancement of the hardware of these devices is really making creativity a global language," Flory said.

Share:
More In Business
Watchdog Slams IRS Identity Theft Case Delays as “Unconscionable”
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
A.I. Investments Carry Amazon Over $2 Trillion Valuation Threshold
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Load More