The Kids of Summer

Parker, Serge, & Alan (20)

Parker: There are people younger than me making millions [of dollars] from content creation. I try to get everyone around me to make content—because it’s so easy! You can make wealth doing it. So why not do it? Especially if you love what you’re doing. You just put the camera down and do what you’re doing. 

Who is your fanbase? 

Parker: It’s predominantly women. But the guys always comment, “I like your outfits.” 

Do you ever get self-conscious or burnt out? 

Parker: No. You can’t really get burnt out if it’s something you love. If you’re grinding, you’ll get burnt out. But if you get burnt out, someone else is going to do it. And that person is going to take your spot. My parents are in their 50s and 60s. They’re at the age where anything can happen. So I want them to see me be successful before anything bad happens. That’s why I’m striving to be financially stable. So I can help them out. That’s my goal.

Alice & Mia, both 19

What’s summer in NYC usually like? 

Mia: Summer in the City is spray pack and boof cart—and frozen yogurt! 

Alice: Summer in the City is getting a fitted Yankee hat with your boys! And working your ass off in the daytime and getting lit at night! 

I feel like there’s a lot of worry about your generation. You guys are always portrayed as anxious and in need of saving. Are you guys worried about your generation? 

Alice: Nah, I’m not really worried. A lot is going wrong, but I feel like our generation is making changes. 

What sort of change? 

Alice: Um. Oh, fuck. You ate with that question. Because, like, what changes are we actually making?

Colette & Delling

Dzik, Pablo, & Mead, all 19

Elijah & Helena, both 19

What was your summer highlight?

Helena: Going to Mattituck with my friends.

Elijah: Yeah, same.

So the best part of summer in the City was leaving the City?

Elijah: Yeah, the City’s been doing too much. But also I’ve been going to live music in the City.

What was the best show?

Elijah: New York.

Helena: New York at MoMA PS1.

Last year was “brat summer.” What was this summer?

Helena: Bladee Summer 😛

Elijah: Yung Lean summer. Honestly it was Xaviersobased summer.

Where did you learn to mosh?

Helena: Going to shows. Mostly I think moshing is so cathartic.

Elijah: My parents are both hardcore types. Also media, being at shows, and performing.

Yes. Tell me about your music. You just dropped the fire EP!

Elijah: Album fr. We’re a family band [called] Gershy Sloosh.

Ok. This was a pretty fried interview, but thank you for doing it.

Elijah: Wow we’re too fried for i-D. Thank you bro this was awesome.

Kaia & Creedance

Lia & Marcus

What reminds you of summer in the City? 

Lia: Open fire hydrants, ice cream stains, and subway B.O. 

Marcus: Biking everywhere and getting gallon jugs of water. The City also smells different in the summer and feels more active and crowded. 

Which subway stop is the worst to be stuck in, in the summer? 

Lia: Times Square year-round. But Union Square for the heat. 

Marcus: Union Square definitely gets the hottest—it feels upwards of 120 degrees in there for most of the summer. 

What’s a good slang word someone from New York would know? 

Lia: Foenem—because it’s fun to say! 

What trended this summer? 

Lia: AI ASMR babies. 

Marcus: I saw way too many Labubus this summer and heard at least one 6-7 joke every day. 

Was there a song of the summer for you? 

Lia: “Zoal, face dancey” by Grimes. And “Pond House” by Saint Etienne. 

Marcus: “Euphoria” by Neggy Gemmy. 

New York is banning phones in classrooms—good idea? 

Lia: I see how it’s coming from a good place. It’s now normalized to run to our phones instead of facing the reality of putting ourselves out there. Maybe the phone ban, as annoying as it can be for some, will improve socialization, personal growth, and risks that don’t come as easy with a media escape. 

Marcus: It has ups and downs like everything. I doubt it will make kids focus more in class, but they will definitely get more social. Overall, I think it’s a relatively good idea—but that also comes from bias because I don’t have to experience it in college.

Me, Mikaela, Odette, & Julia

Viv

What was the high point of your summer? The low point? 

Viv: The high point was when my roommate and best friend Cecil—Quiet Signal of Devotion—came from Tacoma to visit me in NYC. We made art and I watched her write songs and we smoked a bunch of bud. It was lit. The low point had to be the increasingly uncomfortable vibrations coming from my mom’s [apartment]. 

You were in i-D last summer. I met you at prom. How have you changed since last summer? 

Viv: I know you more now. I have some solid chosen family at [my college]. Woah, you met me before I met *** and still knew me after I broke up with them :0 

Yeah, I’ve outlived many teen relationships now. 

Viv: That’s crazy. You must hear about so much random tea. 

More than you could possibly imagine. What do you think of when you think of summer in the City? 

Viv: That’s such a corny question!!! I think of skaters and being crossed and dehydrated and my parents’ place and smoking out my window and being bored and sad and stuck but also staying lit and going out too much. 

Which subway station is the sweatiest? I vote West 4th lower level. Oooh chile, it gets hot. 

Viv: West 4th on Pride. 

Lmao. Deriod. What’s a new slang word you added to your repertoire since last year? 

Viv: “Deriod.” It’s like dude, period. And “Sendy”—Alice introduced me to it. It means going crazy and doing the most. 

Like full send. How long do you think someone has to live in New York to be considered a New Yorker?
 

Viv: Born and raised :((( sry. Not to gatekeep. Living in New York and being a New Yorker are not the same thing. I guess maybe like 20 years. No. Fifteen years. Depends if you had to work for it too. If you’re not coming from the Midwest or the West Coast with nothing but the clothes on your back and working with everything you have to be able to live in the City—like, that’s New York! 

Is there anything i-D readers should know about you? 

Viv: I’m single!!! 😀 Wait. Tell them I did this interview over text message and that’s why it’s unhinged. And that my favorite color is pink.