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Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Time Magazine
I Used to Hate the Beach. Here's What Changed My Mind
You're either a mountain person or you're a beach person. At least, that's what I used to think. The two groups aren't just distinct but opposite, the Sharks vs. Jets of outdoor recreation, each side dance-snapping at the other in rhythmic distrust. There was never any question which gang I belonged to. Growing up, my family skied. We hiked. While no one would ever have described us as 'mountaineers,' our vacations nearly always involved verticality. What really made us mountain people, though, is that we weren't beach people. On its face, what set us apart was elevation, but really the divide ran much deeper. In the mountains, you pick a point and work hard to get there. If you're hiking or climbing, the goal is above you. If you're skiing, snowboarding, or mountain biking, the goal is below. Either way, in the mountains, a sense of satisfaction and wonder comes through hard work and achievement. You earn your views. Beach people, on the other hand… well, to be honest, I didn't really get beach people. I understood beach activities: boogey-boarding, bodysurfing, fishing. But just hanging out on the sand, sitting on a rickety chair in the shade of a flimsy umbrella, with nothing but a book or human being for company? That didn't seem merely strange to me. It seemed scary. The Jewish Talmud refers to sleep as 1/60th of death. That's more or less how I felt about hanging out at the beach. And so, as fate would have it, I fell in love with a beach person. The coastal Maria to my alpine Tony was Jacqui, a Jersey girl who grew up ten minutes from the shore. We were 25-years-old when we met on OkCupid in its 2011 heyday. She was still in law school at the time. I was a junior speechwriter in the White House. While sleeping in her childhood twin bed was not entirely inviting, the prospect of free weekend getaways was too good to pass up. We made a few trips each summer. 'What should we do?' I'd ask in the morning. 'Go to the beach,' Jacqui would reply. 'Okay, but what should we do at the beach,' I'd ask. Jacqui would give me a confused look, as though I'd asked what we should do while wrestling alligators or piloting fighter jets through a hail of enemy gunfire. For 'to go' was the only beach-related verb needed. Read More: What Surfing Taught Me About Having Fun in a World That's on Fire It's hard to believe that there was a time when I thought that a 'beach day' was the same thing as 'a day spent at the beach.' The latter is a description. The former, I now know, is a ritual. The details are unique to each beachgoer, yet the experience being summoned is the same. For my then-girlfriend, now wife, it began at Wegman's, the grocery store that plays the kind of communal role in Central New Jersey that cathedrals once did in Medieval Europe. There, like a witch carefully selecting spell ingredients, she'd pick out provisions. Turkey sandwich with provolone and spicy mustard. Ruffles potato chips. Sparkling water. Blueberries. (Jacqui eats other kinds of berries, of course, but never at the beach.) We'd throw our haul in the cooler, set out in search of a parking spot, and haul our chairs toward the sand. It's hard to describe how antsy I felt in the absence of a concrete, mountain-person goal. We're letting entire hours fly by! I'd think. I can't point to the exact moment when I began to feel kind of beachy. But in a way, that's the point. A beach day isn't about discrete moments—it's about time melting into itself like provolone cheese on a turkey sandwich. It's one of the few instances when 'Where did the time go?' can be asked with delight rather than regret. That's especially true in America. In a country that fetishizes productivity, the beach celebrates the absence of achievement. It gives a quiet, content middle finger to our nation's workaholism. In its own laid-back and lackadaisical way, beachgoers argue that life's most valuable reward isn't a yacht or private jet or invitation to hobnob with the rich and powerful. It's extra time—and the chance to spend it with people you care about. In a country in the grip of rampant and growing income inequality, that's a remarkably egalitarian view of luxury. For most Americans, the beach is also the country's most accessible public land. Many of America's most pristine woodlands or peaks are deep in the wilderness. That's part of what makes them pristine. The beach is different—and far more densely populated. While coastal counties make up less than 10% of the lower 48 states' landmass, they're home to 40% of its people. For many American families, sun and sand are the most affordable nature around. And in our often privatized and commodified country, American beaches today remain surprisingly accessible. There are ongoing fights about the dwindling number of public beaches, and reasons to be concerned the number will shrink. But for now, in both law and theory, the beach belongs to everyone. Nor has beach access devolved into yet another red versus blue issue. California and Texas like to present themselves as polar opposite visions for America. But one thing they have in common is that the public has a legal right to access the beach. Read More: How I Learned to Love My Body—Especially in the Summer That's one reason why—while the fantasy of a private beach remains the prevailing one in beer commercials or posts from travel influencers—in real life the beach is increasingly a melting pot. Nationalists like Stephen Miller suggest that when people from different backgrounds share the same space, the inevitable result is chaos. The beach belies that. That's especially easy to see here in New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the country, and one of its most diverse. When people from vastly different groups hang out on the beach, what happens is pretty simple: they enjoy themselves. That's not because they're trying to prove a point about multiculturalism. It's because, if you're not enjoying yourself on the beach, who even are you? The beach isn't perfect. If someone ran for president on the single-issue platform of 'No blasting music from giant Bluetooth speakers on the sand without your fellow beachgoers' consent,' they'd have my vote. But while I still love to ski and hike and earn my views, I've realized that sharks and jets exist in closer symbiosis than I once thought. We don't have to divide ourselves into mountain people and beach people. We need both. And if we're lucky, we get to be both. One night, almost a decade ago, Jacqui and I went to Long Branch, New Jersey on July 4th. We staked out a spot on the jam-packed sand and laid out our blankets. There were at least a half-dozen languages being spoken, but no translation was needed. We sat together, chatting in anticipation of the fireworks, enjoying a quintessentially American experience. After the last boom echoed over the shoreline, everyone went their separate ways. But not immediately. There was a moment when all of us—thousands of us—lingered and listened to the ocean. We sat there on the edge of the infinite, each of us knowing that, for a moment, anyway, we had all the time in the world.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Match Group Earnings Preview: What to Expect
Dallas, Texas-based Match Group, Inc. (MTCH) provides digital technologies designed to help people make meaningful connections. Valued at a market cap of $8.2 billion, the company operates a portfolio of more than 45 brands, including Tinder, PlentyOfFish, Meetic and OkCupid. It is expected to announce its fiscal Q2 earnings for 2025 on Tuesday, July 29. Ahead of the event, analysts project this online dating service company to report a profit of $0.58 per share, up 20.8% from $0.48 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has met or exceeded Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in three of the last four quarters, while missing on another occasion. This Underdog AI Stock Just Got a New Street-High Price Target 'The Most Patriotic Thing You Can Do Is Not Pay the IRS' Says Grant Cardone as OBBBA Signed into Law — Here's How Much You'll Save Texas Just Passed Quantum Computing Legislation. How Should You Play IONQ Stock Here? Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. For the full year, analysts expect MTCH to report EPS of $2.51, up 12.6% from $2.23 in fiscal 2024. Its EPS is expected to further grow 17.1% year over year to $2.94 in fiscal 2026. MTCH has soared 6.2% over the past 52 weeks, falling behind both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 12.3% rise and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLC) 22.7% uptick over the same time frame. On May 8, Match Group reported Q1 2025, and its stock dropped 9.6% as concerns over core business performance took center stage. Revenue declined 3% year over year, and the number of paying users fell by 5% to 14.2 million, highlighting ongoing engagement challenges. Adjusted operating income edged down to $275 million. Despite introducing new AI-driven features and projecting Q2 revenue between $850 million and $860 million, the guidance suggests stagnant or weakening growth, particularly among Gen Z users, fueling continued investor caution. Wall Street analysts are moderately optimistic about Match Group's stock, with a "Moderate Buy" rating overall. Among 22 analysts covering the stock, seven recommend "Strong Buy," one suggests a 'Moderate Buy,' and 14 advise 'Hold.' The mean price target for MTCH is $34.05, which indicates a potential upside of 3.6% from the current levels. On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
Cosmopolitan
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
The 5 Best Dating Apps For Trans People
Welcome to Love Transcends, a special project by Cosmopolitan that celebrates the resilience, wisdom, hope, and joy of the trans community as its members navigate romantic love. Through in-depth interviews and personal essays, trans people share what it's like to date, hook up, break up, and fall in and hold onto love in the midst of sweeping anti-trans legislation and attacks on personal safeties and freedoms of expression. Click here to see the entire collection. Whether you've been swiping since the dawn of Tinder or you're brand-new to the apps, success for anyone requires knowing what you want out of the experience, picking the right platform, and, for transgender people in particular, considering a few other unique needs. 'Trans people face the challenge of being misunderstood, objectified, or harassed on dating apps,' says trans dating and relationship coach Kara Chang, adding that daters may also grapple with 'decision fatigue around when and how to disclose our trans identity.' Plus, there's the fact that, as Chang notes, many dating apps simply weren't built with trans people in mind. That makes choosing the right ones all the more important. First, look for platforms that prioritize inclusivity and safety. 'A good dating app protects you as a user, gives you the freedom to express your gender identity authentically, and has a culture that values respect and an equal user experience for all,' says Chang. Of course, as queer love coach Nathan Serrato, founder of Queer Conscious, adds, the trans dating experience is unique to each individual. What works for one dater may not work for another. But this curated selection of dating apps—recommended for trans and nonbinary users by LGBTQIA+ dating experts—is a good place to start. Grindr is best known as a dating/hookup app for gay men, but it's so much more than that. Zachary Zane, Grindr's sex and relationship expert, says the platform is inclusive of queer, trans, and nonbinary folks as well. 'On Grindr,' explains Zane, 'bisexual men are looking to date trans women. There are gay and bi trans men looking for other men. Nonbinary folks are looking for love and there are plenty of queer people on the app looking to date a trans or nonbinary person.' Plus, as one of the first and largest online dating platforms for queer users, Grindr has a long history of providing a space designed specifically with LGBTQIA+ daters in mind. That ethos extends beyond the app itself. Launched in 2015, Grindr for Equality, the brand's social impact initiative, partners with public health authorities and other activist organizations to advance LGBTQIA+ health and human rights. Download Here One of the earliest online dating platforms, OkCupid has long been a pioneer of inclusivity. Back in 2014, the app became the first in the biz to expand gender and sexual orientation options for users, and daters can now choose from over 60 labels. In 2022, OkCupid also added definitions for these labels to help better educate all users. Plus, 'the algorithm actually uses your questionnaire responses to match you with people who are genuinely compatible,' says Chang. This can lead to less mindless swiping and more meaningful connections with like-minded people who know (and love!) what you're all about. Download Here If Grindr is known as an app for gay men, HER is the most prominent app for lesbian women. But, like Grindr, HER is an inclusive platform that welcomes queer sapphics of all kinds, including nonbinary and trans people. HER also boasts a Trust and Safety team, a verification process designed to weed out fakes and scammers, and moderators to ensure all users enjoy a respectful experience. Plus, HER's website specifically mentions keeping the app transphobe-free—a helpful indicator that the platform is serious about the needs and safety of its trans users. Download Here 'Translr is one of the rare apps built for the trans community. It's a space dedicated to trans people and the people who want to date us,' says Chang. 'There is a mutual understanding among users—no need to explain our existence, just vibes and love.' The app also boasts a rigorous verification process to protect users and block fetishizers and catfish, as well as a zero-tolerance policy for harassment. Download Here While apps that are designed specifically for queer and/or trans users may provide a safer and more inclusive experience, they also tend to come with the downside of smaller dating pools. Unfortunately, 'more users can also mean more exposure to transphobia,' says Serrato. Enter: Hinge, a popular dating app that welcomes daters of all genders and sexual orientations and actively works to provide a safe and supportive experience for queer and trans users. 'As trans people, we often feel like our identities are being flattened, with people focusing primarily on our trans identity instead of our full selves,' says Moe Ari Brown, Hinge's love and connection expert. Per Brown, Hinge 'understands that trans people are more than their identities and that meaningful connections happen when everyone feels safe showing up as their full self.' The app includes more than 50 gender options and users can write in their own or not share a gender identity in their profile at all. 'This allows people to express who they are without forcing anyone to disclose any information they don't want to,' says Brown. In February, as a result of conversations with Hinge's community partner TransTech Social, the app launched Match Note, a feature designed to help users—particularly those from underrepresented groups—share important information about themselves with matches only. In testing, Brown says queer daters used Match Notes to highlight key aspects of their gender identity, lifestyle, and relationship preferences, adding that 83 percent of trans people said the feature 'improved their ability to show up as their authentic self on Hinge.' Download Here For an expanded list of resources specific to the trans community, click here.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Q1 Earnings Highlights: Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Vs The Rest Of The Consumer Subscription Stocks
Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company's progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) and the best and worst performers in the consumer subscription industry. Consumers today expect goods and services to be hyper-personalized and on demand. Whether it be what music they listen to, what movie they watch, or even finding a date, online consumer businesses are expected to delight their customers with simple user interfaces that magically fulfill demand. Subscription models have further increased usage and stickiness of many online consumer services. The 8 consumer subscription stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts' consensus estimates by 1.9% while next quarter's revenue guidance was in line. Luckily, consumer subscription stocks have performed well with share prices up 26.2% on average since the latest earnings results. Spun out from Netflix, Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) makes hardware players that offer access to various online streaming TV services. Roku reported revenues of $1.02 billion, up 15.8% year on year. This print exceeded analysts' expectations by 1.5%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with a slight miss of analysts' number of total hours streamed estimates and a significant miss of analysts' EBITDA estimates. The stock is up 8.2% since reporting and currently trades at $72.80. Read our full report on Roku here, it's free. Founded by a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor and his Ph.D. student, Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) is a mobile app helping people learn new languages. Duolingo reported revenues of $230.7 million, up 37.7% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 3.4%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts' expectations. Duolingo delivered the fastest revenue growth and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The company reported 130.2 million users, up 33.4% year on year. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 31.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $526.99. Is now the time to buy Duolingo? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. Originally started as a dial-up service before widespread internet adoption, Match (NASDAQ:MTCH) was an early innovator in online dating and today has a portfolio of apps including Tinder, Hinge, Archer, and OkCupid. Match Group reported revenues of $831.2 million, down 3.3% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. It was a slower quarter as it posted a decline in its users and a slight miss of analysts' number of payers estimates. The stock is flat since the results and currently trades at $30.40. Read our full analysis of Match Group's results here. With courses ranging from investing to cooking to computer programming, Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) is an online learning platform that connects learners with expert instructors who specialize in a wide range of topics. Udemy reported revenues of $200.3 million, up 1.8% year on year. This number beat analysts' expectations by 1.5%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also logged EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts' expectations and a solid beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. Udemy had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The company reported 17,216 active buyers, up 7.1% year on year. The stock is up 13.4% since reporting and currently trades at $7.80. Read our full, actionable report on Udemy here, it's free. Started by the co-founder of Tinder, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) is a leading dating app built with women at the center. Bumble reported revenues of $247.1 million, down 7.7% year on year. This result met analysts' expectations. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts' expectations. Bumble had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The company reported 4.01 million active buyers, down 0.2% year on year. The stock is up 31% since reporting and currently trades at $5.75. Read our full, actionable report on Bumble here, it's free. In response to the Fed's rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been gradually trending down from its post-pandemic peak, trending closer to the Fed's 2% target. Despite higher borrowing costs, the economy has avoided flashing recessionary signals. This is the much-desired soft landing that many investors hoped for. The recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November 2024) have bolstered the stock market, making 2024 a strong year for equities. Donald Trump's presidential win in November sparked additional market gains, sending indices to record highs in the days following his victory. However, debates continue over possible tariffs and corporate tax adjustments, raising questions about economic stability in 2025. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tinder revamp aimed at Gen Zers who 'don't have as much sex'
Tinder's reputation as a 'hookup app' will be a thing of the past if the app's new chief executive has his way. Tinder revolutionized dating for a generation of millennials upon its launch in 2012, but it has been losing appeal among members of the Gen Z demographic, or people aged 18-28, not including those too young to download dating apps. Now, Spencer Rascoff is hoping to win over Gen Zers who he says 'don't have as much sex.' 'This generation of Gen Z, 18 to 28 — it's not a hookup generation. They don't drink as much alcohol, they don't have as much sex,' the 49-year-old chief executive of Tinder owner Match Group, told investors this month, per the New York Post. 'We need to adapt our products to accept that reality,' added Rascoff, the co-founder and former CEO of real estate marketplace Zillow. The company wants to create low-pressure ways for people to meet on the app, such as a 'double dating' feature, to win over Gen Zers. The feature allows users to pair up with friends and match with other pairs for dates. It will be launched globally this summer, Rascoff told the Wall Street Journal. Tinder has been testing 'double dating' in Europe and has seen positive results. Rascoff took the top job at Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, a few months ago, and has said that fixing Tinder is his main concern. He recently announced that he'd be stepping in to lead Tinder, too, after Faye Iosotaluno posted on LinkedIn that she will depart in June after less than two years on the job. In an internal memo, Rascoff asked staffers to speed up product changes, leverage artificial intelligence and focus on improving user safety, according to the Journal. Employees should focus on improving the user experience, even if it comes at the expense of short-term revenue, he said. 'Users don't want more matches, they want better ones,' he said in the memo. Gen Zers have left the platform in search of dating apps that could lead to more lasting relationships. Among 500 dating app users, about 85% said they didn't use Tinder because of its association with 'hookups,' according to a 2023 Wells Fargo survey.
