Taylor Lorenz

Taylor Lorenz is a journalist covering tech, internet culture, influencers, memes, and social media. Based in Los Angeles, she currently is a technology reporter at The New York Times covering internet culture. She has also written for The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Daily Dot, BuzzFeed, and many other publications.

You seem like a naturally curious person: You focused on political science in college, interned with fashion companies, and have a certificate in web development. Tell us a bit about your backstory and how your sense of curiosity lead to the writing career you have today.

I totally fell into it! I got into journalism essentially through Tumblr. My tumblrs helped me get a job running social media for Fortune 500 brands at an ad agency. Once I was at the agency, I decided to try running social for a media company. I joined the Daily Mail and realized I loved working in news and media.

Of all the topics you write about, which is your favorite...and why?

I love writing about how people use technology to communicate and connect. That's the core theme to all of my stories.

Your focus on tech and pop culture positions you as a go-to source for "staying up on things." How do you stay in the loop on trends and keep a finger on the pulse of what's happening in the world today?

People ask me this and I never know how to answer! I spent a lot of time on Instagram and Reddit and just scrolling around. I also follow a lot of cool creators on Instagram who essentially curate the internet for me.

You're also known for being an extremely prolific writer. How do you keep up with social media (especially Twitter, which is always moving) and find time to write/research/interview for your reporting work?

I don't have a work life balance, my entire life is just sort of being on the internet and writing stories up when I see them. I hate being late to a story, so if I see something good I try to write it up fast, no matter what day or time it is.

I've seen you talk about the harassment you deal with online as a female reporter many times. Tell us a bit about the reality of this, how you deal with it, and what others can do to help.

There aren't enough characters here to get into it. Women and other oppressed groups are harassed online all day and the level of cruelty, sexism, and misogyny, on the internet is purely a product of (mostly white male) tech CEOs not taking the issue seriously enough. I wrote a bit about this here.

Any misconceptions about your work you'd like to set the record straight on? Pet peeves or common assumptions that drive you nuts?

I write a lot about young people and I dislike when people consider me a "teen reporter." I write about things young people are doing or care about, sure. But I'm not a teen reporter and my beat is not teens, it's culture and how our culture is being shaped by social platforms and tech. It's a difference I think some people miss!

Give us your single best piece of advice for aspiring writers. What do you wish you'd known when you started?

Your writing doesn't matter much in reporting. I'm super dyslexic and a terrible writer. What matters is your ability to uncover new stories and new information. So I'd say focus on becoming a good reporter and the writing skills you can worry about honing later.