My Internet: Julia Vitale
The Air Mail editor-in-chief only follows discourse if it’s juicy and light and fun.
Every other week (or so) we quiz a “very online” person for their essential guide to what’s good on the internet.
Today we welcome Julia Vitale, the editor-in-chief of Air Mail, where she started as a senior editor at its launch in 2019. Before that, she was an editor at Vanity Fair. Julia is a strong proponent of limiting your Instagram following to people you actually know and suggests having a small child in order to limit one’s phone use. —Nick
EMBEDDED: What’s a recent meme or post that made you laugh?
JULIA VITALE:
EMBEDDED: Do you tweet? Why?
JULIA VITALE: I honestly can’t think of anything I’ve ever wanted to do less than Tweet. I think I just never cracked the algorithm, and now with Musk all over it I’m more turned off than ever.
EMBEDDED: What do you use Instagram for?
JULIA VITALE: Inspiration. And story ideas!
EMBEDDED: What types of videos do you watch on YouTube?
JULIA VITALE: Vogue makeup tutorials that I will never get anywhere close to replicating, and my kid’s last-resort, “Wheels on the Bus.”
EMBEDDED: What do you like about TikTok? What do you dislike?
JULIA VITALE: I’m obsessed with TikTok. No notes.
EMBEDDED: Where do you tend to get your news?
JULIA VITALE: The essentials: The Daily Mail, the New York Post and its excellent California edition, the New York Social Diary, the East Hampton Star, the Shiny Sheet, Dagospia, and Paris Match. But also: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Times of London, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Spectator.
EMBEDDED: How do you keep up with the online discourse? How important is it to you to do this?
JULIA VITALE: Minimally, unless it’s juicy and light and fun. Air Mail is meant in large part to be a haven from the ceaseless negativity of the daily news cycle, which is, incidentally, how I like to live my life.
EMBEDDED: What’s a popular misconception that you see repeated online?
JULIA VITALE: That Air Mail is a conservative publication because our “About” page details our “catholic” tastes. It’s an adjective that means “all embracing” when it’s lowercase!!
EMBEDDED: What are your favorite newsletters?
JULIA VITALE: I could not be more biased, but: Air Mail’s. Our Saturday issue, which offers the perfect weekend morning read, but also: Week in Culture and Book Report, our culture and books newsletters, which come at a time when neither area is covered nearly well enough; LOOK, our beauty-and-wellness newsletter, edited by the ever intrepid Allure founder Linda Wells; Dress Code, our newly launched fashion-and-style newsletter, edited by Rickie De Sole and geared for people with great taste; and AIR SUPPLY, our irresistible shopping newsletters, superbly curated by Jen Noyes.
Also: Delia Cai’s trusty Deez Links, Andy Borowitz’s Borowitz Report (his takes on world news are true comedic gold), and Lachlan Cartwright’s Breaker (when I’m not in it).
EMBEDDED: What, if anything, is there to learn from the popularity of the looksmaxxing trend and influencers like Clavicular?
JULIA VITALE: The benefits of staying offline and out of the discourse cannot be understated.
EMBEDDED: Do you have any advice for people who use sports betting apps or prediction markets?
JULIA VITALE: Don’t do it!!
EMBEDDED: Do you try to limit your phone use? If so, what methods have been helpful for this?
JULIA VITALE: Yes—I highly suggest having a small child.
EMBEDDED: What’s something that you have observed about the online behavior of Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and/or Boomers?
JULIA VITALE: That no one—not even my 90-plus-year-old grandpa—is immune to the lures of the algorithm. Instagram actually taught me the term for old Italian men who stand in front of construction sites all day—umarell. Well, now my grandpa does that through his phone.
EMBEDDED: How do you find recommendations for what to watch, read, and listen to?
JULIA VITALE: The old-school way—word of mouth, pitches in my inbox, and reviews.
EMBEDDED: Have you had posts go viral? What is that experience like?
JULIA VITALE: I literally have 500 followers on Instagram. I am a strong proponent of limiting your Instagram following to people you actually know—so that’s an impossibility for me.
EMBEDDED: Who’s the coolest person who follows you?
JULIA VITALE: See above—no one follows me!
EMBEDDED: Who’s someone more people should follow?
JULIA VITALE: On Instagram: Camille Charriere, Air Mail’s newest columnist, and Leandra Medine Cohen. They cover fashion in such a refreshing and un-buttoned-up way. Tatiana Hambro Arader, for pure visual bliss. And, not a person, but: Italy Segreta. The definition of Italian charm, and great for day-dreaming when your reality is sitting in an office in New York City all day.
On TikTok: Paige Lorenze. Love her or hate her, she won the tennis WAGs war, got a reverse boob job, is about to get married, and looks impeccable despite being a self-avowed Kraft Mac ‘n’ cheese fanatic … need I say more?
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EMBEDDED: Which big celebrity has your favorite internet presence, and why?
JULIA VITALE: Lisa Taddeo.
EMBEDDED: Do you text people voice notes? If not, how do you feel about getting them?
JULIA VITALE: I hate receiving voice notes and have never sent a single one. I’m always in the street trying to listen amidst sirens and my kid screaming and inevitably miss three quarters of what the person is saying. Plus, I like to have things in writing. Stay tuned for Air Mail’s forthcoming story on the subject.
EMBEDDED: If you could only keep one streaming service for TV and/or movies, which would it be, and why? What’s a show that you’re really into right now?
JULIA VITALE: Rivals, Season 2. Jilly Cooper forever.
EMBEDDED: What’s your favorite non-social media app?
JULIA VITALE: Yuka. It tells you how “clean” products actually are, from food to beauty. It kind of becomes a torture, because once you use it you can’t stop, but it’s a good kind of torture.
EMBEDDED: What’s the most basic internet thing that you love?
JULIA VITALE: Probably Paige Lorenze on TikTok.
EMBEDDED: Is there a site you like for product recommendations? How do you decide, for example, which air filter to buy?
JULIA VITALE: I thankfully have a man who lives for this stuff. Truly the bane of my existence. Why would I want to look up air filters when I could spend my time reading, editing great stories, and running after my kid?
Thanks Julia! Subscribe to Air Mail.
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