We see curiosity theater all around.

Audience members asking questions at panels that are actually mini-speeches. People at dinner name-dropping obscure books in conversation but never engaging with their core arguments. Folks on social media starting ‘learning projects’ and abandoning them after a week.

Then there’s curation theater.

Posting endless... See more

But gradually, social-media users became more comfortable sharing intimate details of their lives with strangers and corporations. ... They became more adept at putting on performances and managing their personal brand—activities that might impress others but that do not deepen friendships in the way that a private phone conversation will.  Once... See more

People still select and deliver important content to one another, but content no longer takes the form of logical statements with truth-values that can be tested against the absolute truth. Instead, content becomes a vehicle for the expression of emotional attitudes. The automatic means of reaction, such as likes and reposts, on social media do not... See more

Conspiratorial thinking is no longer just for the tinfoil-hat crowd. The very structure of the internet encourages a kind of hyper-paranoia, where every piece of content feels like it’s leading somewhere bigger.

The way platforms serve us information—fractured, unpredictable, contextless—creates a feeling of constant destabilisation. What’s real?... See more