mid culture
the system will only make the system stronger, the next generation is instead opting for radical hyperstition: constructing alternative futures that abandon
Caroline Busta • The Internet Didn’t Kill Counterculture—you Just Won’t Find It on Instagram
A truth specific to our time is that dissent against one level of authority is now very often driven by a deeper hegemonic force. Perhaps this is why, among many younger people (Greta Thunberg notwithstanding), there is less focus on battling current leaders and more interest in divining counter-futures
Caroline Busta • The Internet Didn’t Kill Counterculture—you Just Won’t Find It on Instagram
Despite all the crises we face – the cost of living, climate change, AI – any of which should surely be enough material to inspire real and meaningful art, the overwhelm of information paired with exhausting post-capitalist forces has created an atmosphere that is nihilistic and excruciatingly mid.
How Did Everything Get So Mid?
Both share something that will define the future of our interaction with each other and machines. Algorithmic driven content, interfaces that shift from clicks and pages to a back and forth interactive volley with machines that do more and more to shape and surface deeply customized content, accomplish tasks, automate routines, and step us closer t
... See moreTroy Young • When The Internet Becomes Chat
It’s been endlessly argued that algorithms influence too much of what we watch, listen to, read, and even think. Personal taste erodes while decision-making is outsourced to the platform. This globalization, platform persuasion, and general apathy has spilled over into all types of homogenization: the look of our coffee shops, cars, architecture, l
... See moreThe names of these e-deologies tend to be both fantastical and literal. A “post-civilizationist” might focus on what optimal human survival would look like were civilization no longer possible. A “voluntarist post-agrarianist,” meanwhile, might value anarcho-primitivism skills but see them as integral to realizing a civilization sustained through o
... See moreCaroline Busta • The Internet Didn’t Kill Counterculture—you Just Won’t Find It on Instagram
“To be truly countercultural in a time of tech hegemony, one has to, above all, betray the platform which may come in the form of betraying or divesting from your public online self
Caroline Busta • The Internet Didn’t Kill Counterculture—you Just Won’t Find It on Instagram
The fastest growing sector of the culture economy is distraction . Or call it scrolling or swiping or wasting time or whatever you want. But it’s not art or entertainment, just ceaseless activity.
The key is that each stimulus only lasts a few seconds, and must be repeated.
The key is that each stimulus only lasts a few seconds, and must be repeated.
Ted Gioia • The State of the Culture, 2024
Additionally, dark forest spaces are both minimally and straightforwardly commercial. There is typically a small charge for entry, but once you are in, you are free to act and speak without the platform nudging your behavior or extracting further value