This Week on Thinking Is Cool đ±
We have a lot to unpack, Mark Zuckerberg
Welcome back to Thinking Is Cool, the podcast and newsletter here to make your next conversation better than your last. Iâm your host Kinsey Grant. If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here.Â
Stop what youâre doing right now and turn on one of these three songs: âRun This Townâ by Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West, âNew Friend Requestâ by Gym Class Heroes, or the soundtrack to The Social Network. Today, weâre asking ourselves whether Facebook has been a net good or net bad for the world. The mood has to be right.
Good morning and welcome to an incredibly exciting edition of Thinking Is Cool. Perhaps the most exciting yet. Why youâre wondering? Because this, friends and enemies, is the finale episode of Thinking Is Coolâs inaugural season. Whatâs more, itâs arguably the episode Iâm proudest of from this entire 10 weeks of content.Â
Itâs about Facebookânamely, the enormous impacts (both good and bad) that Facebook has had on all of our lives. Because whether we like it or not (or just use Facebook to look up obscure high school acquaintances who are now eyeballs deep in an MLM scheme), this company has truly changed the world as we know it.
So weâre going to talk about it.
Youâve been reading this for 10 weeks nowâyou know that you have options.Â
Option 1: Read this newsletter for background and then go listen to the episode on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you get podcasts. Recommended for people who keep their Instagram private.
Option 2: Go listen to this episode on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you get podcasts and then come back to this newsletter for more context. Recommended for people who keep their Instagram public.
Letâs rock.
This Week on Thinking Is Cool đ±
When was the last time you logged onto social media and logged off after an appropriate amount of time feeling better about yourself?
I typically only bet on the outcome of volatile late-college relationships, but Iâm willing to make an exception to bet on your answer to the above: Never.
Itâs my answer, too, and itâs not just because I follow one too many âitâs all genetics!â influencers. Itâs because social media, led by the fastest and most important of the four horsemen of the apocalypse (Facebook), has unalterably skewed our perceptions of more than just ourselvesâitâs mangled ideals of democracy, discourse, popularity, and community, too.
Social media is, in large part, a burbling cesspool of toxic waste perpetrating dangerous beliefs and conspiracies in exchange for more money than you or I could ever completely comprehendâŠ
âŠshe said as she immediately checks a notification for Thinking Is Coolâs Instagram page the second her phone buzzes like one of Pavlovâs dogs.
It illustrates the complicated reality of this episode of Thinking Is Cool: Social media has irrevocably changed mankind in a lot of very concerning ways, but weâre all willingly serving as sacrificial lambs. We know itâs bad, but we just canât quit it.
Facebook is as complicated as it is important. Itâs a company with the kind of winding history that illustrates a pretty full picture of American capitalism: Growth at all costs is justifiable if youâre a highly profitable wunderkind. The real measure of success isnât positive impact, but time spent consuming. Responsibility and accountability are nice to have, not need to have.
Thatâs what weâre thinking about this week. Itâs a complicated taskâtrying to wholly understand the ways one manâs company changed all of our lives. But itâs a worthy pursuit.
Because understanding Facebook and its simultaneous positive and negative impacts is a lesson in more than just social media. Itâs a lesson in the externalities of entrepreneurshipâa masterclass in our collective thinking.
I hope youâll listen to this episode and feel something. Maybe that feeling will be outrage (it was for me) or maybe that feeling will be admiration. Regardless, my biggest wish is that you come to some understanding of the ways we as human beings have allowed a company to so deeply infiltrate our lives.
That was kinda heavy so hereâs this:
Iâm not a petty person, so Iâll refrain from calling him a lizard person in this newsletter (listen to the episode tho). But if I wanted to call him a lizard person, I think it would be a textbook case of punching up. Justified.
A lot can change in 10 weeks. Back when I started Thinking Is Cool, I told you we were all about to grab hands and embark on the Best Summer Ever. 10 weeks and 10 episodes later, and boy did we do just that.
Thatâs thanks to HMBradley, our exclusive launch sponsor.
Over the last two months and change, HMBradley has completely shifted my perspective on money, personal finance, and saving and spending.
I feel lightyears more empowered to make good financial decisions. HMBradley has shown me that even small financial decisions can make a world of difference in my money plans.
Iâm not afraid to check my account balance anymore because HMBradleyâs tools reward me for saving and for spending.
Iâve started making and meeting my own financial goals with intuitive and automatic HMBradley tools like crazy good credit card rewards and deposit accounts that pay you more when you save more.
Iâve told you how great HMBradleyâs tools are all summer long. Now is the time to go see for yourself. Just head to hmb.to/ThinkingIsCool to learn more.
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Now, to the details of this weekâs episode âÂ
Who: Iâve had the pleasure of interviewing both of this weekâs guests in previous lives, and let me tell youâthey both get more brilliant with every passing day.
Casey Newton writes Platformer, an incredibly thoughtful newsletter about Big Tech and democracy.
Sarah Frier covers Big Tech for Bloomberg and recently wrote No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram.
Where: Wherever you get podcasts like on Apple, Spotify, or literally anywhere else
Iâm not going to lie to youâthis episode is a big one. Itâs at times heavy, and itâs certainly been humbling to craft. But I loved doing it almost as much as I loved talking to people about it once it was done.Â
I spent a considerable amount of time this weekend, probably too much time, forcing people around me to talk about the ways Facebook (and by association all social media) has changed humankindâs trajectory. Between that and my extremely out-of-pocket decision to pick up 75 free oysters from a lovely couple in East Williamsburg who advertised their surplus on Craigslist...it was a busy weekend.
Some of the conversations I had over said oysters Saturday night:
How do you think Facebook has changed your perception of human connection?
What do you think the world would look like without Facebook? Is it possible to imagine such a world, or is that akin to imagining our world without the internet writ large?
How can we hold these deified tech CEOs to account? What should we do to ensure that their power is kept in check?
Happy conversing.
And finally, a couple of important programming notes:
I was on a cool podcast as a guest. Itâs called Pol and Pals and you can check out my episode here.
This is the last regular Monday newsletter for a bit. With the end of Season 1, Iâll be taking some time off to rest and relax and get even better at podcasting and writing and sh*tposting. Iâll still have plenty of cool stuff coming your way, but it might be a bit more sporadic.
Season 2 will start in a few weeks. This is going to be just like senior year, except for funner. But itâs not coming for a bitâtake the time in between seasons to share these first 10 episodes with someone youâd like to have a deeper conversation with. Never know what could happen.
See you Friday for the final edition of the Thinking Is Cool blog for Season 1. Have the best week ever.
âKinsey