Trendsspeaking topic
The internet used to feel great because there were no ads, people said what they wanted, and content was made by regular people. None of that is true anymore.
— r/Showerthoughts
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- Hustle culture sells us productivity, but research shows burnout roughly doubles as the workweek climbs from 40 to 60 hours. Is working long hours a skill, or a superstition society has dressed us in?
- The self-fulfilling prophecy of online dating: if you go in convinced that 'nobody real is on these apps,' do you actually become unable to connect with anyone? Is cynicism protecting us, or writing our fate?
- Entering a subculture used to take years, risk, and commitment; 'joining' an aesthetic today is as easy as placing a clothing order. Is easier access inclusivity, or the cheapening of meaning?
- The 'back to the land' fantasy (homesteading, off-grid living, growing your own food): urban youth dreaming of village life. Is this a real solution, or an escape fantasy from modern life dressed up in Instagram aesthetics?
- Enshittification, the theory that platforms are good to users first, then good to advertisers, then good to no one, describe the life cycle with your own examples.