Dialectic with Jackson Dahl

Ep. 11 of /dialectic w/ @eugene Wei is out now.

Eugene is one of the most insightful thinkers on social media, its mechanics, and how it shapes us and culture.

He once suggested we need an update on Neil Postman’s 1985 lament of television culture, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," proposing instead: "Amusing Each Other to Death". We discuss how algorithmic, entertainment-driven social platforms are shaping society.

Topics include social networks vs. social media, TikTok, Twitter/X, technology reducing friction but weakening community, attention as currency, rising nihilism, speculative culture, NFL and Netflix catering to distracted audiences, how TV shows reflect a decline in meaning, and what it means to hold onto our humanity.

Some of this may sound pessimistic, but Eugene asks questions we all need to consider—together. By remembering genuine connection as one of our most sacred resources, perhaps we can still build a brighter future, using technology to amplify our humanity rather than diminish it.

"The fundamental difference between TV world Postman’s criticized and our world is that we are all participants, if even as viewers, we participate in shaping who rises and how. TV shaped shaped the people on it, the politicians, etc. 

Social media shapes all of our behavior—we are all implicated. We determine who wins the game."