The Impact of Social Media Deactivation and Shifts in Political Rhetoric

Google’s antitrust trial is all gas no breaks this week, with the Justice Department asking a federal judge to break up the $1.81 trillion dollar company. Jon and Max discuss all the possible outcomes, and why Google’s products have stagnated the more they’ve come to dominate the internet. Then, new research finds that people who deactivated Facebook or Instagram before the 2020 presidential election became significantly happier and less anxious. The guys break down the study's unsurprising results, then set their sights on dual right wing fever swamps: the online charge to overthrow the Supreme Court and the pronatalist movement championed by Elon Musk and an army of tradwives. Finally, what is Cluely, the undetectable AI designed to help you cheat, and is it really as harmless as spell check or calculators? Max and Jon round out the episode by answering listener questions—what historical event does Max wish he could’ve spied on via Signal chat? And when was the last time Jon touched grass?

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