Cringe Sincerity and the Return of eBay

Phillip and Brian bring hot takes on eBay’s Met Gala presence, the latest tariff turmoil, and the future of autonomous driving. PLUS: Dissecting Warren Buffet’s retirement and new research on Gen Z vs. Millennial communication trends. 

The Y2K Bug Zapped Us Into Postmodernism

Key takeaways:

• Trends that feel like youth trends are actually just internet trends.  Their effects are now felt across generations, not siloed age groups.
• There has been a shift from modernism to postmodernism, and in turn, sincerity to ironic insincerity.
• Boy Meets World: 25 years after its series finale airs, we reflect on its sitcom era as a marker of TV’s transition from modernism and sincerity to postmodernism and ironic insincerity. 
• Kendra Scott taps into Gen Alpha.
• eBay returns to Brian’s radar and then sponsors the 2025 Met Gala. Coincidence?
• “Understanding the society in which you live, and the cultural moment taking place, is taken for granted a lot.” – Phillip
• “The Y2K bug was actually just the end of sincerity.” – Brian
• “We’ve leaned so far into cheap goods for so long, there might be a memetic cycle happening now where we lean back into goods that are durable.” – Brian
• “Autonomous driving is extraordinarily disruptive—just like AI is for information, AVs are for how we live, plan cities, and think about ownership.” – Phillip

In-Show Mentions:

• The Guardian: Gen Z Is Turning to Voice Notes
• Dirt.fyi: The State of A24
• Titan Caskets: Grave Conversations
• Waymo Partners with Toyota

Associated Links:

• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Join Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!