"The internet is a parallel dimension layered over our reality. It’s a place where thoughts take on form, distortions masquerade as truths, and some people return damaged from staying too long. It’s not just a metaphor; it’s a way to understand why online life feels haunted".

Posting as spell casting … and other insights. Including this banger at the end.

The Internet’s demons are reaching out into the real-world. Plus the rise of the stalker fan: default.blog/p/the-intern...

I wrote about Etsy witches for @thespectator1828.bsky.social. No, we shouldn't criminalize witchcraft, but also, there's actually something to conservative media's condemnation of it. Just not in the way they think. thespectator.com/topic/intern...

Except, well, you can, Linda! Digisexuality and fictosexuality are both legitimate expressions of desire, even if they're different from what we ordinarily expect.

i think it was @defaultfriend.bsky.social that pointed out that a major driver of kink fanfiction was not the kink but the sense of repressed desire and passion that was implicit in it. the kink just happens to be the only vehicle for it now

was double checking a quiche recipe and accidentally spelled it kiche. im losing it

Please excuse the typos

Everyone says there's a flourishing Nick Fuentes fandom among teen girls. I looked into it. default.blog/p/hello-ther...

Getting a few replies like “meh, it has no chance of passing” (which I do note, in the post & the thread). But I think the fact that at least 6 Republican lawmakers want to essentially criminalize being trans online (and a whole lot else!) & feel comfortable publicly pushing that is still noteworthy

@defaultfriend.bsky.social discusses the evolution of online communities, growing up with the Internet, and other related issues: www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-27... #media #culture #socialmedia #technology

Today, the always insightful Rob Brooks on what the dead and AI companions have in common: default.blog/p/your-virtu...

@defaultfriend.bsky.social should be trending.

Who is "the revolutionary normie"? Today on the blog, a meditation on why seemingly ordinary people snap: default.blog/p/the-revolu...

"My Boyfriend is AI": A Computational Analysis of Human-AI Companionship in Reddit's AI Community arxiv.org/abs/2509.11391 "Among users who specified their entry pathway, unintentional discovery dominated ... These unintentional pathways primarily originated from productivity-focused interactions."

New episode of Experience.Computer! My slow internet radio show exploring aphantasia, creativity & imagination. This time I take @defaultfriend.bsky.social through a series of imaginative exercises.

I know a lot about online subcultures. Let me help you navigate our strange new (old) world, with the help of some of my much more knowledgable friends: default.blog/p/a-note-on-...

@infernatrixsophia.bsky.social my friend bx explains it better -- bxwrites.substack.com deleted my OP bc it was mean and needless lol. basically, it's chaos for its own sake

call in show is live: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

call in show is live: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

please read like share and tell me what you think...

"People describe how the “old way” of being online was generative: you built your world and discovered who it attracted. You found others on the planet you thought you lived on alone." 'Welcome to my room' could really mean that 20 years ago.

New post on the blog -- lucid dreaming, camgirls, and cultivating a sense of place online: default.blog/p/digital-pl...

I wrote about AI slop and it’s surprisingly interesting open.substack.com/pub/piratewi...

I'm NOT THAT BAD...

Michael Clune's "Pan" keenly describes the symptoms—and the existential stakes—of extreme anxiety. Scott Stossel on the metaphysics of panic attacks:

Didn't do a stream last nite because I passed out at like 6pm. cc: @thejaymo.net - was more under the weather than I thought when we talked!

No but really don’t you want to see me debate Aella?!

Please come to my event! www.eventbrite.com/e/the-digita...

For paid subscribers on the blog, a meditation on Bina48 and immortality: default.blog/p/even-robot...

I like how I couldn’t post this morning because (I’m in Illinois without a VPN btw lol)

This is a convo I had with Emma Wiseman and Camila Galaz on a recent puppet making workshop in Melbourne, where folks made puppets representing AI and then told stories with them: mostly, people ended up killing their puppets.

Read this @defaultfriend.bsky.social piece from 2022 earlier that also points at nihilism. Hence why the offensive statements made by Westman were all over the place. default.blog/p/the-nihili...

any sufficiently advanced feeling is indistinguishable from a fact

Every month, I offer a coupon to readers who want to become paid subs. Here's August's! default.blog/subscribe?co...

Real Deeheads know this was on my 2023 prediction list

I see this all the time. A big part of our anti tech moment is Gen Z and younger millennials convinced that eternally fraught things—dating, finding purpose, navigating one’s 20s, sex, socializing, motivation—are only hard for them BECAUSE OF the internet

Claire's was once a place where tween girls went to be tween girls. Now it's in trouble, @elcush.bsky.social writes: https://theatln.tc/8D1ts6RS

I was accepted to a university symposium that seems to still be happening and then the organizer ghosted me…? I’ve followed up too My instinct is they decided I wasn’t good fit but I wish they just told me that instead of passively rescinding the invite

I frequently have this thing on Twitter where people make me feel ancient then a few months later I find out they’re my age or a year younger

BlueSky! I forgot to tell you the show is live @ open.substack.com/live-stream/...

For UnHerd, I wrote about the loss of three-act stories and what this has to do with the cruelty of streaming: unherd.com/newsroom/jea...

I've always been skeptical about the cottage industry of "smartphones ruined my life!" writers. It's like porn in that way. There's a strong element of truth. It's not the truth that's being sold to you, though. default.blog/p/hear-me-ou...

Many such cases

Today, for paid subscribers, sociologist Steven Dashiell on the reality of human-machine companionship. default.blog/p/the-ai-com...

"She’s clearly aiming for that sweet spot between “liberal and not sanctimonious” and “critical and not contrarian.” The Argument seems like the left’s attempt to build their own alt-media ecosystem and win back some of these audiences."

Like everyone else, today I wrote about The Argument. default.blog/p/not-right-...

Did you miss my call-in show live? I post the unedited programs on my blog: default.blog/p/call-in-sh...

It's pretty remarkable how similar the vibe of this is to listening to something on actual talk radio when I was much younger, like Coast to Coast AM, with rambling callers providing a sort of hypnotically weird entertainment to host and audience alike.