Zvi's October 2026 Roundup: AI Is Eating the World of News
Don't Worry About the Vase (Zvi) · rss · 2026-10-16
Zvi Mowshowster's Monthly Roundup #47 opens by noting AI content has crowded out nearly everything else: "AI is still eating the world of news."
Home Alone: Building on Derek Thompson, Americans are abandoning hosting and social activities as phones absorb leisure. Zvi argues the core issue isn't coordination failure but hyperbolic discounting — social returns demand present effort and mild awkwardness, while being alone has never been easier or more comfortable.
The Men Have Never Been Okay: On the Institute for Family Studies report: 42% of young men think they're failures and 60% feel little control, yet 84% call themselves ambitious and 75% see more opportunity than their parents. Zvi reads this as framing effects plus rising expectations, concluding "men as a group have never been okay — we just used to think that was fine."
Antisocial Media: New research links more frequent texting to higher life satisfaction and YouTube/TikTok use to lower — Zvi bets the key is having friends worth texting.
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