The Extinction of Serendipity – Unraveling with J.
I wrote this essay on New Year's Eve, 2024. Make of that what you will.It started as a question: what actually happened to social media? Not the headline version, the algorithmic rabbit holes, the mental health statistics, the thought pieces. But the version where we felt it. When was the moment it stopped being fun? The moment it stopped feeling like us. The moment it became… empty.I grew up on Vine and early Instagram. I remember when a six-second video could make your whole day, when a single post could make you feel less alone in your weirdness. That wasn't nothing. That was actually something.And then suddenly, it wasn't anymore.This essay traces how we got from there to here. The shift from sharing to performing, from discovery to echo chambers, from connection to a relentless, exhausting competition nobody signed up for. It gets into TikTok replacing Google, AI curating realities we didn't ask for, and what all of it is doing to a generation that never knew anything else.And then it asks the question I still don't have a clear answer to: can we get any of it back?Read and produced by Ben Ojode; musician, producer, and someone whose voice will make you forget you're on your phone. Put this on when your brain needs a rest but isn't ready to go quiet. A thinking companion for the commute, the walk, the in-between.Original essay at jessicacole.ws.After hearing this recording for the first time, observing the asmr-like effect Ben's voice had, I knew it might provide a calm escape for someone else too. That small possibility was enough.Thank you to Ben for being a thought partner, a friend, and a creative who inspires everyone he encounters.social media and mental health | algorithm culture | digital wellness | mindful listening | calm podcast for overthinkers | social media addiction | Gen Z mental health | authentic connection online