The Future of the Internet Is IRL
The future of the internet is IRL.
IRL = In Real Life, sometimes contrasted to AFRL = Away From Real Life. The series that
and I are launching this Friday, titled Internet Real Life, is a play on the IRL acronym, echoing the premise that opened this entry.I’ve been reading through the applications to the Internet Real Life series, and a common theme emerges—a sentiment I’ve often heard while stewarding The Stoa:
I used to use the internet as a way to escape real life. Now, I use real life as a way to escape the internet.
I won’t go into the familiar litany of the internet’s ugliness, especially for creators. I’m tired of being on the internet reading complaints about being on the internet. Instead, it’s more worthwhile to look heavenward and ask what might be wise for the internet to become. In last year’s report, Meme to Vibe: A Philosophical Report, I argued that memes—and the “meme tribes” I wrote about in my 2018 report—had taken people AFRL. Now, ever since the great vibe shift, we’re seeing the emergence of “vibe tribes” that are bringing people back to IRL.
The vibe tribes differ from the meme tribes. They aren’t so tightly bound to propositions, political loyalties, or intellectual figures who embody their beliefs. Instead, they’re fluid, artful, based in relationships with people rather than in memes that go viral on screens. The CCCRU in Toronto, which I wrote about this summer, exemplifies a vibe tribe: a group that emerged online, became meme fatigued, trusted the vibes, and created an IRL scene.
A recent video by Glink, titled “The Internet is Dead and IRL is Cool Again,” describes this vibe shift from AFRL to IRL for Gen Z:
What struck me most in the video was the suggestion that bands are choosing not to post their music online, opting instead to have their art experienced live, shared directly between bodies. This “antimemetic” stance—the conscious rejection of the promise of virality—favors what
calls “scene cool.”
As Monahan writes, “culture has become secretive once again.” I can attest to this, as I am hearing more whispers about experimental, semi-private events where “art” serves as a pretense for the greater art of communion. This is the essence of
’s new project, which fosters communing through limited release drops and “antimeme zines,” building bridges from the internet back to real life.It’s low-status to be extremely online. It’s not cool to be needy for attention, impulsively checking likes and comparing them to those who have more than you. Being a “creator” may seem like the promised land of freedom for those in 9-to-5s, but the reality within the current social media landscape—when creating without wisdom—often leads to burnout, as Yancey illustrated here:
Those escaping this cycle are in the process of creating an IRL esoterica. These new cultures will be secretive, mysterious, scene cool, shedding the status anxiety of the online world by crafting new forms of status. I suspect the “Gen Z rebellion,” as Katherine calls it, will be leading the way. The project of cultivating new cultures feels rooted in this generation; meanwhile, many millennials are preoccupied with supporting newborns, handling mortgages, and caring for aging parents, limiting their capacity for experiments without clear market value.
In any case, the social media age—or perhaps the “extremely online age”—began around 2005-2006, when platforms like YouTube and Twitter created digital public squares. This age spawned a culture (or anticulture) where what happened online greatly shaped what happened offline. That age is ending. Now, I predict that the esoteric secrets of real life will subtly shape what we see on screens more than the reverse.
The Internet Real Life (IRL) series starts this Friday at 12 pm Eastern, running from November 8th to December 6th. The guest lineup thus far includes Jreg, Ruby Justice Thelot (Taste 101), Honor Levy,
( ). Each session will be divided into three parts: 1) presentation or reading, 2) Q&A, and 3) group discussion.Apply to join Internet Real Life.
In the same spirit as this new series—particularly embracing the antimemetic nature of zines that foster real-life scenes—Camille and I have released a new coffee bean paired with a zine called The Stoic Smile:
You can learn more about the project here and purchase The Stoic Smile on the website.