set the internet to: 1992 1997 1998 2001 2002 2003 2006 2007 2012 2017 2020 2022 2026

publications

by topic | by publication

ai & mediated intimacy
fandom, role-play & online identity
internet culture & subcultures
technology, perception & belief
politics, ideology & status
sex, gender & relationships
media, books & cultural criticism
personal essays & fiction

ai & mediated intimacy

2025 — the people who fall in love with chatbots (pirate wires)
2024 — why more women will have ai boyfriends than men will have ai girlfriends (washington examiner)
2023 — computer love (comment)
2023 — the post-human economy (tablet)
2021 — meet replika, your new a.i. best friend (unherd)

fandom, role-play & online identity

2026 — the lost art of role-playing (tablet)
2026 — ‘i'm in love with a 2d character’ (the spectator)
2026 — heated rivalry, fanfic, and privacy (gq)
2025 — the people who think they were born into the wrong race (pirate wires)
2023 — we are all fictosexuals now (unherd)
2022 — A Scrapbook of the History of Dissociative Identity Disorder Online (default.blog)

internet culture & subcultures

2026 — why does tiktok hype extreme violence? (the spectator)
2026 — the rise of mediated murder (the spectator)
2026 — uninvited eyes (tablet)
2024–25 — egirl 001, a 32-page full-color history of the e-girl, 1982–2024 (2dcloud / metalabel)
2024 — adam lanza fan art (tablet)
2023 — most reporters are internet culture reporters who don’t know it yet (washington examiner)
2022 — is gen z ok? (washington examiner)

technology, perception & belief

2026 — we are sliding back into the middle ages (the new york times)
2026 — how we all became numb (the spectator)
2026 — in defense of tween screen time (the wall street journal; published under katya ungerman)
2026 — the new power of cryptid belief (the spectator)
2026 — “the illusions of novelty,” in be not conformed: rené girard at the nexus of athens, jerusalem, and silicon valley, edited by luke burgis (catholic university of america press)
2025 — the internet is fairyland; stop calling your phone a drug (the new york times)
2025 — internet overexposure syndrome (comment)
2025 — short video isn’t just rotting our brains. it’s rewiring them. (the dispatch)
2025 — the internet as the astral plane. the internet as fairyland (default.blog)
2023 — the humans who live as lab rats (the free press)
2023 — among the spiritual psychotics (tablet)
2022 — The Clairvoyance of TikTok (the scroll)
2021 — Technologically-Induced Rejection Sensitivity (default.blog)

politics, ideology & status

2025 — the trad movement is sputtering. here's what comes next. (gq)
2025 — how the internet made the far-right (persuasion)
2025 — on the young republicans' group chat (politico magazine)
2025 — the youtubers preaching human extinction (pirate wires)
2025 — wokeness was never a religion (the dispatch)
2025 — the billionaire, the influencer and their baby (wisdom of crowds)
2024 — our very online politics is just around the corner (the dispatch)
2023 — we need to talk about extreme antinatalism (unherd)
2021 — Tumblr Transformed American Politics (the american conservative)

sex, gender & relationships

2025 — inside the erectile dysfunction–industrial complex (the free press)
2025 — how online rage bait made the battle of the sexes a war of attrition (washington examiner)
2023 — lesbians who only date men (default.blog)
2022 — a fairer sex? (washington examiner)

media, books & cultural criticism

2026 — jerry springer, america's ringmaster (the dispatch) new!
2024 — no, culture is not stuck (wisdom of crowds)
2023 — selling the drama (the new atlantis)
2023 — all the generational stereotypes are wrong, except that big one (washington examiner)
2023 — review of flawless: lessons in looks and culture from the k-beauty capital (washington examiner)
2023 — hags by victoria smith, reviewed (washington examiner)
2023 — outer banks is a pioneer in moodboard tv (washington examiner)
2023 — shrinking can’t seem to find itself (washington examiner)
2023 — jesse eisenberg directs a movie about liberal neurosis (washington examiner)
2022 — aaron carter, 1987–2022 (washington examiner)
2022 — the age of abercrombie (washington examiner)
2022 — margaret atwood and the perils of being too famous (washington examiner)
2022 — Doll Parts (return)
2021 — the troubles with belfast (washington examiner)
2021 — the eyes of tammy faye and the america we’ve lost (washington examiner)
2021 — indian matchmaking and the agony of choice (washington examiner)
2021 — satire in the city (washington examiner)

personal essays & fiction

2026 — freezing in boca raton, florida (the dispatch)
2026 — my father gave me the internet (the spectator)
2023 — afterglow, fiction (the end)

AUDIO / 2024

first time caller: an art bell tribute

a 50-minute audio documentary on art bell’s legacy, with leah prime, john steiger, and ong’s hat creator joseph matheny. produced with taylor mcmahon.

listen on default.blog →
apple podcasts / spotify / youtube

AUDIO / 2024

adam lanza fan art

an audio reading of my tablet feature, followed by a conversation with producer taylor mcmahon about reporting the story and what happens when writing encounters a hostile online audience.

listen on default.blog →