Taboo on the Bus

Physical media will not replace your phone (is ‘analog’ the next internet micro-trend…)
Taboo OFF the Bus is back! Woo! `Sit down with me today to discuss the rapid rise of the 'analog' trend and return to physical media. We're watching rising consumption of DVDs, CD's, resorts back to old generation Apple IPods and IPhones, and all it says is that we are fed up with the current state of technology, AI, and brain-rot content. But will this rising consumption lead to overconsumption? Will physical media fall to the same 'micro-trend' fate of Labubu's, or Stanely cups - hyped, over-consumed, then discarded on to the next trend? Let's discuss the fate of physical media, and where it I think this is heading...
Instagram - whatzaraloves
Tiktok - whatzaraloves
Email: [email protected]

Sit down on the bus with me for the mini digest of physical media, 'analog', and going offline. (Long episode OFF the bus will be live today) We're watching rising consumption of DVDs, CD's, resorts back to old generation Apple IPods and IPhones, and all it says is that we are fed up with the current state of technology, AI, and brain-rot content. But will this rising consumption lead to overconsumption? Will physical media fall to the same 'micro-trend' fate of Labubu's, or Stanely cups - hyped, over-consumed, then discarded on to the next trend? Let's discuss the fate of physical media, and where it I think this is heading...
Instagram - whatzaraloves
Tiktok - whatzaraloves
Email: [email protected]

I cannot escape the deep, seething hatred and humour online surrounding women ‘looking old’. Girls feel pretty and post online only to be attacked for ageing and appearing older than they are. It is an inescapable trap that we all fall to as women, yet we are continuing to tear down each other instead of challenging these expectations within wider society and from the very capitalistic anti-ageing industry. Let’s sit down today to discuss why we are so scared of ageing as women, how society treats ageing women, the paradox of ‘natural’ Botox, and unpicking the anti-ageing industry. 
 
I really loved dissecting this topic, it feels like a very fitting follow up to the episode I previously did discussing whether we can view cosmetic procedures and Botox from a feminist lense. 

Email – ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠
 
Reading list/mentions:
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/beauty/skincare/a38813523/baby-botox/Facing Age: Women Growing Older in Anti-Aging Culture - By Laura Hurd Clarke
Holstein, M. B. (2001). A feminist perspective on anti-aging medicine. Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 25(4), 38-43.
 
https://www.spacenk.com/uk/skincare/treatment/serums/c-firma-fresh-day-serum-MUK200031988.html

Join me on the bus for the mini-deep-dive version of this week's topic. Full 40 min version is live too!

I cannot escape the deep, seething hatred and humour online surrounding women ‘looking old’. Girls feel pretty and post online only to be attacked for ageing and appearing older than they are. It is an inescapable trap that we all fall to as women, yet we are continuing to tear down each other instead of challenging these expectations within wider society and from the very capitalistic anti-ageing industry.

Let’s sit down today to discuss why we are so scared of ageing as women, how society treats ageing women, the paradox of ‘natural’ botox, and unpicking the anti-ageing industry. I really loved dissecting this topic, it feels like a very fitting follow up to the episode I previously did discussing whether we can view cosmetic procedures and Botox from a feminist lense. Reading list/mentions:https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/beauty/skincare/a38813523/baby-botox/Facing Age: Women Growing Older in Anti-Aging Culture - By Laura Hurd ClarkeHolstein, M. B. (2001). A feminist perspective on anti-aging medicine. Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 25(4), 38-43.https://www.spacenk.com/uk/skincare/treatment/serums/c-firma-fresh-day-serum-MUK200031988.html

A reddit forum titled: ‘My Boyfriend is AI’ recently gathered a lot of attention, leading me down the rabbit hole of relationships with humanised chatbots. Millions are forging intimate, emotional connections and relationships with artificially intelligent chatbots, creating boyfriends, girlfriends, best-friends, deceased replicas, and more, and today I sat down to analyse it.
Is it ethical to build apps and systems that sell relationships to potentially vulnerable or lonely users? Users who will never own that connection, and rest solely upon tech companies not stripping that away now…
 
We’re fashioning towards a society where the elderly will cure loneliness with chatbot partners, and women are ditching Hinge and failed talking stages for the chatbot man of their dreams. 
 
Let’s deep dive this from both and ethical and moral perspective, considering the risks, the harms, and the alternatives to artificial connections. 

Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-171924338 
Instagram: Whatzaraloves
Tiktok: Whatzaraloves6
Podcast: Taboo on the Bus
Email: [email protected]

Reading/Referance List:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-023-00348-8
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/15/she-helps-cheer-me-up-the-people-forming-relationships-with-ai-chatbots
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/30/replika-ai-chatbot-update/
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/27/nx-s1-5073962/exploring-concerns-around-users-building-emotional-dependence-on-ai-chatbots
https://jamesmuldoon.org
https://www.reddit.com/r/MyBoyfriendIsAI/