When Did We Forget How to Hang Out? The Return to Analog

A jury just ruled that Meta and YouTube were “deliberately built to be addictive.” Chris and Des have been waiting for this moment and it just happens that it landed the same week the analog revolution smacked Chris in the face at the Mall of America.In this free-flowing episode, Chris and Des unpack Big Tech’s “Big Tobacco moment,” the irony of #analoglife trending on TikTok, and the deep human need for third places, adult friendships, and unstructured play. Des shares her journey from nomadic isolation to betting on Santa Fe. Chris confesses to 10 unplayed board games and commits to finding a group for game night. Together they explore dinner-with-strangers apps, murder mystery parties, community education catalogs, conversational card games, and the terrifying beauty of walking into a room where you don’t know a soul.It’s group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. And this time, the homework is fun: get offline, get out there, and find your people.Timestamps:0:00 — Intro & DTF St. Louis Review5:46 — The Meta/YouTube Negligence Verdict9:30 — Mall of America and the Analog Revolution11:20 — The Loss of Third Places14:30 — Pickup Basketball & How We Used to Find Community24:00 — Small Towns vs. Suburbs vs. Cities27:30 — Bowling Alone and the History of Civic Decline31:00 — Chick-fil-A Phone Coops & the Algorithm Irony35:00 — Dinner With Strangers Apps (Timeleft, Bass)40:00 — Why We’re Scared to Talk to People44:30 — Adult Play, Super Soakers, and Murder Mystery Parties46:00 — The Delve Deck: A Card Game for All Generations48:30 — Des’s Pledge: Sunset DJ Parties in Santa Fe52:00 — Chris’s Pledge: Board Game Night and Cause-Based Community58:00 — Wrap & Call to Action====================Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast====================🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9====================Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/====================