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The future deserves better questions. Curious & Inspired is a cultural commentary show exploring tech, culture, and society, hosted by Matt Vandrick. New episodes Bi-Weekly, Thursdays at 8PM.
Welcome to a brand new episode of Curious & Inspired I am your host Matt Vandrick. I’m so glad to be here with ya’ll, let’s get into it shall we?
This Week…Seen on the Internet
According to TechCrunch, major players in science fiction and popular culture have been taking firmer stances against generative AI.The San Diego Comic Con has banned all artwork created by artificial intelligence from the 2026 Comic-Con Art show. They said, “Material created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) either partially or wholly, is not allowed in the art show.” The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) updated its rules for the Nebula Awards - noting that works written entirely by large language models would not be eligible.
The streamers have been talking about it and so have the blogs… There is trouble in paradise. Seems like all the big internet couples are breaking up. Desmond and Christy are getting divorced. Kai Cenat and Gigi aka Gabrielle Alayah have broken up. The way these people are getting attention you would think it’s Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. But, why do we care so much?
The internet is great at getting us addicted to celebrities and having us dialed in to these parasocial relationships. But remember IN REAL LIFE, what people are saying about you on the internet doesn’t matter. We don’t know these people lives…you must live your life for you.
In the last episode, I mentioned that Oracle was taking over Tik Tok and as a result users are fleeing the app. The privacy policy now collects precise location data along with information like race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Further select content is being suppressed for example anything related to epstein and palestine. App deletions were up 150% in just the first couple of days after the takeover. Yikes.
This is signals versus noise. Where we take the headlines and figure out what actually matters and what's just noise. Because not everything loud is worth listening to. And this is our first Valentine’s episode, an episode where we were inspired to include a few stories dealing with relationships and dare I say, love... Let's get into it.
First up, there is a male loneliness epidemic. A growing trend where men report fewer close relationships and a greater sense of disconnection. Men are relying almost exclusively on romantic partners for emotional support, and this is leading to devastating health consequences—depression, anxiety, and skyrocketing suicide rates.
To deal with this, some men are turning to AI Girlfriends built specifically for companionship. Platforms like Character.ai, Kindroid and Replika are becoming the go to for emotional support and allowing it’s users to build companions just for them, customizing everything from looks, to voice, to body type.
Now I know the "meet-in-real-life" crowd is probably laughing at the notion of creating a fake partner, but let me tell you why this is a critical SIGNAL that shouldn't be dismissed or judged so easily: The statistics don't lie. 15% of US men report having ZERO close friends—a massive jump from 1990. This is more than a minor social issue, it’s reaching crisis levels. If chatting with an AI partner for even an hour a day could reduce the loneliness epidemic—why not consider it?
Plus… look at the traditional ways that we seek companionship throughout history—conventional dating, dating apps, marriage, escorts, OnlyFans subscriptions, (we gone get to that later.) AI partners are arguably cheaper than all of them. With the economy in shambles, some people are genuinely using this to deal with crushing loneliness.
Former NBA player Matt Barnes recently revealed that he got scammed by an AI bot on Instagram. According to Barnes, a bot slipped into his DMs, the convo turned spicy and the bot scammed him for $61,000. Throughout the entire ordeal, Barnes claims he had no idea it was a bot. But let's be crystal clear about this case: though it was technically labeled a "bot," this was a bot being controlled by an actual human who scammed him. All the men creating their own companions, can rest assured that their built from scratch partner will not be scamming them for cash.
This is a signal because loneliness is brutally real, and tech companies, software developers, and AI builders are paying close attention to what their audience desperately needs. Character.AI has 20 million monthly active users, and more than half of them are under the age of 24. That should tell you everything you need to know.
META, TIKTOK, AND YOUTUBE ARE HEADING TO A US TRIAL TO DEFEND AGAINST YOUTH ADDICTION CHARGES. Reuters reports that a 19-year-old identified as KGM and her mother, Karen Gleen, are suing TikTok, Meta, and YouTube, alleging that these companies knowingly and deliberately created addictive features that destroyed her mental health and led to self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Snap, also named as a defendant, settled just last week under undisclosed terms—which may show their confidence in defending these charges.
Sarah Gardner, CEO of the non-profit Heat Initiative says "For parents whose children have been exploited, groomed, or died because of big tech platforms, the next six weeks are the first step toward accountability after years of being ignored by these companies.” Further she said: "These are the tobacco trials of our generation, and for the first time, families across the country will hear directly from big tech CEOs about how they intentionally designed their products to addict our kids."
Let that sink in for a second. The tobacco trials of our generation. We're talking about the same playbook: companies knew their products were harmful, especially to young people, but they kept pushing them anyway because the profits were too massive to walk away from.
Tech executives have repeatedly been hauled before Congress—we've all seen the clips of Mark Zuckerberg, Shou Zi Chew , the TikTok CEO, and others sitting in those uncomfortable chairs answering questions from Senators. These companies have faced few real consequences and virtually no meaningful regulations in the United States. They show up, they apologize, they promise to do better, and then they go right back to business as usual.
As important as this fight is, without any real consequences, social media will continue to be designed in ways that are fundamentally harmful to youth. That's just a fact.The same cycle will continue: outrage, hearings, promises, and then silence while millions more kids get caught in the addiction trap.
And for that reason, as much as I want to believe this trial matters, this is noise.
Maybe KGM will get a settlement. Maybe her family will receive some form of financial compensation for the damage done. But what about the rest of the millions of young people who have self-harmed or contemplated suicide because of these platforms? What about the kids who have actually ended their lives? What changes for them? What changes for the next generation of teenagers who are scrolling right now, whose brains are being rewired by algorithms designed to keep them engaged at any cost?
Nothing changes. That's the hard truth. One lawsuit, even a successful one, doesn't reform an entire industry built on addiction. Until there are systemic regulations—real bans, real age verification, real consequences for executives who prioritize engagement over the wellbeing of children—we're just watching a movie play out.
The world's biggest TikToker, Khaby Lame, just made $975 million. Yes….nearly one billion dollars. Khaby Lame is a 25-year-old Senegalese-Italian content creator and the world's most-followed TikToker with over 160 million followers. Known for his silent, deadpan, expressive reactions to ridiculously overcomplicated life hacks, he rose to global fame during the COVID-19 pandemic after losing his job as a factory worker in Italy. From unemployment to almost a billion dollars in just a few years ain’t a bad deal.
Rich Sparkle Holdings, based in Hong Kong believes they could generate $4 billion a year. Not a one-time payout. Not a flash-in-the-pan influencer deal. They're projecting $4 billion annually from this one person's brand and likeness.
A major part of Khaby's deal involves something called "AI Digital Twin Integration." In this agreement, Lame has explicitly authorized the use of his Face ID, Voice ID, and behavioral models for AI Digital Twin development. In simple terms: they can replicate him digitally, perfectly, indefinitely. This deal could open the door to multilingual, multi-version content production—meaning Khaby speaking fluent Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, whatever language they need—and also enable cross-time-zone, long-duration virtual livestream commerce. Imagine Khaby Lame hosting a live shopping event in five different countries simultaneously, in five different languages, 24 hours a day, without ever actually being there.
That is the signal, this is the future, and it's happening right now.
Remember when I told you that Matthew McConaughey filed a trademark application specifically to prevent his likeness from being replicated by AI without his consent? He took the defensive approach—lock it down, protect yourself, and don't let anyone clone you. Well, Khaby took a completely different route. He authorized the use of his likeness for close to $1 billion and positioned himself as a main stakeholder in the deal. Instead of fighting the machine he leaned in. He's monetizing it. He's owning it. He's saying, "Go ahead, clone me, but I'm getting paid and I'm controlling how it's used."
It's a radically different approach, and it's a huge indication of what's to come. It seems there’s a ton of value for creators who own that process, rather than resist it.
But here's another layer that isn't lost on me: Lame's deal comes at the exact same time that there's a US takeover of TikTok. As the United States moved to seize control of the platform, Khaby Lame—the biggest creator on TikTok—decided to do something radically different. He didn't wait around to see what would happen. He locked in a nearly billion-dollar deal that doesn't depend on TikTok existing at all. That timing is not a coincidence. Pay attention to what it really means to think beyond the platform.
A Sin Tax Has Been Proposed for OnlyFans Creators. The OnlyFans platform, which has paid out over $25 billion to creators since 2016, is now facing a proposal for a crushing 50% tax specifically targeting the creators themselves. As CBS news reported, James Fishback, a Florida Republican candidate gunning to be the next governor, is suggesting this massive "sin tax" on OnlyFans income to—and I quote—"disincentivize and deter a behavior."
In case you've been living under a rock, OnlyFans is a London-based, subscription-based social media platform that launched in 2016. It enables content creators to monetize their work directly from fans through subscriptions, tips, and pay-per-view content. Though the platform hosts diverse content across multiple categories, it's primarily known for adult material. But let's be very clear: the platform is also used by fitness trainers, musicians, chefs, life coaches, and influencers of all kinds who aren't creating adult content at all.
Fishback has suggested that all OnlyFans creators operating in Florida should hand over 50 percent—half of their earnings—to the state on all income generated through the platform. His reasoning? "I don't want young women who could otherwise be mothers raising families, rearing children. I don't want them to be selling their bodies to sick men online."
Let's break that statement down for a second. He's openly admitting he wants to financially punish women for how they choose to earn a living because he personally disapproves of their choices. He's also conveniently ignoring that many of these women are already mothers trying to feed their families, pay rent, and survive in an economy that has made traditional employment increasingly unstable and underpaid.
Sophie Rain, a popular OnlyFans creator, clapped back hard at Fishback and said, "I would be more than happy to pay that—if multi-billion-dollar corporations were also being properly taxed. But surprise! They're not."
And that's exactly why this is noise.
Let's talk about what's really happening here. The men who are paying to consume this content—the ones Fishback himself refers to as "sick men"—are not being charged any kind of exorbitant fee, tax, or penalty whatsoever. They can keep subscribing, keep tipping, keep fueling the entire industry without consequence. But the women who are using OnlyFans to feed their families, to pay their bills, or even just trick off at the Chanel store? They should be punished with a 50% tax? That makes absolutely no sense.
This isn't about morality. This isn't about protecting women. This is about control, judgment, and performative politics designed to appeal to a conservative base that wants to see women punished for stepping outside traditional roles. If Fishback actually cared about the exploitation or safety of women online, he'd be going after the platforms themselves, the predatory subscribers, or the lack of worker protections for digital creators. But he's not. He's going after the women trying to make some coin.
Here's the reality: as long as there are customers for OnlyFans, there will be OnlyFans. That's how supply and demand works. You can tax the creators into poverty, you can shame them, you can try to legislate them out of existence—but if the demand is there, the industry will continue. And from what I understand, OnlyFans does its due diligence to ensure everything on the platform is legal, verified, and consensual. So this entire proposal is nothing more than NOISE.—a way for a new gubernatorial hopeful to grab headlines and score political points with voters who want to see women put back in their place.
And now… the thought of the week
We're in a loneliness epidemic. And I don't mean just the sad single guy discourse — I mean everybody.
15% of men in America report having zero close friends. Zero. That's up from 3% in 1990. A five-fold increase in a single generation.
Women are reporting fewer "true" friendships despite having larger social networks than ever. More connections. But Less connection.
Gen Z — the most digitally connected generation in human history — is the loneliest generation on record.
The average American hasn't made a new friend in five years. Dating app fatigue is at an all-time high. People are swiping more and committing less.
There’s a pattern here. More access to people than we've ever had. But, more alone than we've ever felt.
It seems we're outsourcing intimate connections (both romantic and platonic) more than ever before.
We spoke about digital companions earlier in the show.
But Parasocial relationships are replacing real friendships as well. Some of us feel closer to our favorite podcaster than our actual friends. It feels like we "know" people who don’t even know our name.
Online communities are replacing in-person gatherings. You "belong" to groups you've never physically been in. Discord servers but no dinner tables.
And I get the appeal. These connections are frictionless. Nobody asks anything of you. No showing up when you don't feel like it. No sacrifice. No inconvenience.
But here's what’s missing.
Being needed is how we know we matter.
The friction IS the intimacy. When you remove the hard parts — the sitting through someone's bad day, the showing up when it costs you something, the being THERE when it's not convenient — you don't get connection.
And when replaced with digital solutions you stay just as alone as you were before. Maybe more, because now you don't even know what you're missing.
There's another layer to this. Our attention itself is broken.
In 2004, the average person could focus on a screen for two and a half minutes before switching tasks. Today that’s down to 47 seconds. Our attention spans have dropped 25% in 15 years. We now average 8 seconds of focus — which is less than a goldfish who clocks in at 9.
And the platforms know it. They've given up on our presence entirely.
Netflix now writes scripts assuming you're on your phone while you watch. They call it "second-screen viewing." Screenwriters are told — and I quote — "make sure the audience can follow along even if they're not looking at the screen."
So now characters announce what they're doing WHILE they're doing it. Matt Damon said Netflix asked for the plot of his new movie to be explained FOUR times throughout the film — because they know you're not fully there.
Think about that. The content is being dumbed down because they've accepted they'll never have our full attention. How does that notion apply to your relationships?
You ever find yourself half-present in every hangout? Scrolling while someone's talking. Physically close but mentally distant?
The platforms profit when you're scattered. Love — in any form — requires sustained attention. Full presence. Being WITH someone.
In a world flooding with simulations — AI companions, dating apps, infinite scrolling — genuine human presence is a commodity. Not content. Not views. Not likes.
Actual presence. Being fully somewhere, with someone, as yourself.
That's the new premium.
So here's what I want you to walk away with.
1. Audit your presence across all your relationships.
Not just romantic. Friendships. Family. Community.
Who gets the real you — not the half-listening, “scrolling-while-they-talk” you? Is it anyone?
We've spread ourselves so thin trying to be everywhere online that we're not really anywhere in real life.
Take the audit. Where do you actually show up, and for whom?
2. Embrace the friction.
The hard parts — showing up when it's not convenient is the price of connection.
Being needed is how we know we matter.
3. Invest in the physical.
Live events. Dinner parties. Actual gatherings with actual people in actual rooms.
NOW with AI you can fake a photo. You can't fake the feeling of the vibes in a room with your favorite people.
4. Choose depth over reach.
The algorithm rewards shallow and wide. Real connection requires narrow and deep.
Five people who actually know you beats 500 who follow you.
Give your presence like it's precious. Because it is. To your partner. To your friends. To your family.
It's the one thing you can't automate, can't fake, can't scale. And it's the thing everyone around you is quietly starving for.
The tide is turning. People are hungry for what's real.
This Valentine's Day — whether you're in a relationship or not — the most valuable thing you can offer isn't a post, a gift, or a gesture.
It's putting your phone down. Looking someone in the eyes. And actually being there.
For a partner. For a friend. For your family. For yourself.
I’m taking my own advice here and I want you to do the same. It’s very easy to get caught up in our own worlds, the routine and the noise. The superficiality of modern life. The year is still young, and in a world where it’s so easy to rabbit hole into digital spaces, make sure you carve time for the real ones.
5. Find your real ones by being real with yourself first.
We will all reach a point in life where it takes more than common space to equal common ground. When we’re younger who you go to school with, whose in the same club or organization, whose on your sports team, those tended to be your people by default. As we grow older there’s a thirst for more, your integrity, your views on life, your moral compass and the things that excite you can lead you to more genuine common ground than superficial group dynamics based. Defining and discovering your own identity and vibrating in that everyday will guide to the people you resonate with the most.
Ask Matt! - And now that brings us to Ask Matt, let’s go to our question of the week.
I’m struggling to meet genuine people, why is it easier than ever to find people, but harder than ever to deeply connect?
Well first, what do you call deeply connect? Because if you slidin in DM’s that aint it. Your goal should match your approach. If you genuinely want deeper connections, you should invest your time in places, and spaces that require depth. Trade the bar for an art gallery. Trade DM’s for live meet and greets. It’s easier than ever to find people because that’s the nature of the digital world we live in. There’s a new person a swipe away, 24 hours a day...and that by default will rarely get you a connection that lasts. But meeting someone in person opens you up to explore common interests more genuinely and start building the foundation to grow from. This one I gotta say is up to you. As much as I like to call technology to the mat, and talk about how much these platforms are affecting our behavior, this one really is on us. We want real people, we gotta approach the playing field in real ways.
Also…you gotta be vulnerable. Nobody cares about how many followers you have, and if they do, that ain’t the one that’s gonna give you the depth you’re looking for. Show up as your authentic self, and let people see the real you, which of course requires you to know…the real you. I firmly believe that if you are showing up authentically then that authenticity will find you. Let the energy you project consistently lead the way.