The Internet Is Losing Its Ability To Think Critically: Bean Soup Theory & Rising Illiteracy

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Internet Is Losing Its Ability To Think Critically: Bean Soup Theory & Rising Illiteracy"

To My Sisters – Hosted by Courtney Daniella Jesse & Renée Imafidon
Date: June 21, 2026

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Episode Overview

Courtney and Renée—your online big sisters—delve into a pressing digital age issue: the diminishing capacity for critical thinking online. Through humor, real-life examples, and their trademark candid sisterly energy, they examine the roots and impact of what they dub "bean soup theory," explore rising online illiteracy, and reflect on the importance of reclaiming authentic engagement, self-awareness, and personal growth in a world of algorithm-driven dialogue.

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1. Introduction & Listener Dilemma (02:00–10:10)

• Courtney and Renee open with warm sisterhood, addressing a listener's relationship dilemma about being shy and possibly misunderstood by men.
• Key advice:
  • Practice "exposure therapy"—safely get used to discomfort and practice vulnerability in low-stakes situations (06:01).
  • Normalize being open about shyness in romantic interactions, communicate your needs, and let others know if you're feeling overwhelmed (05:09).
  • Recognize social anxiety vs. shyness—if it’s the former, consider deeper support.

Memorable Quotes:

• "Relationships require vulnerability, sis..." – Renée (06:14)
• "It's okay to get overwhelmed... Just calm down a little bit." – Courtney (08:24)

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2. Critical Thinking Crisis & “Bean Soup Theory” (10:10–24:40)

What is "Bean Soup Theory"?

• Definition:
  Coined from internet meme culture, bean soup theory refers to the rising phenomenon where people center themselves in every discourse. An innocuous post—say, about making bean soup—elicits reactions not about the content but about personal offense: "But what if I'm allergic to beans?" (10:33–12:23).
• Example:
  A woman posting about having coffee with her husband was met with outrage because not everyone could relate (single, working long hours, etc.).

Key Themes

• Digital platforms have morphed into hyper-individualized echo chambers—people believe all online content must cater to them personally.
• Outrage is easily expressed, often for non-issues.
• The comment sections are symptomatic of a larger educational and social development gap: formal and functional illiteracy.

Notable Quotes:

• "The epidemic of bean soup theory is that people are incapable of removing themselves from the main character. Everything that they consume must be for them." – Renée (12:24)
• "People forget they can scroll past something… Just because the algorithm has dished you up something doesn't mean you have to interact with it." – Courtney (14:13)
• "Education is failing… We're seeing some of the highest levels of illiteracy in modern times." – Courtney (15:17)

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3. Consequences: Illiteracy & The Cost of Outsourcing Thinking (24:40–37:00)

The Decline of Comprehension

• The hosts connect bean soup theory and pervasive online illiteracy to a larger systemic crisis: people no longer comprehend or process content before reacting.
• Outsourcing thinking to technology (AI, ChatGPT) has made people less capable of independent analysis; perfectionism elevates dependency (18:08).
• Warning against over-reliance:
  "What happens when you can't afford to get access to information and thinking—someone else is going to make your decisions for you?" – Courtney (24:15)

Social Implications

• "Exclusivity doesn't always mean inequality." – Renee (25:41)
  • Examples include backlash against initiatives like 10,000 Black Interns, where efforts to create equitable opportunities are mischaracterized as discrimination.
• The inability to critically assess messages makes people vulnerable to political distraction and manipulation.
• The subtle dangers of polarizing thinking—digital culture is swinging to extremes, losing the value of nuanced, “grey area” discussions.

Notable Moments:

• "Where were you when you... now want to be in the margins? It's called colonization." – Courtney (25:37)
• “People are more committed to being right than to the actual truth.” – Courtney (31:05)

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4. Media Examples & Societal Patterns (37:00–46:22)

• Referencing polarizing debate shows like Jubilee and public discourse sections, Courtney and Renee explore how facts are disregarded for rhetoric and affirmation from online "circles."
• Misinformation flourishes when platforms reward the loudest voices over the most factual or nuanced arguments, especially around controversial social issues.
• Social media encourages performative outrage (“What about men?”), and online communities embolden unexamined views due to a lack of real-world social consequences.

Social Etiquette & Oversharing

• Many users now use social media as a “public journal,” sharing thoughts and reactions better suited for private reflection (40:47).
• The urge to insert oneself into every narrative, often with tone-deaf or self-centered responses, reveals a breakdown of social norms and empathy.

Memorable Moment:

• On people sharing personal achievements or hardships in unrelated posts:
  "Do you know how crazy you have to be for someone to say 'I got engaged today' and then you drop a picture in the comments of your engagement ring?" – Courtney (38:19)

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5. Closing Reflections & Calls to Action (46:22–end)

• Courtney and Renee call for a return to reading, writing, and real conversations. They urge listeners to become critical thinkers and avoid defaulting to the easiest digital response.
• They emphasize the need for healthy shame and public correction for poor digital behavior—a gentle plea for communities to hold each other accountable.

Final Thoughts:

• "If you have access to comment this, you have all you need to do a Google search." – Courtney (47:40)
• "Critical thinkers arise… Stop. People." – Courtney (47:22)
• “The grow is so important right now in this season of time.” – Courtney (47:19)

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Key Timestamps & Segments

• Listener Dilemma: Navigating Shyness & Vulnerability – 02:52–09:40
• Bean Soup Theory & Internet Outrage – 10:10–15:36
• Education, Illiteracy, & AI Dependency – 15:36–24:40
• Marginalized Spaces & Online Distraction Tactics – 24:41–36:04
• The Dangers of Extremes & Gray Areas – 36:04–37:10
• Social Media Etiquette, Oversharing, & Consequences – 37:44–45:52
• Final Rant & Calls for Critical Thinking – 45:52–end

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Takeaway

This episode is a thoughtful, passionate, and often funny PSA about maintaining agency in the digital age. Courtney and Renee urge their “sisters” (and all listeners) to eschew bean soup thinking, reclaim reading and writing habits, embrace the difficulty and necessity of nuance, and resist the temptation to offload one’s self-reflection and decision-making to algorithms or online mobs.

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For listeners: Keep glowing, keep growing, and—more than ever—keep thinking for yourself.

Transcript

[Nick]

Hey, Yetis, this is Nick and Jack from the Best One yet podcast. Now, the last company we worked at, they used Paylocity and everything just worked. It wasn't until launching our own media business this show that we realized how rare that is. Because Paylocity is one delicious burrito of operational needs. They roll up hr finance and it seamlessly into one delicious bite. When everything wraps together like that, all at once, your workforce, your tech stack, your business, you don't need more tools. You don't even need cilantro. You need one solution. And that is why Paylocity built a single platform to connect hr finance and IT with AI driven insights and automated workflows that simplify the complex and power what's next. Or as we call it, a delicious operational burrito. Yes, we do experience a one place for all your HCM needs besties. So start now at paylocity.com 1paylocity.com.

[Courtney]

The lack of critical thinking on the Internet right now and how it could be a signal to something much deeper.

[Renee]

The epidemic of bean soup theory is that people are incapable of removing themselves from the main character all of a sudden. Everything that they consume must be for them. And if it is not, then it's a problem.

[Courtney]

I think people forget that they can scroll past something. Just because the algorithm has dissed you up doesn't necessarily mean you have to interact with it.

[Renee]

Exclusivity doesn't always mean inequality. Yeah, I think we think every space needs to be occupied by everybody and anybody.

[Courtney]

Don't understand how somebody can say, I don't like strawberries and you're hearing, they want to kill your mum.

[Renee]

The loneliest people in this life will be out here. They'll be thriving in digital communities because nobody is there to check them. Say that in public.

[Courtney]

What are you saying to me right now?

[Renee]

Hello and welcome to the To My Sisters podcast. I'm Renee.

[Courtney]

And I'm Courtney. And we are your online sisters and hosts of the To My Sisters podcast.

[Renee]

We are all about promoting the wellness, growth and development of a community of sisters across the world.

[Courtney]

And in today's conversation, we are talking about the lack of of critical thinking on the Internet right now and how it could be a signal to something much deeper. Ha.

[Renee]

We need to read than we are pointing to.

[Courtney]

Okay, but before we actually get into that girl, we have a ding, ding, ding, ding. No, things are getting critical. Things are getting critical thinking.

[Renee]

Let's get it critical.

[Courtney]

Hey, sisters. I truly love your podcast and it has been such a blessing to me and my Friendship, friendships over the years sending my love.

[Renee]

We love you too, baby.

[Courtney]

My dilemma is I'm a shy lover girl. I have a fear that my reserved nature can give mixed signals or come across as cold to men that are interested in me. I try to respond with warmth, ask good questions and hold eye contact around guys who show interest. But sometimes when things get intense, I get overwhelmed and end the conversation early. My friends tell me the right guy would push through my awkward shy exterior if he really is interested. But sometimes when things don't work out, I fear it's because I'm too shy. What would you ladies say? Thank you.

[Renee]

Oh, babes, love to see you.

[Courtney]

Very lovely dilemma.

[Renee]

Shy little lover girl. We love to see again. Come on, bad girl. You better get your guys. Oh, girl. This is such a warmed dilemma that you're at least you're self aware in that you know that there may be some elements of you that are contributing to maybe the breakdown in some relationships was taking it further. I think it would have been good to get some feedback or some data back from some of the guys that you may have spoken to. Like, oh, we'd love to hear like, you know, how did things end for you? Or, you know, how did we get there?

[Courtney]

But not everybody.

[Renee]

Yeah, please, in my feedback form. This has come to the end of the subscription. Can you please tell me. But no, I think. Okay, so I've been two minds about it because, yes, I definitely agree that there needs to be some effort that is the onus of that which is on the guy to kind of like court you and all that kind of stuff. However, we can't expect a guy or whoever we're dating to have to do the heavy lifting to create that sense of safety or that, you know, make the conversation go a bit further. So I think at least you have gone to a place where you're a bit more self aware. You know, okay, I have these traits, or, you know, I know that I can get a little bit more overwhelmed. When we get to a particular point in the conversation, it would be good to pinpoint exactly what it is. So is it that you're on the cusp of commitment, you're getting to know the person? Is it getting too vulnerable for you just to understand where is the intensity coming from and why is that contributing to you feeling overwhelmed? So have a cast back, think back. What is it about these particular interactions, these relationships that is causing you to feel a bit uncomfortable and sitting with that for a bit. And then there's also nothing wrong with being Honest to people that you're dating and saying, hey, you know, sometimes I can be a little bit shy. It's nothing to do with you. Because I think the worst thing is when somebody thinks that you're being cold or you're coming across a certain way way and they think that they're the problem. I think more often than not, a lot of people when they're dating or even in friendships, relationships, we can sometimes be unaware of the fact that our nature or our traits can be read by somebody else as, oh, I'm the problem. As opposed to this actually just being, you know, character trait. So I would say it's fine to be open about that whilst you're dating people and saying, oh, hey, this is a little bit outside of my comfort zone. But I'm open to experimenting a little bit and pushing past that point of discomfort once you have identified it a little bit, giving people an opportunity. Because it really is that it's about giving people an opportunity and getting. Pushing past that point of discomfort to be able to get to know somebody, get to that point where it might actually turn into a little bit of a relationship. Because relationships require vulnerability, sis. Yeah. If you think it's intense now, it's got to get even more intense. If you want to be with somebody long term, you're going to have to have to be inside your business. Like, in fact, the business is split wide open, dear in the center. So I think it's just getting to understanding why exactly you're feeling a bit overwhelmed. What is that point of discomfort? And then being open and honest with the people that you're dating, saying, hey, I want to push past this point of discomfort. Like I. I want to experiment a little bit and taking your time as well. Like, there's no rush to get to that point of intensity. Vulnerability. Yeah. Asap. Like, take your time with it so that you feel fully comfortable and fully present and also in your life. I would generally recommend find some opportunities for you to. What is it? Exposure therapy. Yeah, Find some places that you gotta get out of your comfort zone, girl. Like, you're gonna be talking to the men's. Like you're gonna be outside. And I'm not saying that you need to be like talking to bed all the time, but I think exposure therapy helps because it de risks. But it also gets you used to pushing past that point because it sounds like there's a persistent point that you keep coming up to that you need to overcome. So you need to be able. That translates across in life in general. You need to get to that place where you feel comfortable with the discomfort so that it doesn't hold you back. You feel the discomfort, but it's not something. It's not a limiting factor. That's what I would say, in essence.

[Courtney]

But I agree.

[Renee]

Which you get.

[Courtney]

Literally the first thing I thought was exposure therapy, but also recognizing that it's okay to be shy. Yeah, I think it's. You will open up to who you open up to. The more you open up, the easier it will be. Practice with your friends. Like, not necessarily practice the conversations you'll have with men with your friends, but I mean, practice with your friends, just being more open, having conversations about certain things which maybe, you know, you are passionate about. Or even if it's just small talk. Right. Just talk more with people, talk more with men, whether it be romantic interests or just platonic or whoever. And recognize that it's actually okay to get overwhelmed by things. Sometimes. It's just the way we communicate and tell people, hey, I'm a little bit overwhelmed right now. You know, just give me two seconds to breathe. Just give me a moment to breeze or. I love a good. Sometimes when I'm overwhelmed by something, I'll be like, I'm just gonna go and use the bathroom real quick. And I go to the bathroom, and I'm just like, deep breaths. You know, maybe your mind is racing, you're overthinking things or whatever in the moment. So sometimes just a couple of deep breaths, a splash of water in your face or a good sip of water or something to just breathe, you know? I mean, just remind yourself it's okay to calm down. Yeah, just calm down a little bit. Yeah. And then you take it from there. You know, it's okay to take breaks from conversations if they're getting a bit overwhelming. But, girl, you sound hella cute. You sound like, you know, you've got your quirks and your perks. Now, if this was like a debilitating social anxiety, and so maybe the conversation would be a bit different.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

But I think if it's. You're shy, and sometimes it comes across as you're just awkward in conversations. I think just letting the guys know, by the way, I'm a little bit awkward because I get a little bit shy.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

And then they. You know, if they've got some swag like that, they'll.

[Renee]

As in, if they've got some.

[Courtney]

They've got a bit of something. They'll find their way to make you open up, you know, the conversation. Conversation is not just on you to carry. They are also participating, so. Exactly. Give them that piece of information and see what they do with it.

[Renee]

That's it, man. If he's awkward, too shy, you two can be too awkward. You know, peas and apart.

[Courtney]

Love it. But sis, we hope that was helpful. Sisters, please chime in with your thoughts down in the comments below. You know, we don't like to deal with dilemmas by ourselves. We are a community for a reason. So let us know your thoughts in the comments. And if you ever want to send us a dilemma, you can send it to dilemmasomysisters.com or you can go on our website and submit your dilemma there. So into the conversation. So it's come to my attention that on the world wide web at the moment, people are having some critical thinking issues.

[Renee]

I love that you put your glasses

[Courtney]

for this conversation because actually it's an intelligence crisis. They're struggling to understand and comprehend and it's leading to something called bean soup theorist. Talk to us. What is bean soup theory and what is actually going on in the comments sections?

[Renee]

News reporter Courtney Bean soup theory is a popular term that has been used on social media and social platforms to denote. Yeah, I can't remember the exact context of it, but a babe was making like bean soup and somebody else was like, oh, I'm allergic to beans. So like that's the essence of bean soup theory. It's this idea or this notion that whenever you interact with something, you automatically think, what about me? AKA what about me ism? How do I place myself in the center of this? Case in point, you could make lemonade and say, oh, this is a beautiful. Like I've, I've used the lemons. Exactly. Lemonade recipe. You know, I've. I enjoy lemons. Lemons is my thing. And somebody will come on your content or come to you and say, what about those that like apples?

[Courtney]

Like, what if people are allergic to lemons?

[Renee]

Are you saying that you hate mangoes? What about tomatoes? Avocados?

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Renee]

And it also reminds me of, I don't know if you remember this year, but I think maybe it was like last year or something a babe posted that she was on her like lawn or balcony or whatever with her husband

[Courtney]

and she was like six years ago. On the podcast, I think. No exactly.

[Renee]

Is it. I can't wait when I say guys, I.

[Courtney]

No, I don't even have that much to say, Renee.

[Renee]

I'm just wait to hear you rant about this. Yeah. Because we talk about this and yeah, anyways.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

But to give the Context. Before we get run into that, a babe was, you know, and we've spoken about this on the podcast, a babe was having coffee with her husband and she said, you know, I love my mornings where I'm able to have coffee or, you know, have my morning drink with my husband. And. And the flood of comments from individuals that were positively outraged. I promise you, I'm not downplaying what the response was.

[Courtney]

It was outraged for real.

[Renee]

That this lady had the gall in the cheek. Considering that there are people that are working 90 hour weeks, considering that there are some people who have debilitating social anxiety, considering there are some people that are single and don't have a partner. Like how offensive this post was of her enjoying something with her husband and her partner. The. The epidemic of bean soup theory is that people are incapable of removing themselves from the main character. All of a sudden, everything that they consume must be for them. And if it is not, then it's a problem. That is bean soup theory in a nutshell.

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Renee]

I don't even like, you know, when you're actually so irritated by something. My issue with like bean soup theory and my issue with like, what about me ism is people have become so close minded, so unintelligent and so self centered that the prospect of coming across something that is a democratic platform, the Internet, the actual hubris of seeing something on the Internet and being offended by it and assuming that you are the primary audience, because that's the problem. A lot of us interact with things in life and think we are the primary audience. Have you ever for one second, walk with me here, walk with me here. Have you ever entertained the notion that somebody has created content that is not for you? Yeah. Even if the content, you don't agree with it. Yeah. Even if it's actually something that's quite like, oh, no, this ruffled my feathers. Did it mean that you had to grace it with a response? Really and truly? Yeah, really and truly. Although it can be the most inconspicuous anything and you had to comment. Yeah, it's for you.

[Courtney]

You know what, I think you bring up a really great point. I think people forget that they can scroll past something. Just because the algorithm has dissed you up something doesn't necessarily mean you have to interact with it. You know, I think maybe because people think, oh, TikTok has put this on my algorithm, so they want my opinion on it. No, they don't. You can scroll past, you could say, I'm not interested in this, I'm allergic to lemons. You know, I don't. I don't like this.

[Renee]

And I'm sure people actually enjoy lemons. So for the people that like lemons, you enjoy that.

[Courtney]

So I think it's genuinely. Some people think that because this thing came across my feed, I must. I must have a comment.

[Renee]

Your outrage at this is so.

[Courtney]

You know what it is, Renee. Let me just.

[Renee]

Go ahead.

[Courtney]

Let me just say, because I actually only have one point for this entire episode.

[Renee]

Conversation. Yeah. Yeah.

[Courtney]

I am genuinely alarmed by some of the responses I see to comments. Sorry. I am genuinely alarmed by some of the responses I see to content.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

And some of the things I see in comment sections because it indicates one thing to me. Education is failing. I love the teachers. I love the teachers. But. Keir Starmer, something has to be done. Education girl.

[Renee]

It's even a worldwide phenomenon because the.

[Courtney]

Thank you so much to all world leaders. I would encourage you to have a meeting with whoever is in charge of your Department of Education because something has gone very wrong. I think we are seeing some of the highest levels of. Of illiteracy we have seen in modern times. And when I say illiteracy, I. I actually also mean fundamentally the ability to read and understand and comprehend. And I am not talking about just from a formal education standpoint, but let's start there.

[Renee]

Yeah, we should.

[Courtney]

I don't know what we were all doing whilst we were in school, but it seems to me like some people just went to school to play in the sandbox.

[Renee]

They did.

[Courtney]

I don't know if you guys read Biff and Chip books, but it seems like we've forgotten a lot of the skills that helped us. Biff and Chip. Thank you so much. I honestly feel like. And, guys, I might sound like I'm joking, but underneath the comedy is genuine concern.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

Because it seems to me like people can no longer think. And I think it starts from people can no longer understand.

[Renee]

That's it.

[Courtney]

I don't know if it's because, you know, with the rise of AI, with the rise of social media and technology, we have outsourced a lot of our thinking.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

To technology and software.

[Renee]

Correct.

[Courtney]

That now we are actually incapable of coming to conclusions, reading context and social clues and being able to identify what's actually going on in a situation. And it's quite alarming to me because it feels like this is why the robots will kill us.

[Renee]

They will. Because.

[Courtney]

Because we are becoming dumber and that's it. And I think it's really important for us as human beings to remember the power of the mind and the fact that intelligence is really important.

[Renee]

It is.

[Courtney]

And I'm not just talking about from a book spot perspective, because I think people can hear intelligent people say something like this and be like, you're just calling everyone else D. No, I'm reminding you of how important it is not to be dumb right now.

[Renee]

Oh, Lord have mercy.

[Courtney]

Let me tell you something. No, because I interact with a lot of young people and I think to myself sometimes, how are you gonna make it?

[Renee]

You're not.

[Courtney]

How are you going to make. There is only so much of your thinking you can outsource to chat GPT. Nowadays, it's like you can't even have a basic conversation with someone without them having to chat GPT. And I feel like it's because. Have we become so obsessed with perfectionism that we have forgotten the value of being human? I don't want to see us destroyed by technology.

[Renee]

No.

[Courtney]

And that begins with us engaging our mind on a secondary level. Relationships are being ruined, careers are being ruined. I don't know what the future of the workforce even looks like because it seems some people cannot read about the room.

[Renee]

No, Courtney, this is drastic.

[Courtney]

People can't read everyone. And you know what it is? I feel like it ruins things.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

Especially bean soup theory. Right, let's talk about it from a social media context, because now every creator needs to give a billion disclaimers before they just get to the bloody point. Why do I have to tell you that the thing that I'm about to say doesn't apply to you before you understand that the thing that I'm about to say doesn't apply to you? Especially if I've put a title or a comment or at least nine seconds in. You haven't gauged that. This just isn't for me.

[Renee]

And you know what? I think people like being offended.

[Courtney]

But you know what, Renee? I love a cheeky discourse. I love a back and forth. I'm not talking about thinking critically about what someone is saying and disagreeing and then expressing your disagreement. Right.

[Renee]

That's.

[Courtney]

That's. I mean, that is how intelligence is fortified.

[Renee]

That is the mere.

[Courtney]

Do you get what I mean?

[Renee]

That is.

[Courtney]

You are the craft of academia. No, it makes one thing that is actually what makes things thrive in society. The pushback. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about someone has made a recipe.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

On how to make lemonade. The opening frame of this video is a bowl of lemons. A text flashes across the screen that says lemonade recipe. And your comment is what If I don't like lemons.

[Renee]

And sometimes it begs the question of, why don't you do this logic with yourself? If I saw something and I thought I'm allergic to lemons, my logical conclusion would be I either find an alternative or I keep it moving. But why did you have to beleaguer the rest of us with something that is effectively a non issue?

[Courtney]

God bless you. Because you want to outsource your thinking skills. Anybody with initiative would have told you, go and search for how to make orange juice.

[Renee]

That's not what this is for.

[Courtney]

But you decided that you would put the onus on finding an alternative on someone else. And that is the crux of unintelligence.

[Renee]

The Internet is not Google, like social media.

[Courtney]

Also on the Internet, you can, you can get off this app and go to that app. Do you know how quick it is to swipe up and go to another tab and be like Google? What's the meaning of this? How can I make orange juice? How can I. Why are you in the comments section of a video that has not appealed to you, asking the creator of said video to do something else, which they never promised to do? Because you need an alternative. Okay, fine, you can make it as a request, but to now make it a requirement is entitled.

[Renee]

It is, It's.

[Courtney]

There's a. There's a whole. But like there's a whole bunch of entitlement.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

That is breeding on the Internet, birthed from a place of ignorance and inability to gather our own information. And I think that that's dangerous because where we're going, the direction we're going in, in the world is there is so much information available.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

The people who will actually be able to maintain their autonomy, their freedom, and actually thrive in that system are the people who can sift through that information critically to get information that's actually helpful to them and bring something positive into. If you lack the critical thinking skills, the awareness skills, the research skills, the comprehension skills, you will not be able to make a decision for yourself. You will not be able to think for yourself. And that is exactly how you hand your power over to bigger corporations and bigger systems. Do you get what I mean? And I think that's at the heart of my concern for it. Because if you can't simply go onto Google to ask or find information for yourself, what are you going to do when they really do commodify intelligence? A lot of what these generative AI. I love AI.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

I'm not one of those people fighting it. I don't think it's that, that you know. However, a lot of what these AI bots, generative AI companies are doing is they are selling you intelligence.

[Renee]

Yeah, that's it.

[Courtney]

And if you cannot think for yourself, you're going to be. Be heavily dependent and over dependent on intelligence, and you're going to have to buy it and pay for it. And not everybody can qualify for that. Okay. And what happens when you can't afford to get access to information and thinking someone else is going to make your decisions for you?

[Renee]

That's it. Or even something else.

[Courtney]

Thank you.

[Renee]

And also, exclusivity doesn't always mean inequality. Yeah, I think, I think we have. We. We think every space needs to be occupied by everybody and anybody. I often think about, for example, when people do or create spaces or things specifically for marginalized communities, where, you know, the word marginalized means that we're already. We're already. We already exist outside, on the fringes, in the margins. In the margin. Imagine being ousted from society at large. Ousted. You've been boxed into a corner. You said, okay, in this corner we're gonna do some great things. And then the people that are occupying the main space now enter into your space and say, hey, hey, hey, hey.

[Courtney]

We want to be here.

[Renee]

We want to be in the margins.

[Courtney]

Where were you when you.

[Renee]

We want to be in the margins.

[Courtney]

Or like, it's called colonization.

[Renee]

Or worse still for me, worse still, Oppression Olympics.

[Courtney]

Yeah, sorry. I'm so sorry. Just to give a caveat as well to what you just said, please support 10,000 black interns. If you don't know what 10,000 black interns is, it's an initiative that helps black young people access to career opportunities. And a popular figure in the uk, not that I knew who she was,

[Renee]

I had no idea.

[Courtney]

But a powerful figure in the UK has decided to say that this is inherently discriminatory. Helping marginalized minorities is discriminatory and should be stopped. But we are letting the world know, you cannot stop. You cannot stop this, because these spaces are necessary. Equity is not about giving everybody the same. It's about giving those who had the least more. That's what equity actually means.

[Renee]

It's not even about like, we are trying to get a leg up. We're actually trying to.

[Courtney]

We're trying to get to the same place. We're trying to get to the same place. And we're acknowledging that we started with less, therefore we need more just to get to the same place. So just go and support 10,000 black interns. Because currently there's a lot of legal pressure. There's a lot of cultural pressure. And they need as much, much support as possible because it seems like everyone is forgetting about the reality of systemic issues because they are personally offended and not included. Which is why I wanted to bring this.

[Renee]

People. People think that racism has finished. Like, it's over.

[Courtney]

Renee,

[Renee]

should we actually go there, babe?

[Courtney]

Because I think sometimes some of the critiques that I hear around social movements, I'm like, do you think that oppression is over far?

[Renee]

There seems to be some kind of end line that I don't know when it was that we reached it, alas. Because all of a sudden I'm seeing the rollback of all of these affirmative action and all of the eye. All them things there.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

The white working.

[Courtney]

Because for many people. Oh, we could jump on that. For many people, equality is a pressure.

[Renee]

That's it.

[Courtney]

Right. But also, unfortunately, again, if you don't learn to think for yourself, someone is going to tell you what to think. A lot of people are being coached and propagandized, being led astray into thinking that their enemy is not actually the enemy. Something else is the enemy. It's called distraction.

[Renee]

If you actually want an exercise of true patience, depending on the kind of person you are. Me, I'm not that patient. A jubilee conversation.

[Courtney]

I do enjoy a jubilee debate. I enjoy it, but blood pressure is rising.

[Renee]

But my. Yeah, it's the equivalent of a football fan watching their team lose.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

For me, because. Oh, geez. I'm even just thinking the. The conversations and then the pointers that people use to justify their stance. And then when they're actually facts checked, I'm just like, where did you hear this from? Like, there was one conversation where they were talking to feminists versus what's even the equivalent of people that are Meninists?

[Courtney]

No, no, no. The ones feminists.

[Renee]

Feminists and then the people that are for men's rights. There's a word for them, but I can't remember.

[Courtney]

Meninists, we'll call them men.

[Renee]

Fact check will come up here.

[Courtney]

I think I've seen the video you're

[Renee]

talking about, though, and trying to speak about the necessity for reform for women.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

Trying to speak about the reality in the statistics, mind you. Trying to actually say we do need safe spaces for women, especially because 90%. 90% of the perpetrators of violent crime. 90. 90. Like nine in 90 are men. Including two men.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

And your response to that is you hate men?

[Courtney]

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[Courtney]

Are the lights off? Are the lights off?

[Renee]

In fact, your response is not even just, you hate men. What about men?

[Courtney]

You know what it is, Renee? I think people are more committed to being right than to the actual truth. Because what do you actually mean? And I think more people like some sometimes with those like Jubilee. I don't know if it's Jubilee that does like 1 versus 20.

[Renee]

So rage bait.

[Courtney]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So they do that like 20 talk to one, whatever. And there was one that I, I watched of a liberal talking to 20 Republicans and genuinely the arguments that. No, was it Republicans? No, I don't think it was just. I think it was one Democrat.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

Talking to 20 MAGA.

[Renee]

Yes, I saw that. Yeah, yeah.

[Courtney]

And he was just talking to them and obviously he's bringing out stats and stuff and I know, apologies, politics, especially in America. Yeah, it's very polarizing. I mean the UK reform is on the rise.

[Renee]

Guys, we swinging, right? We're swinging.

[Courtney]

God help us.

[Renee]

Genuinely.

[Courtney]

God actually help us. God, bro, help us. But yeah, genuinely, he's talking to these MAGA supporters and he said someone said something to him and he was like, that's just. What are you actually torment. And I feel like these are the type of responses we need to give people to stop them in their tracks.

[Renee]

And he was sat like you had

[Courtney]

to literally look at people and think, what are you saying to me right now? And actually, let's take, let's take a detour from our original issue to talk about why you are thinking like this and you've made it up because I am concerned by your lack of critical thinking skills, your lack of ability it doesn't even have to be critical, your lack of thinking skills, because how did you get here? I just told you something that completely disproves and shatters the way you were thinking before. And yet you're still on that train going to absolutely no.

[Renee]

And then it's the focus. Two things. Then it's the affirmation from the circle. Circle.

[Courtney]

And then the way they'll be rolling their eyes.

[Renee]

Oh, so whatever.

[Courtney]

Let your eyes get stuck like that and see.

[Renee]

It's an affirmation from a collection of unfortunately very foolish people that will be clapping when he said the. Like people actually say nonsense and all of you. But I think that's also just a microcosm of the Internet and the world at large. Because it's not about the people that have the most aptitude at debates or the most facts. It's the people that have the biggest platforms.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

And you can be out here spewing nonsense. And if you don't critically think for yourself, you too will be taken in by rhetoric.

[Courtney]

Exactly.

[Renee]

Without research. Rhetoric. Just narrative. Just what this person said. Oh, the migrants are stealing our jobs. Since when? When did you last read a book about immigration into this country that the migrants are stealing your job?

[Courtney]

Actual numbers.

[Renee]

That the migrants are stealing your job.

[Nick]

Jobs.

[Renee]

Oh, my tax money.

[Courtney]

You know your tax money. Let's actually talk about your taxi. No, again, do you get what I mean? Diversion and destruction is actually one of the biggest gimmicks that higher powers use to. To stop people from actually directing that outrage to the right place. How are you telling me that immigrants are the reason why the NHS is breaking down, but the NHS is breaking down because it doesn't have enough funds and where are the funds? Being misspent. But also a lot of the bigger corporations who need to pay taxes aren't paying their taxes. And also we're actually in critical levels of debt as a country. So if we are thinking about where our money is actually going, let's not look at the minority. Let's look at the people in control.

[Renee]

Majority.

[Courtney]

The people with the majority of the funds.

[Renee]

Bro. I was having a look at. What was it? Organizations like Tesco, organizations like Shell. You're talking to me about cost of living crisis, but you're also recording skyrocketing profits levels. If I go to Tesco one more time and I meal deal increase. If, if, if I.

[Courtney]

And like, yes, guys, we're aware of like the current political landscape and the way that affects prices and stuff like that, but fundamentally we need to look at what's actually going on at the root of things. And oftentimes we are told, oh, it's this, but that's just a distraction from that. And that's what it actually is. Do you get what I mean? And I think that's where we're getting played as a people. And if we don't stop, start critically thinking, being able to, like I said, find information for ourselves, we're constantly going to be distracted and diverted when actually our outrage should be directed in other spaces. And also, I need us to understand that two things can be true.

[Renee]

Thank you.

[Courtney]

At the same time.

[Renee]

Multiple.

[Courtney]

We are. Oh, my gosh.

[Renee]

No, it's this stressful. It is. It really is.

[Courtney]

We are are currently heading to a very dangerous place. And I get it. It's because tensions are high. But also, I think it's because of this whole bean soup theory. But also this lack of education and intelligence, which is. We think in polar opposites.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

So when someone says something and we are anti something, we swing all the way to the other side of the pendulum. We are too extreme. We are becoming too extreme as a digital culture.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

There is nothing wrong with being near the center of an issue. There is nothing wrong being in the gray area of a matter. I think people hate the gray area because that's where you actually have to do some digging.

[Renee]

That's it.

[Courtney]

You have to do some critical thinking. People want to live in the black and the white because things are simpler to understand those sides of the spectrum. But they are actually the most dangerous places where you can live because you don't have the full picture.

[Renee]

That's it.

[Courtney]

I don't understand how somebody can say something as simple as, I don't like strawberries and you're hearing they want to kill your mum. Renee, this is how bad these comment sections actually are.

[Renee]

Sorry. Oh, sorry. This is tangential but related. One thing I also don't like here, maybe it's just me. I'm just doing too much here. But you know when someone posts something about like themselves and then the comments are people posting themselves in the comments and they've posted a picture. I said, if I'm doing too much, tell me.

[Courtney]

No, Renee, it's very bad. It's very. No, no, no, no, no. Sorry. End this episode. But do you know how crazy you have to be for someone to say, I got engaged today and then you drop a picture?

[Renee]

Yes.

[Courtney]

In the comment section of I remember when I got engaged. Here's my engagement ring.

[Renee]

Even if it are you mental crazy? There was one babe who was like, biologically speaking is very unlikely for women to get abs just because we have the protective layer over us of fat, you know, and typically when women reach that body fat percentage, they start to experience quite negative effects, like losing their period. She also didn't want to encourage things like an eating disorder because she previously had an eating disorder. I opened the comments and I saw. Oh, what do you mean women can't have habs? Here's mine. Quite easy to maintain.

[Courtney]

You have to disengage. We have to disengage.

[Renee]

For you to post.

[Courtney]

Post a picture, we have to disengage.

[Renee]

Like being severe is one thing, like you said. Oh yeah, but. So you don't like. But for you to post a picture of yourself.

[Courtney]

Yeah. In the spirit of tone deafness, I, I saw a creator recently basically come out and say, you know, they were diagnosed with a mental health. Mental health disorder.

[Nick]

And.

[Courtney]

And somebody in the comments said, hey, I used to envy you, but now I realize we're just as human as each other. And I thought to myself, we are really losing the plot as a society. The plot was lost a long time ago because how can someone say that they were diagnosed with a mental health disorder? And your reply was, I used to envy you, but now I don't. And you thought that that was compassionate, helpful or real? I stand by this point. We need to get offline and start writing in our diaries again. Too many of us are using social media as a public journal when your thoughts only deserve to be in one place in your personal diary. Stop putting it out there for us to see. We don't want it. We don't want access to your mind like that.

[Renee]

There's things in your mind you gotta deal with.

[Courtney]

That's nasty, Renee. When I saw it, I said, I'm actually very close to commenting because this is wildly. That's nasty behavior for somebody to tell you that they're having one of the hardest seasons of their life and you tell them. This just stopped me from being jealous of you anymore. Are you rejoicing?

[Renee]

This could really be a three part series.

[Courtney]

Because there's just.

[Renee]

No, no, because there's so many elements to dig into to. There's so many elements. We have become too familiar.

[Courtney]

We've become too familiar.

[Renee]

We've become too familiar. I'm not somebody in me and you are not levels. I don't know you from anywhere. Social relationships, parasocial that you've come on my corner of the Internet to tell me you used to be not even

[Courtney]

A Is it a lack of self awareness? So are we losing our.

[Renee]

My theory is that there's a lack of social consequences back in the day, lack of social awareness. But I think covert did a number on us in that a lot of us were socializing without the social consequences. There is a code of conduct when you're engaging with people. There's a code of conduct. But now that there's no, you're not being ostracized. If you are awkward in real life, you can find community online. That's why sometimes the lonely, holiest people in this life will be out here. They'll be thriving in digital communities because nobody is there to check them. Say that in public within your society, baby, you could be ostracized. You know down south in America, they take that. No, no. They take etiquette very seriously. So if you even a toe out of line, all of a sudden you're ostracized. Yeah, we need to bring back social consequences online.

[Courtney]

And that's why I feel like we need to do we like more often than not, we actually now need to start stopping people in their truck tracks and actually pointing out the idiocy in this. Like, that's why I really love when the guy was like, wait a minute, what are you actually saying?

[Renee]

I love the content creators recently that when somebody comments something nasty on their post, they make a post about it and highlight the person this person is from here.

[Courtney]

Exactly. We need that.

[Renee]

We need to shame them publicly back

[Courtney]

a bit of shame. And like, I think people need to be reminded that what you're doing right now is actually not okay bad behavior. And it's not even just bad behavior. It's not helpful and it doesn't actually reflect well on you because you think you're doing me.

[Renee]

That's it.

[Courtney]

Do you think you're doing that? But actually if we just take a quick pause and just lift this up to the light, what we realize is you're a fool.

[Renee]

Yep.

[Courtney]

You are embarrassing to you.

[Renee]

And it's really crazy because I feel like it also reveals feels like what you thought of that person originally. Because there are some people that, oh, I love this content creator, I love this person. Etc, let them find themselves in a vulnerable position.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

Let them find themselves in a situation where, you know, they don't come out in the best light. And this is the first time you have commented, yeah, you have made content about this person. But before when they were living the life that you wanted, you were saying,

[Courtney]

no, you know, we all need to really just Assess our hearts real quick.

[Renee]

Quick.

[Courtney]

Cuz like we're veering on to seeing an emergence of haters who are proud to be haters.

[Renee]

Imagine.

[Courtney]

And that's not what you want from life.

[Renee]

Imagine.

[Courtney]

So anyway, this episode was really just a rant, but also just a public service announcement that we need to go back to school.

[Renee]

Get out of the suitcase.

[Courtney]

We need to go back to school. And not even just like I think we just need to read again. Like I genuinely, I feel like people stopped reading.

[Renee]

They stopped reading but they also stopped writing. I think a lot of people do not have the capabilities to express themselves well.

[Courtney]

So true.

[Renee]

So even when they, oh like I'm just direct. Etc. There is a skill that people need to develop in order to deliver things compassionately. We've lost that skill as well.

[Courtney]

Maybe people aren't having conversations anymore.

[Renee]

They're not. Cuz now they're chat gp. Oh, chat GPT. I want to say this.

[Courtney]

Oh my days.

[Renee]

And now you've got somebody saying, this is what happened to me. I wasn't, you know, I wasn't pushed, I was hurt.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

In the quiet moments.

[Courtney]

Yeah. And like Jesus, guys. No, you have to actually refuse. You have to refuse to let these things overtake you. Oh, I'm. I'm actually very worried. Worried. I'm actually very worried because it's, it's killing uniqueness.

[Renee]

Yep.

[Courtney]

And it's stopping. God help you if one day. Who are the people who do chat GPT? Chat GPTs.

[Renee]

Actual.

[Courtney]

The people.

[Renee]

Oh I forgot the people behind them.

[Courtney]

But God, God help you if one day that's down.

[Renee]

Yeah.

[Courtney]

Do you get. I mean like what are you gonna do if one day Claude stops working?

[Renee]

What she got.

[Courtney]

You have to still be able to think for yourself. And I don't want us to become too overly dependent on outsourcing our thinking.

[Renee]

Stop it.

[Courtney]

Cuz it's not going to. It's not going to age well. It's not going to age well. But anyways, this episode was just a rant. Tell us what you think would be helpful in the comments. I don't know. We have no practical guidance apart from read and write and speak to people.

[Renee]

And also use wisdom. If you yourself are a listener of this podcast.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Renee]

And you're listening in and you're thinking, oh, they didn't mention XYZ or oh, they're talking about black people. Are they talking about women? What about the men?

[Courtney]

Ask yourself.

[Renee]

Ask yourself.

[Courtney]

Why would you even say that?

[Renee]

Why are you here? Cuz we've been doing this for six years deep. And you're here asking fundamental questions like what of what?

[Courtney]

Why are you here at this juncture?

[Renee]

Six years deep, you're asking me what of xyz? Are you mad?

[Courtney]

Yeah. Anyways guys, you know to God be the next week I guess grow. The growth aspect of that is actually very important that forever please grow. We've been doing too much of the glowing beauty maxing beauty Max. The grow is so important. The grow is so important right now in this season of time.

[Renee]

Yeah, you still here again?

[Courtney]

Please, guys, please, please, please. Critical thinkers arise. Stop. People.

[Renee]

People that don't have access to. To the what of the people that don't do.

[Courtney]

If you have access to comment this. You have all you need. No, genuinely. Yeah. When people are like, oh, okay, you. What have you used?

[Renee]

What.

[Courtney]

What device, what Internet data did you use to comment this stupid comment. Clearly you have enough to do a quick Google search.

[Renee]

And also we may be graceful in that we will overlook your comments and we may not even respond to your negativity. Unfortunately, there are some people in our

[Courtney]

lives that's not the case.

[Renee]

Don't let them catch you. No, honestly, don't let them catch you. Listen word to our younger sisters. I told you, it's not even us. It's our younger sister.

[Courtney]

Actually.

[Renee]

Don't let them catch you.

[Courtney]

But anyways, guys, guys, we. Our time is fast, but we need to go.

[Renee]

Follow us on the.

[Courtney]

Follow us on the socials or just spend that time reading a book. Maybe you don't even need to be on socials at the moment. Maybe all of us just need to cleanse our minds and. But yeah, we love you deeply. We'll see you in our next episode. As always, keep glowing and growing, growing, grow.

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