Stay Interested in Yourself
On the new Luddites, AI and writing, why doing nothing changes you, the slow disappearance of romance, summer uniforms, and the overlooked art of remaining interested in yourself.
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It occurs to me that one of the nicest things a person can become is someone who remains interested. Interested in ideas, in strangers, in beautiful rooms, in the opening line of a book, in the credits after a film ends, in a good argument, in the weather in cities they don't live in, in a good coat, in changing their minds, in the objects people choose to keep, in beginning again, and perhaps most importantly, in themselves.
I've been thinking lately that one of the easiest things to lose isn't time, but curiosity about our own lives. We become excellent at keeping up, responding, consuming, improving, but somewhere along the way, we stop asking what genuinely interests us when we’re not being perceived.
One of this week's selected essays touches on this very topic, along with why more people are walking away from smartphones, what AI is revealing about language and creativity, the essay that completely changed how I think about rest, the real cost of doomscrolling, a handful of summer essentials, and a collection of longer reads for the weekend.
LAST TIME /at hyperreality
If Everything Ended Tomorrow
On what two thousand years can bury and still not destroy, what’s vanishing from the internet you grew up with, and the handful of things that were true before anyone tried to sell them to you.
Last week’s letter was an assortment of beautiful distractions, lingering questions, ideas to borrow, and a few that may stay with you.
RECENT /culture & news
⚬ Cities: Copenhagen has been named the world’s most liveable city for the second year running, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual rankings, while conflict caused cities across the Middle East to see some of the steepest declines in global liveability.
⚬ Culture: A growing number of Gen Z are embracing a modern Luddite movement, rejecting smartphones, social media and AI in favour of more analogue lifestyles as concerns over screen time, surveillance and technology's impact continue to rise.
⚬ Tech: China's latest wave of low-cost AI models is challenging Silicon Valley's dominance, with several now ranking among the world's leading systems.
⚬ Society: Birth rates are falling faster than expected across much of the world, with analysis suggesting that smartphones, social media and changing digital habits are increasingly reshaping relationships, family formation and fertility alongside housing and economic pressures.
⚬ Design: Wallpaper has released its annual US400 list, highlighting 400 of the country’s most influential creatives across architecture, design, fashion, technology and the arts.
⚬ Culture: Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer behind Total Eclipse of the Heart, has died aged 75, leaving behind a five-decade career that made her one of Britain's most iconic voices and the only Welsh artist to top the US singles chart.
⚬ AI: European designers are increasingly treating AI less as a replacement for creativity and more as a collaborator for research, prototyping and visual experimentation.
MIDSUMMER STYLE FILE /just the basics: a blue shirt (or this one) / a pair of white jeans / the perfect tank (or this one if it’s cooler) / jersey bodysuit / a pair of trouser shorts (or these) / a clean-cut tee (this one if you prefer looser, or this one if it’s cooler) / brown demin
(all images via Pinterest)
LONGER READS /beyond the headlines
Words, words, words
This essay argues that writers’ instinctive resistance to AI risks missing the more interesting question it poses: not whether machines can replicate human creativity, but what it means that humans and AI now share language as a medium of thought. Drawing on literary theory, cultural history and his own experiments with AI, he contends that language has always been a technology rather than an exclusively human gift, making AI less an alien intelligence than a new participant in an old conversation. The result is neither an uncritical defence of AI nor a dismissal of its risks, but a case for treating it as a tool that can sharpen thinking, expand creative practice and force us to rethink what originality, authorship and writing are really for
What Scientists Learned by Eavesdropping on Thousands of People
Researchers have discovered that we speak thousands fewer words each day than we did just twenty years ago, especially younger people. Part science, part reported essay, this fascinating New Yorker piece explores what may be disappearing along with those lost conversations, from fleeting exchanges with strangers to the unnoticed rhythms of our own lives, and asks what happens when so much of human interaction silently slips into text.
The Slow, Quiet Demise of American Romance
Long before the recent conversation around 4B and sex strikes, a quieter shift was already underway: growing numbers of heterosexual Americans, especially women, have been opting out of dating altogether. This nuanced piece argues that the change is driven less by ideology than by accumulated disappointment, tracing how economic inequality, shifting educational dynamics, online dating, political polarisation and mutual distrust have made romance feel increasingly unrewarding. The result is not a rejection of love itself, but a widening gap between people’s enduring desire for partnership and their diminishing belief that it’s worth the effort.
FROM SUBSTACK /what i read
1.
the whole point is to stay interested in yourself
The Slow Post 💌 reflects on our instinct to fill every empty space, arguing that the discomfort of solitude often comes from losing touch with ourselves rather than lacking other people. Blending gentle philosophy with personal reflection, the essay suggests that curiosity about our own lives is a more enduring companion than self-improvement, and that staying interested in ourselves makes uncertainty, waiting and even loneliness easier to inhabit.
2.
Why rest alone doesn’t restore energy
Anne-Laure Le Cunff makes a compelling case that energy is less like a battery to be recharged through inactivity than a living system that requires the right kind of restoration. Drawing on neuroscience and physiology, she argues that movement, meaningful engagement, genuine mental downtime and variety often replenish us more effectively than simply doing less.
3.
The Crime of Doing Nothing (The Tragedy of Doomscrolling)
L ★ argues that the real cost of doomscrolling is not lost time but the gradual erosion of identity. Blending philosophy, cultural criticism and social commentary, the essay suggests that a meaningful self is built through sustained action rather than endless consumption, and that reclaiming our attention may be the first step towards becoming someone again.
Have a beautiful weekend
à bientôt / see you soon,
instagram / pinterest / tig
PARTING NOTE
Your likes, shares, and recommendations really help keep this community going by helping new people discover our work and make the conversations around it more meaningful. As always, thank you.
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Forever Is Composed of Nows
Desire, Ageing, and the Strange Afterlives of Our Former Selves
As If It Matters
The Other Within Us: Female Friendship from Wollstonecraft to Instagram
Confessions of a Hypochondriac
2025 is the new 2015
On Baggage, Emotional and Otherwise
On Not Disappearing
The Skin We’re In: On Beauty, Time, and Truth
RECENTLY /at hyperreality
If Everything Ended Tomorrow
This week, I've been busy trying to trick my brain into doing difficult things1 and to write as if the world had ended yesterday and I were the only one left to remember how it felt. Strange how much sharper the ordinary becomes when you imagine it's already gone.
In the End, We Only Regret the Chances We Didn't Take
We are in the middle of a ferocious heatwave, and though I have always loved the heat more than the cold, it has begun to alter the logic of things. Nothing feels right against the skin, so I have been moving through the house half-dressed, hungry and drowsy all at once, summer undoing every ordinary arrangement.
The Calmest Version of You is the Most Powerful
Some email clients may shorten this message; to read it in full, click ‘View entire message’, or visit Hyperreality. Our editors work with affiliate partners when selecting some of the featured products and may receive compensation for purchases made through these links. Browse our full storefronts
great insights. super writing, as ususal.