BONUS PREVIEW: Is social media actually "dead" now?

August 26, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

On the Panic World bonus episode "Is social media actually 'dead' now?", host Ryan Broderick and producer Grant Irving sit down with musician and content creator Conrad Mussara (Conner) to investigate a deceptively tricky question: how do you tell when a social network is truly over? The conversation avoids simple yes-or-no answers. Instead, Broderick and his guest work through the life cycles of MySpace and Facebook, using specific viral moments and structural shifts to define what "dead" actually means for a platform. Along the way, they offer a clear-eyed framework for understanding why some networks vanish while others linger for decades.

What makes internet content work

Before diagnosing platform death, the episode establishes a core principle about what makes content succeed online. Broderick distills a decade of experience in viral media into a single rule: successful internet content must have a "second life" through the user. It has to be shareable, fightable, screenshotable, or forwardable. If a piece of content cannot be used by someone else to get a reaction, it will not travel.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:33) **Are Social Media Platforms Actually Dead?** - Ryan introduces the central question: whether major platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram are still culturally relevant or have already died.
2 (01:45) **Welcome Back and Episode Format** - Ryan and Grant return from a summer break, explain the new studio setup, and set expectations for the episode's structure.
3 (02:32) **Guest Introduction: Connor Mussara** - Ryan brings on musician and content creator Connor Mussara to discuss the lifecycle of internet platforms and content.
4 (04:38) **The Core Mechanism of Viral Content** - Ryan and Connor debate what makes internet content succeed, focusing on the necessity of secondary engagement.
5 (08:46) **The Nonlinear Viewing Theory** - Connor introduces a high-level theory from a former Vine star about what makes internet content timeless.
6 (10:30) **MySpace's Breakout Moment** - Ryan and Connor try to pinpoint when MySpace first broke through into mainstream pop culture.
7 (14:47) **The "25 Random Things" Meme as a Death Knell** - Ryan identifies a specific Facebook meme from 2009 as the moment MySpace's cultural dominance began to fade.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Will we ever get another new platform to communicate with on the internet?

Today, we’re talking about the various eras of social media platforms — from Myspace to Facebook, Twitter to Instagram, and Vine to TikTok — and their biggest moments in culture, like Fred, Shit My Dad Says, Wendy’s Twitter, and Kombucha Girl. Some have stood the test of time so far, but mostly, we’re all beholden to platforms that have so much power and money now that they can control where we post and how we do it.

Musician Connor Musarra joins us to help Ryan define when a social media platform’s dominance begins, when it wanes, and when we might just get something new.

Our guest Connor Musarra is a musician and self-described “nonstop poster” whose work you can find everywhere @connormusarra.

Want to hear the rest of our conversation? And more Panic World content, like ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership for just five bucks a month at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

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