My Internet: Amanda Montell
The author and podcaster watches at least a half-hour of ‘tube almost every day.
Embedded is your essential guide to what’s good on the internet, written by Kate Lindsay and edited by Nick Catucci.
Most weeks, we quiz a “very online” person for their essential guide to what’s good on the internet.
Today we welcome Amanda Montell, host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult and author of three nonfiction books including her latest, The Age of Magical Overthinking, which you can preorder now. She also writes a newsletter,
. Amanda believes that today’s style of internet usage is simply not healthy for our sweet, Stone-Age amygdalas, but does enjoy using AI art generators to assist with her mood boards. —Nick
EMBEDDED: What’s a recent meme or post that made you laugh?
AMANDA MONTELL: Word jokes never fail to make me snort-laugh to myself. This incel/Excel venn diagram was a recent fav.
EMBEDDED: How do you keep up with the online discourse? How important is it to you to do this?
AMANDA MONTELL: For me, any attempt to keep up with online discourse feels like a futile task of Sisyphean proportions, so I mostly just pay attention to what the opinion writers I admire (
Being online more than that just feels like a threat to my creativity. A therapist I interviewed recently told me that digital overconsumption interrupts one’s capacity to dream and create; not to mention, studies of phone addiction suggest that spending too much time hunting for new online trends dulls our ability to appreciate novelty in the real world. These days, the only social media platforms I engage with are YouTube (just as a consumer) and Instagram (I use the latter primarily to share about my books, and I only allow myself to download it to my phone one day per week; otherwise I’m on my desktop browser).
I ask my podcast intern and Gen Z brother-in-law to explain internet things to me on a need-to-know basis, à la those old “Yes Yes No” episodes of Reply All. I do sometimes fear that retreating from social media so much might turn me into a bit of a curmudgeon. It’s just, I’ve spent the past two years writing this book about the clash between the Information Age and humans’ innate psychology (our cognitive quirks, irrationalities, and mysticisms), and what I’ve gathered is that I’d really like to wean myself off any social media that produces feelings of compare-despair or needless panic. At the risk of sounding maudlin, I’m just trying to slow down my thought processes—to reduce reactivity and (frankly) addict behavior in order to make space for thoughts that feel like they’re really my own.
EMBEDDED: What types of videos do you watch on YouTube?
AMANDA MONTELL: After 16 years of devoted consumption, my YouTube algorithm REALLY gets me. I watch at least a half-hour of ‘tube almost every day. My core content buckets include science and/or business explainer videos (my brain might as well be sponsored by the Vox Explained franchise), Architectural Digest’s Space Savers series, hour-long videos of Korean bakers preparing the day’s confections (soooo satisfying), and (sorry) cat videos (sorry again).
EMBEDDED: Where do you tend to get your news?
AMANDA MONTELL: Largely The New York Times newsletter, The Daily podcast, and broadcast news clips that air on YouTube. My friends, family, and I also exchange news articles via text or email.
EMBEDDED: Where do you usually discover or learn about online trends?
AMANDA MONTELL: From Embedded’s very own
EMBEDDED: How do you find recommendations for what to watch, read, and listen to?
AMANDA MONTELL: I ask my friends who know my taste! Whenever I get a book or TV rec from social media or even a more formal publication, it’s hit or miss. My friends’ recs are a sure thing.
EMBEDDED: What’s something that you have observed about the online behavior of Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and/or Boomers?
AMANDA MONTELL: I think older generations tend to consume online media in a more global, big-picture way, getting all their news (and entertainment, for that matter) from The New York Times. But so far, it seems that Gen Z likes to consume internet content, news and otherwise, in a much more niche style. I’ve come across research suggesting that the shuttering of smaller online publications, as well as local news outlets, is actually increasing online conflict and polarization. I’m personally hopeful for a “de-globalized” internet of the future—one where we’re all a bit more siloed off from each other, like we are in real life. Think of little internet neighborhoods. This is my hope, if for no other reason than our mental health. We just can’t seem to handle an internet more broad than that, spiritually speaking.
EMBEDDED: Are you into any podcasts right now? How and when do you usually listen?
AMANDA MONTELL: The Retrievals. A beautifully produced miniseries investigating the horrors of the fertility industry in a style that’s both intimate and matter-of-fact. I listen to podcasts mostly on road trips.
EMBEDDED: Have you had posts go viral? What is that experience like?
AMANDA MONTELL:Sounds Like A Cult had an Instagram Reel get about 700k plays and 34k likes once. Does that count as viral? It was a clip from our episode on the “cult” of the Kardashians. This is going to sound bananas, but I actually didn’t notice until months later that it had gotten that much attention. Making the podcast is such a scrappy, time-pressed endeavor, and social media promotion is such a small part of the process, I hardly ever monitor our engagement there. I guess once I saw how many views that post got, my only reaction was that I wished I’d worn something cuter that day lol.
EMBEDDED: Who’s the coolest person who follows you?
AMANDA MONTELL: My 21-year-old cousin who lives in Oakland and works in a knitting store and dabbles in drag. If they like something I post, I consider that a success.
EMBEDDED: Which big celebrity has your favorite internet presence, and why?
AMANDA MONTELL: Susanna Hoffs, former frontwoman of the ‘80s rock band The Bangles. She’s 65 now and is so vivacious, beautiful, goofy, and thoroughly herself—her posts make me feel less afraid of aging.
EMBEDDED: What most excites you about AI chatbots and text and art generators? What most concerns you?
AMANDA MONTELL: I do enjoy AI art generators as a sort of mood board assistant. I referenced some DALL-E images when designing my book cover. But I am concerned that the text bots might stifle users’ individual creativity and ability to learn, especially younger users. I can’t bear the thought of someone using AI to write a whole book and passing it off as their own.
EMBEDDED: Are you currently playing any console, computer, or phone games?
AMANDA MONTELL: I play the iPhone game Wavelength with my family whenever I go home to visit. It’s an invariable hoot.
EMBEDDED: What’s your go-to emoji, and what does it mean to you?
AMANDA MONTELL: The smiley face with glasses. It’s nerdy and cheeky and a little smug. Like me 🤓
EMBEDDED: Do you text people voice notes? If not, how do you feel about getting them?
AMANDA MONTELL: I love texting voice notes, and I HATE receiving them. Spoken appropriately as the host of a chatty podcast who does not herself enjoy listening to chatty podcasts lol
EMBEDDED: What’s a playlist, song, album, or style of music you’ve listened to a lot lately?
AMANDA MONTELL: I’m a forever fan of dancey sad-girl music. Jensen McRae is a newer fav. Also The Japanese House. And Sylvan Esso always.
EMBEDDED: If you could only keep one streaming service for TV and/or movies, which would it be, and why? In general, do you prefer to get ads or pay more for ad-free tiers?
AMANDA MONTELL: Prob HBO. I couldn’t live without the ability to rewatch Six Feet Under, my favorite series of all time. That show is practically a religion for me. Ad-free, ad-free!
EMBEDDED: What’s your favorite non-social media app?
AMANDA MONTELL: Would it be completely insane to say Google Maps?
EMBEDDED: What’s the most basic internet thing that you love?
AMANDA MONTELL:Powerthesaurus.com
EMBEDDED: Do you regularly use eBay, Depop, or other shopping platforms? What’s a recent thing you’ve bought or sold?
AMANDA MONTELL: I get most of my clothes on Poshmark. This pair of vintage Stuart Weinman ankle booties was the best thing I bought last year.
EMBEDDED: Have you recently read an article, book, or social media post about the internet that you’ve found particularly insightful?
AMANDA MONTELL: I really appreciated this video from Kurzgesagt, which articulates how the current hyper-connected state of the internet has destroyed our collective mental health. The video suggested the glory days of social media were actually the early 2000s, when like-minded users could gather in niche, siloed forums to discuss common interests. But now, on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, we’re exposed to more strangers and ideas than our minds can handle, and it’s causing not only needless conflict but a form of trauma. Not to mention the mindfuck of witnessing posts about the war, the election, your aunt’s dead dog, your college frenemy’s engagement, and your boss’s vacation back to back in the same algorithmic feed? This style of internet usage is simply not healthy for our sweet, Stone-Age amygdalas.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last thing that brought you joy online?
AMANDA MONTELL: The latest season of Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum. That show makes me so present. I cry all the way through.
Thanks Amanda! Preorder her book, listen to her podcast, and subscribe to her newsletter.
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