Today’s episode of Train of Thought floats into the eerily familiar territory of group chats — those sprawling, ghost-filled digital landscapes where jokes go to die, memes echo into eternity, and no one has officially left… but almost no one is truly present.
Have group chats replaced the afterlife?
It sounds like a punchline. But we’re serious. (Mostly.)
In this meditation on memory, belonging, and digital purgatory, we explore the uncanny parallels between ancient beliefs about the afterlife and your current muted group thread from 2016. That one with your college roommates. Or your old trivia team. Or your cousins who now only communicate through birthday GIFs and baby pics.
What happens when you no longer engage, but also never leave? Is it loyalty? Sentiment? Fear of social death? Or something more profound — a kind of quiet haunting?
Drawing on philosophy (hello, Derrida), tech culture, and the psychology of group dynamics, this episode invites you to consider the group chat not just as a tool, but as a time capsule. A digital altar. A place where we linger — not because we’re active, but because we once were.
You’ll laugh. You might cringe. You may even scroll through your chat list with new eyes.
And if you’ve ever stared at an old thread and wondered, “Should I leave this?”, this is your sign — or your gentle permission to stay a little longer, but with intention.
Coming tomorrow: “Why Do We Lie About Our Weekends?”
Because let’s be honest — the real story is never what ends up on Instagram.
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