Q+A: Taylor Lorenz on Covering the Internet at The Atlantic

Taylor Lorenz is a staff writer at The Atlantic covering internet culture, memes, social media and teens. Study Hall asked her some questions about what it’s like to report over the internet, how the internet intersects with “real life”, and the positives and negatives of social media.

Interview by Study Hall staff writer Allegra Hobbs (@allegraehobbs)

Study Hall: I can imagine covering the internet as someone very much on the internet can be a strange experience. How do you avoid the feeling that you’re constantly at work, or is there no avoiding that?

Taylor Lorenz: I want to say there’s no way to avoid it, but that’s because I lack healthy boundaries. I’ve found almost all my best stories off the clock cruising around Instagram or Reddit or whatever. When I’m at work during the day and actively looking for things it’s almost harder. So I consider my free time where I can just fall down a bunch of rabbit holes really important. I am looking to get into some sort of non-internet related hobby though. I definitely could use more balance.

SH: In my head, covering the internet is more like covering a geographical area as a beat reporter than it is like covering, say, a concept. How do you view it? How does it feel to cover the internet? 

TL: I’ve always felt strongly that the internet shouldn’t be approached as a foreign “other.” I think a lot of earlier internet culture reporting talked about it that way. But at this point everything about our lives, culture, the way we communicate, live, shop, date, etc. is completely intertwined with the internet. There’s a tech angle to literally everything in 2018.

My obsession is researching how the internet and technology are shaping culture and the way we communicate and connect, so that broad topic is what I stick to. That sort of default leads to writing a lot about social media, but also a lot about communities, fandoms, influencers, online audiences, etc.

SH: What stands out to you most when it comes to how people behave in real life vs online? Is there really a difference? Is that line becoming increasingly blurred?

TL: I’ve always subscribed to the idea that online life is very much real life. I think that line was blurred and obliterated a long time ago. That said, the internet is a powerful tool for expression and a lot of people explore interests or aspects of their personalities online that they might not offline. The anonymity of the internet also allows people to troll and say or do fucked-up stuff that they probably wouldn’t in person.

SH: What do you love about the internet? What do you hate about it?

TL: Love: The friendships I’ve made and endless dumb memes that get me through the day. Hate: Nazis everywhere.

SH: People are constantly arguing about whether social media brings us together or divides us. Thoughts?

TL: This is a hot topic. A lot of people are grappling with the whole, “What If Facebook Is Actually Bad!?” thing right now. Which like, of COURSE it’s bad, it’s awful. All of these tech companies are awful and predatory and have greatly contributed to the divisive climate we live in. I’m glad people are starting to realize that tech companies aren’t as noble as many founders continue to say they are.

That said, I have very optimistic beliefs (probably to the point of delusion) about technology and the internet. I owe my entire life to Tumblr and the Internet and so it’s hard for me to believe that it’s all bad when it improved my own life so drastically. I talk to a lot of kids for my job and sometimes I see the internet doing the same good things for them and that makes me happy. I like writing stories that highlight the good rather than the bad, mostly for my own sanity, but also because I think it’s equally interesting.

So obviously it’s not all bad, but it’s bad in very serious ways. Ultimately we live in a capitalist society and these companies won’t hesitate to bleed us all dry for some ad money.

SH: There’s so much — SO MUCH — happening on the internet all the time. How do you stay on top of it and decide what is worth covering (without losing your mind)? 

TL: Well even though there’s so much happening every day, there’s not always that much happening related to my particular sub-beat, which is helpful. A lot of the stuff I want to write about on a daily basis is small stuff that doesn’t really meet the threshold for a story right away. I generally see something (maybe a trend or specific behavior) emerging online then I wait to see if it’s going to catch hold enough to become a Thing, which then allows me to write about it.

SH: Fundamentally, what would you say you look for in a story? What makes a story about being online interesting? 

TL: I’m really into how technology is impacting culture and changing the way people communicate and connect. Pretty much all my tech-related stories tie up to that somehow. The best stories about “being online” I’d say are the ones that speak to some universal human experience and don’t treat the internet as some separate, weird, dark place full of people in their basement.

Dan Harmon (who I know is problematic so I seriously hate to even quote him, but I don’t know anyone else who put it this exact way. If you do please tweet me) gave a talk at XOXO a couple years ago where he talked about the internet as a people connector, and I think about that all the time when I’m planning out stories — how the internet is one big giant people connector.

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