Population Next

Is Big Tech Quietly Engineering Passivity? The Cultural Shift We’re Missing | Eugene Healey


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We’re living in an age engineered for ease—one-click shopping, predictive feeds, and tools that anticipate our needs before we articulate them. But creator and strategist Eugene Healey argues that this frictionless world is quietly reshaping how we think, create, and participate in culture. What happens when we stop seeking, choosing, or struggling and let algorithms decide for us? 

Eugene explains how the removal of friction encourages passivity, narrows discovery, and weakens our ability to form original perspectives. With AI accelerating that trend, he warns that meaning and creativity now depend on something machines can’t replicate: a practiced, human point of view. 


We explore how these shifts intersect with generational change, economic stagnation, the future of knowledge work, and why older and younger cohorts experience this transformation so differently. Plus, we unpack the cultural cost of efficiency and why reclaiming struggle may be essential for what comes next.


You’ll learn

  • Why a frictionless world makes us more passive and less intentional
  • How big tech’s design logic reshapes discovery, culture, and behavior
  • What AI can’t replicate without human context and perspective
  • Why creative advantage now comes from viewpoint—not technical skill
  • How generations diverge in defining success amid rising economic pressure
  • Why older adult marketing misreads independence and aging
  • What multigenerational living reveals about shifting values
  • Why cultural “softening” may push society toward safer, narrower experiences



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The Super Age: Decoding Our Demographic Destiny: https://a.co/d/gmG6t2P 



Get in Touch with Eugene Healey:

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/elkhealey 

Substack: https://eugenehealey.substack.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eugbrandstrat/ 


Get in Touch with Bradley Schurman: 

Website: https://populationnext.substack.com   

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bradleyschurman 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigschur/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleyschurman/ 



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Population NextBy Bradley Schurman