Why'd You Push That Button?

The Verge

4.4 (612)
TECHNOLOGY

Why’d you like that celebrity photo on Instagram? Why’d you leave that restaurant review on Yelp? Why’d you text in lowercase, or turn on read receipts, or share your location? The Verge’s Ashley Carman and Kaitlyn Tiffany ask the hard, weird, and occasionally dumb questions about how your tiny tech decisions impact your social life.

07/15/2020

Will virtual dates stick around after the pandemic?

Why’d You Push That Button? is back for a special episode all about virtual dating in 2020. The pandemic has forced us all to stay at home when we can, which means if you want to go on a date, it may have to be done online. Ashley Carman and Kaitlyn Tiffany return to talk to online daters and app makers about how they are adapting to virtual-only dating, and what features and behaviors will stick around after social distancing and the pandemic end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

37 min
08/07/2019

What does ‘being verified’ actually mean?

I have sad news today: we’re publishing the season 4 finale of Why’d You Push That Button? The good news, though, is that it’s a really great episode! Today, Kaitlyn Tiffany and I (Ashley Carman) are asking what verification on social media accounts really means. To some, it represents more than a badge of authenticity. We wonder why people want to be verified and what they’re willing to do to get the blue checkmark. I tell the story of my own journey to Instagram verification (weird flex, I know) and ask my friend Michelle what she thinks about me now that I have a checkmark. Afterward, we interview Verge senior reporter Adi Robertson about verification’s origins, and then we chat with two guests who differ on the importance of verification. We talk with a content creator named Mark, who once tried to pay someone to get his Instagram account verified, and artist Joseph Grazi about his Culture Cures project and why he’s slapping anti-influencer stickers onto New York City subway train cars and platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

33 min
07/31/2019

Why do you use Close Friends on Instagram?

Instagram introduced its Close Friends feature, the ability for users to assign followers to a Close Friends list and only post Stories for them, nearly a year ago. At the time, it seemed like an official product response to the user behavior of Finstagrams, or accounts that people created solely to post less-curated, raw material to a select group of friends. On this week’s episode of Why’d You Push That Button?, Kaitlyn Tiffany and Ashley Carman want to know how Close Friends is going. Who’s using it? Why are they using it? Is the Finsta in trouble? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 min
07/24/2019

What keeps people on Snapchat?

In the social media world, Instagram has dominated as the most used app in 2019, but what happened to Snapchat? Ashley Carman and Kaitlyn Tiffany dive into where Snapchat is after Instagram stole their innovative "story" feature, and what the people who still use it are using it for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

37 min
07/17/2019

Why do you slide into someone's DMs?

In 2019, what's really going down in people's Instagram and Twitter direct messages? How has the behavior and usage changed over the past few years? Kaitlyn Tiffany and Ashley Carman interview people who found love in the DMs and others who didn't. Later, the director of product management at Instagram reveals why people use DMs, and how Instagram makes it easier for users to slide into them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

36 min
07/10/2019

Is auto-replying ruining email?

Do you use Gmail's "smart reply" feature when answering e-mails? Ashley Carman and Kaitlyn Tiffany explore the world of the automated email responses and how it makes us feel as both the sender and the recipient. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

34 min
06/26/2019

Death Online: When celebrities die

In the third and final episode of the Death Online series, Ashley Carman and Kaitlyn Tiffany analyze why people flock to Twitter after a celebrity dies. Guests include a reporter who is all too familiar with the phenomenon, a writer who fears the day his favorite celebrity passes, a musician we force to think about her own death, and a sociologist who contextualizes "celebrity death Twitter" in the broader history of public mourning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

39 min
06/19/2019

Death Online: Mourning a robot

What happens when your robot friend dies? Ashley Carman explores the grieving community surrounding the short-lived social robot Jibo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

40 min

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4.4

out of 5

612 Ratings

Why it stopped 😭😭😭

12/23/2022

StreamGao

Why Loved this show
The Best

02/20/2023

aabigaill

My all time favorite podcast! I wish they’d bring it back!
Great Show!

07/15/2020

StarRyder89

I think this podcast is super dope. They go after interesting topics with dope perspectives. I will say I don’t agree with a lot of what they have to say but it’s refreshing that it doesn’t turn into a discrete partisan political podcast. Check this show out for a breath of fresh air.
Amazing show

04/21/2022

aimedtuba

This show is awesome, but I really wish they would make new seasons!

Why’d you like that celebrity photo on Instagram? Why’d you leave that restaurant review on Yelp? Why’d you text in lowercase, or turn on read receipts, or share your location? The Verge’s Ashley Carman and Kaitlyn Tiffany ask the hard, weird, and occasionally dumb questions about how your tiny tech decisions impact your social life.