log out

Siara Joy

Welcome to log out, where we explore the delicate balance between our digital lives and our human tendencies. Hosted by Siara, a tech enthusiast who’s just as hooked on her phone as you might be, this podcast dives into how technology and the internet shape us and how we can use it to enhance, not overwhelm, our lives. Siara will talk to experts, internet personalities, tech enablers, and the "offline nomads" of the world. Artificial intelligence (AI), deepfakes, bots, social media, digital wellness, it's all on the table. Log out with us to make tech work for you, not vice versa.

  1. 4d ago

    #014: How The Betting Economy Targets Young Men: Keith D. Exposes The Online Gambling Epidemic

    Somewhere between watching "trade the World Cup" show up inside his own Coinbase app and a college classmate flashing a million-dollar gambling account like it was a fraternity paddle, Keith D realized gambling had quietly rebranded itself as an asset class. In this conversation, Siara and keith get into how sports betting and prediction markets borrow the language of real investing, portfolios, event contracts, information markets, to make a bet feel like a strategy, and why young men in particular are the target of that pitch. Keith walks through the financial mechanics behind sports books and peer-to-peer prediction markets, why the athletes and streamers promoting these platforms are often gambling with someone else's money, and how a habit that looks completely normal from the outside can quietly become a serious problem. We also get into the warning signs worth watching for in a friend, a partner, or yourself, and why this is a much harder addiction to spot than most. Key Takeaways: Prediction markets are marketed with investing language like portfolio and event contract, but the underlying activity is still gambling. Young men are a primary target for this advertising, in part because these platforms sell confidence and control, not just money. Streamers and athletes promoting these platforms are often gambling with the platform's money, not their own, which changes what a "win" actually means. The core business model of a sports book depends on you losing money over time, not occasionally, but by design. Nearly half of US adults under 30 currently live with their parents, and many young people are turning to high-risk betting as a shortcut around that reality. A gambling problem is much harder to spot than other addictions because there's no smell, no visible impairment, and it can happen entirely on a phone. Warning signs include increasing bet sizes, chasing losses immediately after losing, and being unable to stop despite wanting to. People experiencing a severe gambling problem face a meaningfully elevated risk of suicide, which makes early intervention especially important. Find the full fact check here. Find Keith D. online: Instagram LinkedIn Facebook TikTok Twitter YouTube No Dice App No Dice Instagram Find Siara on social: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ Follow Log Out: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠ ⁠Threads⁠ Mastodon: Logoutpod Other Ways to Listen: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Amazon Music⁠ ⁠More Podcast Platforms⁠ ⁠Our website⁠

  2. Jul 23

    #013: Inside Kalshi: I Tried A $22 Billion Addictive Betting App So You Don't Have To

    Siara breaks down two major terms and conditions changes from Meta and Google this summer, including a feature that let anyone generate AI images using a stranger's face and a privacy setting that quietly disappeared. Then she turns to Kalshi, the prediction market app that's suddenly impossible to avoid, and asks a simple question: is it actually addictive? To find out, Siara signs up and explores the app live and unscripted, walking through what it shows first, how it's built to keep users engaged, and where she draws her own line. It's an investigation into what Kalshi really is, a betting app, a financial exchange, or something in between, and what that distinction means for the people using it. Key Takeaways: Meta let anyone generate AI images of a stranger's face just by typing their Instagram handle, no follow or notification required. That permission wasn't new; Instagram switched on content remixing by default back in 2022. Having a private account doesn't protect your face if it appears in someone else's public photos. Meta quietly retired the setting that let users disconnect their off-platform activity from their account. That off-platform data now shapes your feed and Meta AI's answers, not just your ads. Google now keeps the photos and audio you submit through Lens and Voice Search to train its AI models. Kalshi is regulated as a financial exchange, so its ads skip the risk warnings gambling ads are required to carry. Kalshi has admitted most of its traders lose money, and a New York class action claims its own trading arm functions as the house. Roughly six in ten Kalshi users are between 18 and 34. Tutorials for Updating Privacy and Reuse Settings Turn off Instagram content reuse:  Open Instagram and tap your profile icon (bottom right). Tap the menu icon (☰) in the top right. Scroll to Sharing and reuse. Under Allow people to create with and reuse your content, find the toggles for Posts and Reels. Turn both off. Turn off Google Search media saving Go to myactivity.google.com. Open Search Services History. Uncheck Save media. To remove media already saved, select View and delete saved history. Turn off Meta's use of your off-platform activity Open Facebook or Instagram and go to your profile. Tap the menu icon, then go to Settings and Privacy > Settings. Go to Accounts Center > Your information and permissions. Select Activity from other businesses. Choose Don't allow Meta to use this activity to show your relevant content. Please find the full fact check here.  Find Siara on social: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ Follow Log Out: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠ ⁠Threads⁠ Mastodon: Logoutpod Other Ways to Listen: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Amazon Music⁠ ⁠More Podcast Platforms⁠ ⁠Our website⁠

  3. Jul 16

    #012: The Apps Your Kid Won't Show You: Titania Jordan On Sextortion, Roblox, And The Talk Every Parent Needs To Have

    Bark's CMO and Chief Parent Officer, Titania Jordan sits down with Siara to discuss the information most parents have never seen: how sextortion escalates in a matter of hours, why 14 to 17-year-old boys are the most targeted group right now, and what her team actually finds when they analyze kids digital communication. We get into the corners of Roblox parents don't know exist, what happens when AI chatbots start forming relationships with vulnerable kids, and the everyday habits — from screen time defaults to oversharing online — that sharply raise the risk. Titania has spent almost a decade inside the kid safety and tech space, and she's got the numbers, the warning signs, and the exact words to use with your own kid. Key Takeaways: Sextortion is a fast-growing threat, and teenage boys are the primary target right now. Tech platforms can already detect and flag sextortion, but they aren't required to act on it. Roblox has areas that go far beyond the innocent, cartoonish experience most parents assume. Parental controls often break or fall behind as apps roll out new features. Apps are engineered to spike dopamine higher than real world play, and that has real mental health consequences. AI chatbots have already formed emotional relationships with vulnerable kids, sometimes with devastating outcomes. Waiting longer to introduce a smartphone or social media is a choice most parents wish they'd made sooner. Oversharing kids' photos and milestones online creates risks most parents don't think about. Talking to your kids about sextortion before it happens can make all the difference if it does. Please find the full fact check here.  Bark’s Website Find Titania Jordan online: Instagram LinkedIn Twitter Website YouTube Find Siara on social: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ Follow Log Out: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠ ⁠Threads⁠ Mastodon: Logoutpod Other Ways to Listen: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Amazon Music⁠ ⁠More Podcast Platforms⁠ ⁠Our website⁠

  4. Jul 2

    #011: Outrage as a Business Model: How Social Media Companies Weaponize Bots & Sensationalism

    In this episode, Siara talks with the co-founder and chief product officer of Sez Us, Yevgeny Simkin. They discuss why outrage travels faster than anything else online, how a reputation system borrowed from real-world manners could change the way people post, and what it would take to run a social network with no bots at all. The conversation widens into decentralization, who actually owns your followers, and the idea of digital sovereignty over your identity, your content, and your money. The stakes come down to ownership. Either your online life keeps living on servers you do not control, or the architecture shifts and some of that power finally comes back to you. Key Takeaways: Social media's business model rewards outrage and rage bait because anger travels fastest and keeps people clicking. Bots and fake accounts make that outrage worse, since you often cannot tell if you are even arguing with a real person. Sez Us is trying to build the opposite: a platform with no bots, verified through a real phone number at signup. Instead of a like count, every post builds a visible reputation, the same friction that keeps strangers civil in person. The deeper issue is ownership. Your followers and your content live on servers you do not control and cannot take with you. Decentralized protocols like DSNP store your identity on a public blockchain, so no company can hold your community hostage. The goal is digital sovereignty: real control over your identity, your content, and your ability to move money freely. None of this makes you safe by default, so assume anything sensitive you post can resurface later. Please find the full fact check here.  Sez Us Samizdat Online Find Yevgeny Simkin online: LinkedIn:  Twitter/X The Bulwark Find Siara on social: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ Follow Log Out: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠ ⁠Threads⁠ Mastodon: Logoutpod Other Ways to Listen: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Amazon Music⁠ ⁠More Podcast Platforms⁠ ⁠Our website⁠

  5. Jun 25

    #010: Aza Raskin Breaks down AI, Social Media Algorithms, and Big Tech's Race to the Bottom of Our Brain Stems

    Social media already rewired how billions of us think, feel, and argue. According to Aza Raskin, that was only the warmup for what AI does next. In this episode, Siara sits down with the creator of infinite scroll, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology and the Earth Species Project, and a featured voice in both The Social Dilemma and The AI Doc. They get into the attention economy, why platforms quietly switched from chronological to algorithmic feeds, and the idea that social media was really our first contact with AI. The conversation moves from the race to commoditize human intimacy to the strange, hopeful project of using AI to decode what animals are saying. Aza lays out the parasitic future our incentives are pushing us toward, and the more connected one that is still on the table. Key Takeaways: Infinite scroll was built in 2006 for search results, long before social media turned it into a trap. Big tech's real product is not ads, it is the slow shift in your behavior over time. Facebook could have cut misinformation by removing the reshare button, but it hurt engagement so they passed. Social media was humanity's first contact with AI, and the next waves are already arriving. AI systems are mimics, and reinforcement learning lets them reason on top of that mimicry. Modern AI is grown, not built, which is why no one fully understands how it works. After attention, the next thing AI competes for is intimacy, through companion bots and counterfeit humans. Knowing how the machine works does not make you immune, so Aza relies on friction instead of willpower. Please find the full fact check here.  Find Aza Raskin online: LinkedIn Twitter Website Center for Humane Technology Earth Species Project The AI Doc The Social Dilemma Film Find Siara on social: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ Follow Log Out: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠ ⁠Threads⁠ Mastodon: Logoutpod Other Ways to Listen: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Amazon Music⁠ ⁠More Podcast Platforms⁠ ⁠Our website⁠

  6. Jun 18

    #009: Borrowed Dopamine- Siara Confronts Her Screen Time with Ben Krechevsky

    What is your time actually worth? Ben Krechevsky, founder of Purpose Over Pixels, made Siara put a literal dollar amount to her screen time. In this episode we get into why willpower alone can't save you from your phone, the deeper emotional triggers hiding behind your scrolling, and the self-binding strategies that actually create change. They’ll also talk about productivity porn, surrogate experiences, and why your phone sitting on the table is quietly ruining your conversations.  Ben shares insights on how modern technology hijacks our attention, the root causes of smartphone overuse, and practical strategies to regain control of our digital lives. KEY TAKEAWAYS Smartphone overuse isn't a personal failure. Apps are engineered to exploit your brain. Screen time is usually a symptom of something else going on underneath. Willpower is finite, and you're up against thousands of engineers and serious money. Self-binding strategies remove the temptation before you even have to resist it. A phone diary builds the awareness needed to actually change your habits. Putting a dollar value on your time makes screen time feel real and concrete. App blockers can help, but they only address part of the bigger picture. Transitions throughout your day are common trigger points for picking up your phone. Connection through a screen tends to feel hollow because there's no real vulnerability. Doing this work with someone else makes accountability and follow through much easier. Fact Check Claim 1: 60% of Americans feels like they're addicted to their phone- PARTIALLY TRUE FACT: Nearly 57% of Americans admit to being addicted to their phones ⁠Source⁠ Claim 2:  The average human attention span dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. TRUE  ⁠Source⁠ Find Ben Krechevsky online: Book a meeting with Ben Instagram LinkedIn TikTok Website YouTube Find Siara on social: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ Follow Log Out: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠ ⁠Threads⁠ Mastodon: Logoutpod Other Ways to Listen: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Amazon Music⁠ ⁠More Podcast Platforms⁠ ⁠Our website⁠

  7. Jun 11

    #008: Being Online Is Hard— I Tried Everything: 3 Habits That Actually Worked

    Log Out is back. Season two kicks off with a solo episode: Siara shares her personal tech wellness lessons learned over the past year, emphasizing the challenges of managing digital wellness and practical habits to improve it. She discusses the influence of big tech, the importance of boundaries, and actionable strategies for data privacy and mental health. Key Takeaways: Screen time struggles aren't a personal failure. They're the result of deliberate design choices by big tech. Keeping your phone out of the bedroom protects your sleep and sets the tone for your day. Defaulting to "no" on data requests is one of the simplest ways to start reclaiming your privacy. Your data is valuable. Treat every request for it like a transaction. News anxiety is often about format and framing, not the news itself. Neutral sources help. Pasting terms and conditions into AI is a quick way to know what you're actually agreeing to. Season 1 Guest’s Books  Tyler RIce’s Book | Tactical Disconnection: The Secret to Health, Happiness, and Productivity Danielle Bayard Jackson’s Book | Fighting For Our FriendshipsDr. Avriel Epps Book | A Kids Book About AI Bias Arvind Narayanan’s Book | AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference Unbiased News Sources: Ground News — groundnews.com (Siara’s Favorite) Straight Arrow News — straightarrownews.com (Siara’s 2nd Favorite) 1440 — join1440.com  AllSides — allsides.com  Fact Check: Claim 1: Bedtime smartphone use is associated with poor sleep quality— TRUE  Source: Kumar et al. (2025), Sleep Research — systematic review of studies 2014–2024 Claim 2:  Reducing phone use at night improves sleep duration and quality— TRUE  Source: Chang et al. (2020), PLOS ONE — randomized trial, avoiding phone 30 min before bed for 4 weeks improved sleep latency, duration, and quality Claim 3: Data become more valuable than oil in 2012— SLIGHTLY FALSE.  CORRECTION: Data became more valuable than oil in 2017. Source: The Economist, "The world's most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data" (May 6, 2017) Find Siara on social: LinkedIn Instagram Follow Log Out: LinkedIn Instagram TikTok Bluesky Threads Mastodon: Logoutpod Other Ways to Listen: Apple Podcasts Amazon Music More Podcast Platforms Our website

  8. 06/12/2025

    #007: Is It Too Late to Opt Out? - Dr. Avriel Epps on Algorithmic Bias, Ai Harms, and Parenting Through Surveillance

    What do bail decisions, Spotify playlists, and your child's future have in common? They're all shaped by algorithms, often without your knowledge or consent. Dr. Avriel Epps, founder of AI4Abolition, joins Siara to reveal the real-world consequences of algorithmic bias in areas like criminal justice, healthcare, and childhood development. They also discuss what it means to practice digital consent as a parent—from opting out of facial recognition at airports to refusing to post photos of their child online. Key Takeaways: Algorithms are not neutral, they reflect the values, power structures, and historical biases embedded in their training data.Algorithmic bias affects life-altering decisions, from bail and parole to medical diagnoses and mortgage approvals.Surveillance technologies like facial recognition disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities, especially in the criminal legal system.Opting out is a form of resistance. Dr. Epps refuses airport facial recognition scans and doesn’t post photos of their child to practice digital consent.AI already shapes childhood development, especially through platforms like TikTok and Character AI, often without safeguards.Parents can protect privacy by delaying smartphone use and modeling critical digital habits.The AI4Abolition initiative uses technology to build community-led alternatives to carceral systems and promotes collective data rights.Spotify recommendation systems demonstrated algorithmic gender bias, highlighting how music platforms reinforce industry inequities. Chapters: 00:00 Intro/Teasers01:19 Predictive AI in the Criminal Legal System33:04 The Ethics of Opting Into Technology36:36 The Importance of Opting Out of Facial Recognition38:54 Technology as the Amazon Rainforest42:22 Teaching Kids About AI and Its Implications45:26 AI's Impact on Childhood Development49:45 The Dilemma of Sharing Children's Images Online55:38 Informed Consent and Children's Data58:52 Parenting in the Digital Age01:03:20 AI for Abolition: Building Collective Power

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5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Welcome to log out, where we explore the delicate balance between our digital lives and our human tendencies. Hosted by Siara, a tech enthusiast who’s just as hooked on her phone as you might be, this podcast dives into how technology and the internet shape us and how we can use it to enhance, not overwhelm, our lives. Siara will talk to experts, internet personalities, tech enablers, and the "offline nomads" of the world. Artificial intelligence (AI), deepfakes, bots, social media, digital wellness, it's all on the table. Log out with us to make tech work for you, not vice versa.

Information

  • Creator
    Siara Joy
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Siara Joy
  • Show Website
    log out

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