Joe Rogan and Shane Gillis warn that modern phones have ruined youth culture

Joe Rogan reflected on a drunken evening in Belfast, noting that the presence of cameras would have prevented the spontaneous, unfiltered behavior he once enjoyed. He told his podcast audience that smartphones have fundamentally altered how young people relate to each other, a view echoed by fellow comedians Mark Normand and Ari Shaffir. Shane Gillis described his own disengagement from social media as involuntary, saying he can no longer tolerate sites such as Reddit and X because they make him feel bad.

Rogan emphasized his recent decision to limit phone use, describing it as a necessary break from “doom scrolling.” The conversation framed the loss of offline interaction as a cultural decline, urging young men to consider unplugging as a path to healthier social experiences.