The Disbeliever’s Guide to Authenticity by Toby Shorin
[I]rony is a natural stance to take when constantly making judgments between “real” and “fake,” authentic and inauthentic. It’s a coping mechanism for preserving one’s commitment to authenticity in the midst of a commodified and commoditized society.
Irony is a way of shirking responsibility. It reifies the logic of authenticity while desperately asserting moral superiority.
+
Isn’t it ironic? by Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick
Somehow our ironic cynicism transformed into this profound laziness, this shrugging “Whatever.” that has become our response to everything. Excited about nothing, apathetic about everything, awe in short supply because we’re simultaneously too calloused to show up as humans and too bothered to believe that what happens in the world really actually affects you.