Meaning of “Drugs & the Internet” by Lauv
This song is centered on the theme of Lauv deciding to forsake actual face-to-face interactions with people in exchange for internet-based social media. But in the process, he has sacrificed parts of himself which make him unique.
And the chorus has a sarcastic tone which seems to mock the idea that partaking of “drugs and the internet” will make someone “a winner”. It more or less reads like a criticism of certain mainstream practices and ideologies, particularly those which may dominate the thinking of Lauv’s age group. In fact at the climax of the song, we see that the singer has equated his ambition of getting “likes from strangers” (a direct reference to social media) to ‘selling his soul’.
Ultimately the nature of the tiff Lauv has with the internet, particularly social media, can be deduced from this song. He perceives that institution as being one where people are inclined to sacrifice real-life associations, including being true to their own selves, in the name of pleasing strangers. However, he only delves into the subject of drugs sparsely by referring to his “mom” as someone who likes to take “a drink and a cigarette”.
Facts about “Drugs & the Internet”
- Lauv first teased the release of “Drugs & the Internet” on 18 April 2019 via his Twitter account.
- He officially dropped the track on 25 April 2019.
- This is the first track released from Lauv’s 2019 album, How I’m Feeling – his debut album.
- Lauv wrote this song along with singer Jon Bellion and three others. They are Johnny Simpson, Michael Pollack and Michael Matosic.
- The trio of Bellion, Simpson and Lauv (all co-writers) produced “Drugs & the Internet”.
- Upon its release, “Drugs & the Internet” became the second single Lauv released in 2019. His first was the song “I’m So Tired…” (which features Troye Sivan).
