cool
Explanation
In this comic, a young person declares: "Son, you think smoking is cool? Twenty years from now, they're gonna define 'cool' differently. Then tell me what you think."
The next panel jumps forward: "Did your punishments include getting a recommendation algorithm since you got a YouTube channel?" The response: "And it never would've happened if you'd purchased these algorithmic supplements from our sponsors!"
The joke plays on generational shifts in what is considered rebellious or "cool." The parent warns their smoking child that coolness will be redefined, implying cigarettes will become uncool. But the comic subverts the expectation: the "uncool" future the parent imagined is not one where kids behave better, but one where rebellion has been replaced by something arguably worse -- becoming a YouTube content creator who is enslaved to recommendation algorithms and sponsorship deals.
The humor lies in the ironic progression: the parent thought smoking was the worst thing a kid could do, but the future brought YouTube influencer culture, where kids voluntarily subject themselves to algorithmic manipulation and shamelessly shill products to their audiences. The comic suggests that each generation's version of "cool" is terrible in its own unique way, and that the corporate co-opting of youth culture through social media may be more insidious than old-fashioned vices like smoking.