Dead Internet Theory suggests that most online content is generated by bots, not humans, with the internet effectively "dying" around 2015-2016. Today, platforms like Facebook are flooded with AI-generated, low-quality "slop" designed to attract clicks. This content, often bizarre and meaningless, is created by people in low-income countries for ad revenue, boosted by fake accounts and automated systems.
As ad networks like Facebook inadvertently fund this process, meaningful content and real human interactions are sidelined. Journalism has also been affected, with AI-generated articles replacing original reporting, leading to a decline in quality across the web. This phenomenon, dubbed "enshittification," reflects a profit-driven internet where human needs are becoming irrelevant.
If tech companies continue to prioritize bots and automation, the internet's future looks bleak, as genuine human content is pushed to the margins.
Discussion (1)
I think people are overreacting. Theres a lot of low-quality content out there, but that doesn’t mean the internet is "dead."
There’s still plenty of great stuff if you know where to look. Yeah, bots and AI might churn out a lot of junk, but that’s inevitable with the way technology is advancing. The real issue is how platforms prioritize engagement over quality. Fix that, and the problem can be managed.