0 comments
when something dies, the flies come out
Plenty of people still reckon that bots will drive people offline.
The Dead Internet Theory truly sprouted legs with the mainstream explosion of AI, and the suggestion that bots will soon account for more online activity than those born of meat and bone isn’t as ridiculous as it should be.
Some experts suggest the process is already well underway, but are they missing a key aspect of the story? What if we aren’t being usurped by machines at pace, but rather are coming to the realisation that posting shit is no longer worth it?
The Guardian recently shared an Ofcom survey saying that half of UK adult social media users have forgone uploading anything from posts and comments, to even a simple share. Overall, this sort of active engagement is down from 61% in 2024.
A quick peruse through any social media platform other than Facebook – where our racist aunts are still running rampant – shows that talk of the UK ‘falling out of love’ with social media isn’t a complete exaggeration, especially for Gen Z.
Posting used to be chaotic and casual, but decisions now feel loaded. The adrenal gland flickers as you do a risk assessment of your draft at light speed. If the algorithm doesn’t deem you buff enough, funny enough, aspirational enough, or politically tidy enough, you won’t get the engagement you’re looking for. Because of this, the group chat is starting to feel like the more natural option when we’re in our meek, validation seeking mood.
Is your sarcastic, rage-bait comment or low-quality meme worth fucking up the prospect of getting that job, flat, or dream partner three years down the line? It’s unhealthy neurosis, yes, but it feels justified. We used to overshare, but we’re now a more self-conscious bunch, and the fly on the wall approach feels like the way forward.
That idiom feels quite apt, too, given our appetite to dive headfirst into shit the algorithm offers up.
If your Instagram feed is more populated by actual photos of friends than brain rot, corporate marketing, and shopping ads, you’re a rare (and seemingly dying) breed. Social media is more ravenous for activity than ever, but half of adult users are content to sit, watch, and let the mavericks carry the experience.
Social media isn’t dying, then. People are just substituting active participation for observation as it starts to feel less organic and more like strategised content. Perhaps it’s part of getting older, but the reward of posting no longer feels, well… rewarding. The dopamine receptors don’t light up at the prospect of posting a half-baked political take anymore, or uploading a video of your dog dreaming.
It sounds bleak, but it’s true. Unless you’re raking in bank on OF, the juice doesn’t feel worth the squeeze.
The days of OG Instagram, the brown camera logo, and social media being actually social are finito – and the people who’re now the loudest are usually paid to be.
🧟 scroll sickness
AI influencers are ‘everywhere’ at Coachella – the verge
Coachella is more about the photo-op than seeing The Strokes ain’t it, let’s be honest. The Verge has proved this by amassing a hilariously depressing collection of AI generated photos looking to piggyback the festival’s virality. If you don’t know what to look for, you could be duped into thinking a few of the examples are legit, and that Justin Bieber did hoist an elderly woman into the air for a loving embrace immediately after his headline show. The comments on many of the Instagram posts are a concerning mash up of bots and the chronically online kissing the feet of AI generated influencers – usually posing alongside Kardashians, Jenners, and chart toppers. The article says the grim little joke is that it all feels like the natural step for a festival already built around visibility, status, and proof of attendance. Can we all get a bit more clued up ffs?
View this post on Instagram
This is how to detox your brain and reverse 10 years of social media damage, according to science – the independent
Given the posting hiatus we’ve already discussed, is there a way of going one step further and undoing the chemical changes seared into our brains by social media? Apparently, there is. The Independent cites recent research saying a short digital detox can improve attention span, mood, and sleep, with a two-week abstinence apparently producing gains equivalent to reversing around 10 years of age-related decline. The article’s real takeaway is that phones seem to be the bigger culprit than the internet itself, because they interrupt everything: dinner, walks, sleep, even your ability to sit with your own thoughts. A decade of doomscrolling has trained our brains to be skittish and nihilistic, but it’s encouraging to think that the self-inflicted damage we’ve done may not be entirely irreversible. The bad news is that recovery means touching grass instead of Instagram Reels and Tinder.
😇 divine intervention
Who needs looksmaxxing when you’ve got Catholicmaxxing? The TikTok trend making religion great again – the guardian
This Guardian article reads like a brain rot explainer from a Gen Alpha to a Millennial, and it got a few smirks out of me on a sleepy Tuesday afternoon. The back and forth babbling also holds some decent insight. Gen Z are bang into religion at the moment, but this piece focuses on Catholicmaxxing, which is a bro-coded, self-improvement branch of the religion that involves fasting, discipline, tradition, and most importantly: getting better odds of finding a girlfriend. It’s less about quiet spiritual awakening and more about repackaging faith as another lifestyle upgrade for young men who’ve grown bored of school or work, and probably aren’t getting much action. The whole thing is as much about salvation as The Real Lives of Mormon Wives is. I suppose, at least it’s something else to chuck into the daily manifesto between boy kibble and deadlifts.
@_anthonygross Not everyday you meet a billionaire #nyc #catholic #entrepreneur #fitness #fyp
Dr TikTok: patients diagnose chronic illnesses with anonymous commenters’ help – the guardian
If you haven’t gone into an existential spiral following a search of something health related on Google, you can genuinely call yourself chill. This Guardian piece explains how TikTok has become a cursed side door for the NHS, where anonymous commenters are somehow spotting illnesses and red flags before actual professionals do. In one case, a user called PickleFart (sighs) urged a woman to get a lump checked on her neck. It later turned out she had thyroid cancer, which is absurd and genuinely quite moving at the same time. The article is careful to stress that the success stories are few and far between in this space, but it just goes to show how a lot of people – especially women – don’t feel adequately cared for with the chronic symptoms they’re experiencing. An increasing number of people believe the public can fill that void of recognition – and that is, obviously, a big problem.
Brandi Glanville rushed to Urgent Care after taking TikTok medical advice 😬
Credit: Brandi Glanville Uncensored pic.twitter.com/G8NI3e97vr
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 14, 2026
