You’ve felt it. You’re scrolling through your favorite app—maybe it’s X, maybe it's Instagram—and something just feels... off. It isn't just that the memes are getting more niche. It’s that the very fabric of the digital world, the stuff we consume every single day, is starting to look really weird in a way that’s hard to put a finger on until you step back and look at the big picture.
We are living through a massive shift. It’s the "Slop Era."
The internet was once a place where humans talked to humans. Now, it feels like a hall of mirrors. You see a photo of a shrimp carved into the shape of Jesus, and it has 400,000 likes. You see "AI influencers" with skin so smooth they look like polished dolphins, selling vitamins you probably shouldn't take. Even the comments are weird. It’s "bot-on-bot" violence out there, with automated accounts arguing with other automated accounts while we, the actual living, breathing users, just sort of watch from the sidelines.
The Rise of Synthetic Slop and the Dead Internet Theory
It’s getting harder to ignore. A few years ago, the "Dead Internet Theory" was a fringe conspiracy on 4chan and Reddit. The idea was that most of the internet is actually dead—just bots and AI-generated content mimicking human behavior.
Back then? It sounded crazy. Today? It’s starting to look like a prophecy.
When people say the internet is starting to look really weird, they’re usually talking about the sheer volume of "slop." This is low-effort, AI-generated imagery and text designed solely to farm engagement. Think about those Facebook posts that show a 5-year-old child building a log cabin out of nothing but mud and sheer willpower. The hands usually have seven fingers. The shadows don't make sense. Yet, the comments are filled with "Amen!" and "God bless this child!" from users who can’t tell—or don't care—that the image is fake.
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This isn't just about bad art. It’s about the incentive structures of the platforms we use. Facebook’s algorithm, for instance, has been heavily criticized by researchers like those at the Stanford Internet Observatory. They’ve noted how AI-generated spam can dominate feeds because it’s "engagement bait." It’s weird because it’s a feedback loop. AI makes a weird image; bots like it; the algorithm thinks it’s popular; it shows it to you.
Why the Human Eye Is Rejecting "Perfect" Content
We are biologically wired to spot anomalies. It’s called the Uncanny Valley.
When something looks almost human but is slightly off, it triggers a disgust response. That’s a big reason why everything is starting to look really weird lately. We are being flooded with AI-generated video and imagery that is almost right.
Take Sora or Midjourney. The tech is incredible. But look closely at a video of people eating dinner. The forks might merge into their hands. The liquid in a glass might flow upward. These tiny glitches create a sense of digital vertigo. We’re losing our "ground truth."
And it isn't just visual. The way people write is changing too. Because so many people are using LLMs (Large Language Models) to "optimize" their emails, LinkedIn posts, and blogs, the internet is sounding more formal, more repetitive, and frankly, more boring. When everyone uses the same tool to sound professional, everyone ends up sounding like a corporate brochure from 2004.
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The Commercialization of "Weird"
Companies have noticed that we’re bored. So, they’re leaning into the weirdness.
Marketing has taken a turn for the surreal. Have you seen the recent Balenciaga or Jacquemus ads? They often use CGI that blurs the line between reality and hallucination. Huge bags rolling through the streets of Paris like buses. This is a deliberate aesthetic choice. If the "normal" internet is saturated with generic AI, brands have to go "Full Weird" to get your attention.
- Hyper-niche subcultures: Platforms like TikTok use algorithms so precise they feel like they’re reading your mind. This leads to "Core-core" or "Sludge Content" where two or three unrelated videos play at the same time to keep your dopamine levels spiked.
- The Aesthetic of Decay: There is a growing trend of "Liminal Space" photography—empty malls, empty hallways—that taps into a sense of nostalgia and unease.
This is a reaction. We’re overwhelmed by the "perfect" and the "fake," so we gravitate toward things that feel haunting or unexplained.
The "Enshittification" Factor
Writer Cory Doctorow coined the term "Enshittification" to describe the life cycle of online platforms. First, they are good to users. Then, they screw over users to be good to advertisers. Finally, they screw over everyone to claw back value for shareholders.
This process makes the internet look weird because the platforms stop caring about the quality of your experience. They just want you to stay on the page. If showing you a weird, AI-generated conspiracy theory keeps you scrolling longer than a high-quality piece of journalism, the algorithm will pick the weirdness every single time.
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That’s why your Instagram "Suggested for You" feed is increasingly filled with accounts you don't follow, showing things you never asked for. It’s a desperate attempt to keep the machine running.
How to Navigate a Weird Digital World
So, what do you actually do? You can’t just turn off the internet. (Well, you can, but most of us won’t.)
Honestly, the first step is developing a "Digital Literacy 2.0." You have to assume that what you’re seeing might be synthetic. If a photo looks too dramatic, look at the hands. Look at the background details. Check the source.
We also need to seek out "Human-First" spaces. This is why platforms like Substack or small, private Discord servers are exploding. People are fleeing the "weird" public square for smaller, gated communities where they know they’re talking to real people.
Actionable Steps to Fix Your Feed
You don't have to be a victim of the "weird" internet. You can fight back against the slop.
- Aggressively use the "Not Interested" button. Don’t just scroll past the weird AI Jesus or the bot-generated rage bait. Explicitly tell the algorithm you hate it. Over time, it actually works.
- Follow individuals, not brands. Seek out creators who show their process. People who post "behind the scenes" content or raw video are much harder to fake than someone who only posts polished, static images.
- Use RSS feeds or Bookmarks. Remember those? Instead of letting an algorithm decide what you see, go directly to the websites of writers and artists you trust.
- Support human-made art. If you see something that clearly took a human being time and effort to create, engage with it. Like it, comment, share it. We have to signal to the platforms that we still value human labor.
The internet is starting to look really weird because we’re in a transition period. We’re moving from the "Social Media" era to the "Generative Media" era. It’s messy, it’s glitchy, and it’s often deeply unsettling. But by being intentional about where we spend our attention, we can find the "real" internet again, buried under all that synthetic sludge.
The goal isn't to go back to the way things were—that's impossible. The goal is to build a way of living online that doesn't feel like a fever dream. Pay attention to the weirdness. It’s telling you exactly what the machines think you want. Prove them wrong.