The Internet Is Worse Than Ever, But We’re Too Addicted to Leave

The year is 2025 and the state of human interaction is at a crossroads. We’ve been here before. The social Internet reinvents itself every decade and five years after a pandemic things have coalesced.

\ For the better the Internet continues to be a place of discovery, entertainment and shared zeitgeist. At it’s worst it is a terrible conveyer of current events, of share in-depth analysis and a creator of civil public discourse. Personal posturing and AI generated content may have irrevocably broken things.

What Still Works Short-Form Video

The original TikTok format struck a nerve making the format work. TikTok wasn’t the first, but its algorithm was successful at serving up and endless stream of engaging content in rapid succession. It was incredibly satisfying and mildly addictive.

\ Critics say that it shortened attention spans, but that trend was already underway thanks to microblogging and sound bite style news reporting. The game changer was TikTok’s algorithm and backlog of content which kept us scrolling for hours.

\ Instagram is largely displacing TikTok with established content creators but you can still enjoy discovering random creators via the algorithm. It’s hard to say why creators shifted but it could have been for a number of reasons like the prevalence of the TikTok shop, the unpredictable nature of the algorithm or the questionable decision to start promoting longer videos.

Long-form Video

YouTube tends to dominate in the longish 5–20-minute content video. Automatic video chapters makes it easy to skip around or back to important parts. Videos are typically more polished, but an increasing number feature content creators simply sitting in front of a camera or sharing their screen. Podcasts are also very popular with some saying that it surpasses rival Spotify.

Long-form writing

Substack didn’t invent the newsletter, but the platform made it accessible at a time when everyone was weary of short-form writing and coincidentally had ample time on their hands. More importantly SubStack makes social discovery and sharing easy via Notes. I’ve found, and supported, so many unique authors over the the years.

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Short form writing

Most types of short-form writing and threaded comments are mostly NOT useful. The implosion of Twitter scattered that platforms bad behavior to other places like Mastodon, Bluesky and Threads. There is little joy in doom scrolling these sites and worse they encourage a type of slacktivism that is neither effective nor healthy.

\ “Professional” microblogging on LinkedIn is, at best, a cross-congratulatory mechanism and platform for shameless self-promotion. At worst, it’s a great way to tank a career by posting less than professional hot takes on a troll post.

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\ The lone exception is Instagram Broadcast Channels which allows content creators to send messages directly to followers. No public replies are allowed to it is a clean way to communicate short posts directly with subscribers. I’ve joined several during sporting events and found it a pleasant way to stay up to date without the reply spam.

Where Machines Can’t Go (Yet)

AI content generation will continue to overrun quick, easy to produce content. Microblogging, as a format, is mostly dead and engagement numbers will quickly indicate you are shouting into the void.

\ Quick hit video content continues to thrive but it need to be direct, to the point and eye catching. A teaser cover with outlandish Buzzfeed style titles seem to work the best. Less polished videos easily go viral and platforms like TikTok and Instagram make it easier to record a quick video. Long form video, on the other hand, with a big editing demand is so low ROI that many are relying on AI video editing and narration tools to create content, and it’s ruining the format.

\ Writers with something to say might want to start a newsletter, but these days everyone has a Substack. To the platform’s credit, it does make accessible the features to manage posts, subscribers and even export subscribers in the event you outgrow the platform. Chances are you won’t, but good writers can sometimes cultivate a small following of highly engaged readers.

Reasonably Human

I base these opinions on my own experience as a media consumer. I’ve created a few meme videos and write a weekly Substack of curated interesting reads, but I am not a professional content creator. The examples I have given are from personal experience and listening to the content creators that I enjoy and support.

\ I choose to create a small amount of content for the lulz, but also in an attempt at credibility for being a real human. In the rare online interaction I always check the account first. If it is blank or seems overly machine generated I’ll refrain. Bots are everywhere and serve to only farm engagement or spark flame wars. It isn’t fun and it isn’t worth it.

\ Likewise when I leave a comment or reshare I want others to see me as a real human. In 2025 being perceived as a good human is one of the few things we have left.

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