Have you noticed that the internet feels different than it did a few years ago? Maybe you cannot quite put your finger on it, but something feels off. Posts seem more repetitive. Search results are less helpful. Social media feels less social. You are not imagining it.

Two concepts have emerged to explain this feeling: enshitification and the dead internet theory. Both explain why the internet we use today feels so different from the one we grew up with.

What Is Enshittification?

The term “enshitification” describes the process where a platform starts by offering a great user experience, only to gradually degrade that experience once it has captured enough users and advertisers.

The pattern is always the same:

1. The golden era - The platform launches with a focus on users. It is free, fast, and useful. Everyone loves it.
2. The advertiser phase - The platform grows and needs to make money. It starts showing ads, but still keeps the experience relatively good.
3. The squeeze - The platform pushes advertisers and users at the same time. Ads become more intrusive. Algorithms prioritize engagement over quality. Premium features appear that should be free.
4. The decline - The experience that made the platform popular is gone. Users feel stuck because everyone they know is still on the platform.

This has happened to Twitter, now called X. It happened to Facebook. It happened to Amazon. It happened to Google Search. Every platform you can think of has followed all or part of this pattern.

The key insight is that this is not a bug. It is a business model. Platforms are not forced to enshittify; they choose to because the squeeze phase is when they make the most money.

The Dead Internet Theory

The dead internet theory is a darker idea. Originally considered a fringe conspiracy theory, it has gained mainstream acceptance as AI-generated content has exploded.

The theory states that since around 2016, most of what we see online is not created by humans. Instead, it is generated by bots, automated systems, and algorithms designed to manipulate rather than inform.

At first, this sounds like conspiracy thinking. But look at the evidence:

• In 2022, Elon Musk claimed that 90 percent of the replies to his tweets were bot accounts
• In October 2025, X (formerly Twitter) removed 1.7 million bot accounts in a single cleanup drive
• AI-generated content is now everywhere: blog posts, product reviews, comments, social media posts
• Research papers have documented the rise of artificial interactions on social media

The theory is no longer fringe. It is a description of what is happening.

What Happened to Social Media?

Social media platforms have changed the most. Here is what is different:

Twitter/X: What was once a platform for real-time conversation has become filled with right wing propaganda, bot replies, crypto scams, and AI-generated engagement. The algorithm now rewards engagement above all else, often promoting controversial content because it keeps people watching.

Facebook: Once a place to connect with friends and family, it is now saturated with clickbait, misinformation, and advertising. The algorithm prioritizes content that generates reactions over content that is actually useful.

Instagram: The platform is full of engagement pods, bot comments, and AI-generated influencer accounts. Real organic reach has declined dramatically.

Reddit: Once a collection of genuine communities, it is now filled with astroturfed campaigns and corporate manipulation.

The common thread is that the platforms optimized for engagement and profit, not for genuine human connection.

AI Made It Worse

The rise of large language models and AI image generators has accelerated everything. Now anyone can create thousands of pieces of content in minutes. Spammers and scammers have access to tools that were once reserved for sophisticated actors.

The result is an internet where:

• Search results are filled with AI-generated content designed to rank in Google rather than help readers
• Product reviews are written by bots trying to manipulate purchasing decisions
• News sites are run by AI systems churning out low-quality content for ad revenue
• Social media feeds are filled with engagement-botted posts

This is not the internet we had five years ago. It is not even the internet we had three years ago.

What Can We Do?

The situation is not hopeless, but it requires awareness:

1. Recognize the problem - Understanding that the decline is intentional, not accidental, helps you make better choices about where you spend your time online.

2. Seek alternatives - Smaller platforms, newsletters, and communities that have not yet been enshittified still exist. They are harder to find, but they are there.

3. Support independent creators - Paying directly for content (through Patreon, Substack, or direct support) creates incentives that do not rely on engagement manipulation.

4. Be skeptical - Question what you read online. If something feels off, it probably is. Verify information from multiple sources.

5. Use tools that block tracking and ads - This reduces the economic incentive for platforms to enshittify your experience.

The Bottom Line

The internet has been colonized by systems that prioritize engagement and profit over human connection and genuine information.

This does not mean the internet is useless. It means we need to be more intentional about how we use it and where we spend our attention.

The internet we knew is not coming back in its original form. But we can build and support spaces that feel more human.