The Polyester Podcast Why Does The Internet Keep Getting Worse? Ft. Slop Content, Brain Rot, & The Attention Economy
Aug 17, 2025
The rise of slop content driven by AI is reshaping our online experience, turning social media into a landscape of absurdity. Discussions reveal how this baiting engagement harms authentic interactions and reflects broader cultural issues. The podcast critiques venture capitalists focusing on trivial innovations and highlights the ad-centric transformation of internet platforms. It raises concerns about the impact of algorithmic manipulation on creativity while exploring the role of artists in this chaotic attention economy. Can community ownership revive our digital culture?
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Episode notes
Slop Content Is Its Own Economy
- Slop content is AI-made, meaningless video designed to bait engagement and ad revenue.
- It forms a distinct micro-economy that proliferated because AI makes scale cheap and easy.
Grandma Shares Fuel The Spread
- Ione describes family members sharing deceptive AI images that tug heartstrings, like veterans with invented backstories.
- Gina and Ione note grandma-level sharing makes slop content emotionally contagious across older users.
Finance Policies Shaped Internet Churn
- Post-2008 zero interest policies funneled capital into asset and startup speculation, not broad public investment.
- That finance culture helped spawn venture-funded churn and tolerance for low-quality, high-scale internet products.
