The “who cares” era

A blog post by Dan Sinker: The Who Cares Era

Relevant quote, but read the whole thing, I think it captures a lot of what is happening now in 2025 and predates the whole AI craze, though that same craze is making it worse:

Earlier this week, it was discovered that the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer had both published an externally-produced “special supplement” that contained facts, experts, and book titles entirely made up by an AI chatbot.

…

It’s so emblematic of the moment we’re in, the Who Cares Era, where completely disposable things are shoddily produced for people to mostly ignore.

I know people who play YouTube videos at 2x speed. The idea of watching a video in real time is unthinkable to them. Or they play the same videos while reading a web article or doing something else, constantly looking for ways to keep themselves overstimulated, where the idea of just being quiet and alone with your thoughts is alien and unacceptable. It’s weird. I feel the pull, too, but I force myself to focus. It is impossible to do creative work if I am distracted. Sometimes even background music is too much.

And AI slop, now flooding the web, is making these distractions not just worse, but far more pervasive. It’s part of why I’m checking out small blogs again. Not just to escape corporate control and influence, but to actually read real content, however imperfect it may be.

And I give it my attention. You should, too.

Here’s an AI-generated image of my soapbox:

(just kidding)