I think mostly you know it when you see it.

Infinite scrolling, algorithm based (not timestamp-based), "stories" (short videos), public (non-friend) accounts make up most of the feed, ads selling views and therefore companies trying to capture attention.

A car enthusiast forum is not doing this. phpBB sites get a pass. YouTube is, though. I think YouTube is part of the brain rot, although not the comments section.

FB, Instagram, X, tiktok, YouTube, Snapchat, etc.

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bahmboo 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

"you know it when you see it" is a trap and ripe for abuse in its own right. Your description however is pretty spot on for this moment in internet evolution.

Interesting to me is that I pay for youtube premium so I don't see any ads. They even have the jump ahead feature where you can skip in video project promotions. It's the most ad free experience I have on the internet. The comment sections are about the lowest of the low knuckle draggers and outright dimwits.

I'm also a bit out of touch because I quit all social media. Youtube shorts is about the closest I get and that's a mind sink for sure. [Edit: and hacker news which I consider social media without the ads]

	▲	sejje 8 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I mostly use YouTube without ads, and with sponsorblock, so a similar experience. I think YouTube shorts is exactly the experience we're talking about. And the youth watch it by scrolling up, not by selecting shorts that look interesting. I resisted shorts for a long time, but I watch them now as well. Prefer them, even. The fact we're not seeing ads, and that the comments are atrocious content, is irrelevant--our attention spans are at stake, not our wallets.

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NickC25 8 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Anything that promotes short-form video should be looked at.

Youtube promoting shorts is bad.

A youtube long-form video about, say, car repair, or quantum physics, or a history of eastern asian languages doesn't contribute to brain rot.

The Chinese, take it for what it's worth, knew how to control TikTok. They simply banned non educational content on the platform. You want to watch a 5 minute video explaining the basics of a math theorem, or explaining a chess opening? Sure, that's cool. Stupid 30 second clips of dances, memes, reactions, etc? Nah, that's dumb.

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sejje 8 hours ago | parent [-]

That's better imo, but creates a new problem.

As we can see anywhere and everywhere, moderation teams have to use their power, even when nothing is in violation of the rules. They'll start policing more content, and pretty soon they'll be arresting people.

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NickC25 8 hours ago | parent [-]

Youtube content moderators can arrest people?

	▲	sejje 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		We were talking about the state policing content in China. So the "YouTube content moderators" you mention would be government actors. Like they have in the UK--police arresting people for content. The police don't work for Facebook, I'm sure you realize.