3 days ago
TikTok Isn't the Reason We Watch ‘Slop.' Burnout Is.
Social media is often the scapegoat for just about everything wrong in modern society. The latest thing it's getting blamed for is 'Slop.' Originally, the term refers to the pervasiveness of low-quality AI-generated content that is flooding social feeds, but it has turned into a catch-all for much of today's subpar products and content.
Laying all of this at the feet of social platforms is a mistake, though. Slop is not a new phenomenon. Each generation can point to moments in which the old guard decried that the latest media or gadget was brain-rotting sludge. In my lifetime, it's been everything from Hip-Hop and Grunge music to the rise of reality television to violent video games, such as Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, to the Blackberry — which was so addictive it was nicknamed Crackberry.
