https://arab.news/cqee8
It is no secret that technology touches every aspect of our lives and we are increasingly trusting the machine above our own instincts. Get on a bus, travel in a train carriage or sit on a delayed plane and you will notice that probably 80 percent of passengers, young and old alike, are glued to their screens. And not everyone is like me, trying to finish this article while in transit; that is to say, I am typing away after my flight got delayed — a common occurrence in European airports.
Beside me, a fellow passenger who has hardly made eye contact is consumed by his screen and giggling to himself at some short social media stories that deliver no wisdom or knowledge — known as “slop” or “brain rot.” The one next to him, I have seen her playing games from the minute she sat down, even before we were informed our flight was delayed, first due to de-icing the plane and later due to losing our takeoff slot. After much negotiation from our diligent captain, we took off two hours later, without these two fellow passengers or many others up and down the plane taking even one eye away from their screen.
It seems that these screens keep on giving them material that keeps them satisfied, engaged and happy, even though more than 20 percent of the content YouTube shows to new users, for example, is now low-quality, AI-generated slop. As long as people are clicking more, platforms are happily piling up the cash, despite the consumers being left swimming in trash.
