[mattbrewsbytes]

Social media companies are acting like a drug user who was getting their dope for free but now has to turn tricks behind the dumpster. Easy money (aka low loan rates) has dried up or much harder to justify so companies that have used their user population as a means to profit are realizing they need to charge money for things like blue check marks or API usage when all the VC's won't give them a hit anymore.

Publicly free content from users devolves to garbage content. I think the Chat GPT effect is they're realizing its easier for companies/entities to generate garbage that is at or exceeding the intelligence of comments by actual people (a low bar). Sure there are pockets of usefulness but this is tiny amongst the firehose of garbage.

If all that is publicly available on social platforms is just garbage nonsense, people will just stop going if any barrier is thrown in front of them. The internet as a technology stack is fine. This is how social media dies (hopefully).