Digital Culture After Reality

Remember when we worried about authenticity online? Now we scroll through AI-generated faces, synthetic backgrounds, and algorithm-crafted captions without a second thought. The performance isn’t just accepted - it’s expected.

What matters now isn’t whether something is real, but whether it resonates. That Instagram influencer you follow? Their face is AI-enhanced, their background is generated, their caption was optimised by algorithms, and their comments are mostly bots talking to other bots. And nobody cares. We’ve moved beyond pretending to be authentic into something more honest about being artificial.

The beautiful irony? None of this content is meant to last. We’re pouring unprecedented effort into crafting perfectly synthetic moments that vanish in 24 hours. Stories disappear, TikToks scroll past, posts sink into the algorithmic abyss. We’re creating more than ever, yet leaving less of a trace.

Every fleeting story and deleted post is stored somewhere, creating a permanent record nobody will ever see. We’re living in an eternal present of disappearing content while building the most detailed archive of human behaviour in history.

We’re not just consuming this synthetic content - we’re creating it. Every photo gets auto-enhanced, every video runs through filters, every text gets suggestions from AI. Our own content is becoming a collaboration between human intent and machine optimisation. The distinction between “creating” and “curating” has dissolved.

Perhaps it’s no accident that synthetic content and ephemeral sharing have risen together. When everything can be generated instantly, nothing feels precious. When nothing feels precious, why should it last? We’re not just becoming comfortable with artificial content - we’re becoming comfortable with letting it go.

Digital spaces aren’t just changing - they’re evolving beyond recognition. Each platform, each community, each conversation exists in its own reality, with its own rules about what’s real and what matters. Some embrace the synthetic future, others fight to remain human-only, but all are shaped by the tools we use to connect.

One thing’s certain: we can’t go back. The machines aren’t just at the gate - they’re running the whole city. But perhaps this was inevitable. Humans have always created tools that change us, platforms that reshape us, mediums that transform how we think and communicate. The synthetic and ephemeral web isn’t an accident - it’s just the latest expression of our endless need to rebuild reality in new ways.

P.S. This blog post will self-destruct in 24 hours. Or maybe it won’t. Does it matter.