Cogent Social Sciences

Artificial Intelligence, Shitposting, and Communication: Perspectives on the Crisis of Contemporary Public Opinion

The productive and creative disruption driven by artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered the power dynamics of modern societies. Rather than being isolated to digital spaces, these shifts directly impact phenomenological reality, requiring urgent attention from academia and citizens. While "snackable" user-generated content has existed since the early internet, the intuitive and conversational design of modern generative AI models has accelerated its production and fundamentally altered its nature. This Article Collection focuses on the emergence of specific digital communication phenomena—namely, slop content, shitposting, and brainrot. These concepts represent new mechanics of communication distortion characterized by hyper-fragmentation, rapid consumption, and reduced semantic load. As these emergent forms of media become the defining communication formulas for Generation Z and Generation Alpha, they challenge traditional linear narratives and establish new paradigms in digital interaction, content creation, and audience reception within algorithmic ecosystems.

Slop content—the mass production of low-quality, AI-generated material—bypasses traditional gatekeeping and floods digital channels with white noise, overwhelming users and nullifying their critical response capacity. Simultaneously, shitposting acts as a cultural guerrilla tactic, introducing radical ideas or misinformation under the guise of absurd humor, heavily amplified by algorithmic distribution and bot networks. Furthermore, the aesthetic state of this ecosystem, brainrot, imposes a severe cognitive cost. The chronic consumption of self-referential, meaningless content alters attention spans and cognitive processing. Addressing these issues is vital for the critical training of media professionals and audiences, ensuring society can navigate the dangerous intersection of disinformation, algorithmic amplification, and the overabundance of digital stimuli.

This Collection aims to delve into the multifaceted and rapidly evolving nature of distorted digital communication, focusing on the intersection of digital content, aesthetics, disinformation, algorithms, and artificial intelligence. We invite contributions that critically analyze how these emergent phenomena shape digital audiences and societal power dynamics. Subtopics of interest include but are not limited to: the cognitive and societal impacts of brainrot and doomscrolling on younger generations; the mechanics and political implications of shitposting as a vector for radicalization and misinformation; the gatekeeping challenges posed by AI-generated slop content; and the role of platforms in amplifying hyper-fragmented media. To build a comprehensive overview of this landscape, we welcome various article types, including Original Research, systematic Reviews, Mini Reviews exploring specific case studies, and Perspective pieces that offer critical insights into the future of digital media literacy, AI, doomscrolling, cognitive costs, and audience critical capacity.

When submitting to this Collection, please select the "Media and Communications Studies Section," as well as the Collection's title, when prompted.

Dr. Pavel Sidorenko Bautista – Teneured Professor at the Faculty of Education and Humanities and member of the PhD Program in Humanities and Digital Society at the International University of La Rioja (Spain). Member of the ProComm UNIR research group. He has been a professor at several universities in Venezuela and Spain, and a visiting professor at the University of Patras (Greece) and Universidade Europeia (Portugal). He serves on the scientific and editorial boards of several academic journals, as well as the Ibero-American Research Network Procomhum. He is Director of the Brandingverse Observatory and Principal Investigator of the research and knowledge-transfer projects AccessVerse, focused on accessible communication in the metaverse, and Shared futures mediated by AI in online contexts: activating youth civic imagination, both funded by the International University of La Rioja.

Dr. María Abellán Hernández – Professor at the Faculty of Communication and Documentation at the University of Murcia (Spain). She holds a PhD in Audiovisual Communication from the Complutense University of Madrid. She has a degree in Audiovisual Communication from CES Felipe II–UCM and a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Granada. She is a member of the ProComm UNIR research group. Her expertise includes design, comics, and digital narratives. Her research frequently addresses issues related to Visual Studies and Cultural Studies, such as the consumption and production of digital content. She also researches the convergence between traditional narratives and new modes of representation and storytelling in digital environments. She is part of the Brandingverse Observatory and the AccessVerse research project on accessible communication in the metaverse.

Dr. Nadia Alonso López – Teneured Professor in the Department of Audiovisual Communication, Documentation, and Art History at the Gandia Campus of the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain). She is a member of the Communication, Art, and Visual Culture Research Group at that institution and currently serves as Secretary of the Gandia Campus (Universitat Politècnica de València). Her research focuses on digital narratives applied to communication and journalism. She is part of the Brandingverse Observatory and the AccessVerse research project on accessible communication in the metaverse.

The Guest Advisors do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

The Guest Advisors acknowledge the use of Paperpal in the formulation of this Collection text.

For more information on this Collection please reach out to the Commissioning Editor, Dr. Molly Cole, at [email protected].