While overall automated traffic is a problem, I'm a bit more concerned about bots in comment sections or social media in particular. Unfortunately, bad actors are deploying them to shift public opinion in ways I don't think we fully comprehend and are deeply underestimating the negative effects. Political parties, foreign interference, public relations firms, etc... It's unsettling to think about.
I've often seen freshly posted articles covering a controversial geopolitical topic and within less than 2-3 minutes the comment section is inundated with similarly aligned comments all liked or upvoted to immediately place them at the top of section. But, it gets better, opposing opinion comments are poorly constructed disliked or down voted. Of course, there's the chance that I'm completely wrong, but I cannot shake the feeling that it is not organic human interaction taking place.
One thing I worry about is how normalized this will be for children and countries without regular internet access as they get regular internet access (or even have had it for a while: the report from OP states that 71 percent of traffic on Irish sites are bots).
The experience of the internet will be bots and because the usefulness of the medium isn't going away, they will keep using it. Everything being bots will be normal.
At some point things like ubiquitous ads, smog, light pollution or dozens of corporate microphones in our house was something humans first started experiencing and having trepidations about. Then it got normalized. Sometimes we fixed it like smog or CFCs and sometimes it became one the largest sectors of our economy (ads). Statistically, it seems more likely that dead internet is here to stay
That's why I'm removing my content and closing accounts on X and Instagram. I don't care anymore when even my close friends following me there don't get to see my posts.
It seems like we should stop calling these sites "social media". The social aspects have been downplayed in favors of bots, engagement farming, and monetization.
They are nearing the end of their existence. It looks to me that they even run their own content farms just to carry ads and report you doomscrolling through that sea of garbage as "engagement". Just like those default "Brides by Mail" ads you see on YouTube when you switch your browser to incognito mode.
I don't feel like this is the case at all... maybe it's more of a thing on twitter/reddit but in the places that I comment, I never get the feeling that anyone is a bot (unless I'm falling for it very good).
Unless they're claiming twitter and such ARE half of the internet??
It sounds like the bigger question is, what are they calling "the web"? Is it simply the world's population that has a net connection? Or just what percentage of those people happen to frequent the top X traffic websites? Or how much bot content the average person unknowingly consumes in comparison to real ones? Knowing that distinction I think makes a huge difference.
I've often seen freshly posted articles covering a controversial geopolitical topic and within less than 2-3 minutes the comment section is inundated with similarly aligned comments all liked or upvoted to immediately place them at the top of section. But, it gets better, opposing opinion comments are poorly constructed disliked or down voted. Of course, there's the chance that I'm completely wrong, but I cannot shake the feeling that it is not organic human interaction taking place.