HastyThe dead internet and AI slop: why we built Hasty around letters
8 October 2026 · Hasty
The short answer: the “dead internet theory” is the feeling that much of what you see online is made by bots and AI rather than people. It overstates things, but not by as much as you’d hope: bots now make up about half of all web traffic.
What the numbers say
In its 2025 Bad Bot Report, the security company Imperva found that automated traffic made up 51% of all web traffic in 2024, overtaking humans for the first time in a decade. Meanwhile generative AI has made it cheap to fill feeds with images and posts nobody really made. That’s what people mean by “AI slop”.
Why it matters
When you can’t tell who (or what) you’re talking to, every interaction is worth a little less. Likes might be bots, comments might be generated, and the feed is optimised for whatever keeps you watching, not for anyone you know.
Slow is a filter
Some things are hard to fake at scale. A long letter that takes a day to arrive, answers what you actually wrote, and asks you something back is one of them. Slowness changes the incentives: there’s no feed to flood and nothing to farm.
Missing the old internet
Many people miss the internet of the 2000s: forums, personal pages, people writing to people. The small web and indie web movements keep that alive, alongside a wave of ethical social media and positive social media projects that refuse the attention economy’s rules.
Where Hasty fits, honestly
We built Hasty around letters between people: no feed, no likes, no follower counts, no ads. We also want to be straight with you about one thing. While Hasty is new, some penpals are house penpals: profiles run by Hasty, whose letters are written automatically. They carry a “House penpal” tag, and they only come up when there isn’t a real person who fits what you’re looking for. We think you should always know which is which.
Letters that take the long way
Hasty is a slow, calm pen pal app for adults, coming soon to Android. Be the first to write.
More guides
- What to do instead of doomscrolling
- Left on read: why it hurts, and messaging without read receipts
- Should you delete Instagram? How to keep friends without social media
- How to make friends as an adult (without dating apps)
- How to spot a pen pal scam (and stay safe writing to strangers)
- Questions to ask a pen pal (and what to write in a letter)
- What is snail mail? Happy mail, mail art and why letters are back
- Stamp collecting for beginners: philately, postmarks and postcard collecting
- Slow living: calm apps, analog hobbies and less screen time
- Feeling lonely? Gentle ways to feel less alone
Questions people ask
Are bot accounts everywhere?
Bot accounts are common: automated traffic made up 51% of web traffic in 2024 (Imperva). Not every account is a bot, but enough are to change how the internet feels.
Why do people miss the internet in the 2000s?
People miss the internet in the 2000s because it felt made by people: forums, blogs, personal pages. It’s part of why so many want to romanticize your life offline, too.