sports
Into the Ronaldo-verse: sludge of content is eating up sport and the adults are to blame
Footballer has 664 million followers but his boring presence is a reminder of how reel-life destroys what it touches
TL;DR
- Cristiano Ronaldo's 664 million Instagram followers, despite a bot purge, highlight the emptiness of modern online presence and 'reel-life'.
- The sport-industrial complex is increasingly relying on influencers and short-form content, diminishing genuine commentary and criticism.
- This shift towards superficial content ('content slop') destroys meaning, concentrates power, and leads to a worse product for consumers.
- The 'Ronaldo-verse' and similar phenomena signify the death of words and the degradation of sports into a shallow, attention-grabbing spectacle.
- Adults are driving this shift to content, forcing it onto younger generations and ultimately creating a 'brainrot' that benefits only those in control.