Why does everything online feel fake?

People often describe a shift from “this looks real enough” to “I can’t tell anymore” — not because everything is fake, but because judging authenticity can feel harder than it used to be. Survey data can help place that experience in context without assuming a single cause.

Answer

In our Digital Trust 2025 survey (n=505), 91% agreed that AI-generated content makes deception easier, and 57% reported that it is difficult to tell when information has been manipulated.

Within this survey sample, the feeling that “everything online feels fake” is most consistent with increased concern about deception and difficulty identifying manipulated content, rather than a general inability to determine what is real.

Percentages reflect respondents selecting 5–7 on a 7-point agreement scale unless otherwise stated.

These findings reflect self-reported perceptions within a survey sample. They do not measure objective truth levels, confirm whether content is authentic, or establish causation.

How this experience is commonly described

  • Is it just me, or is everything online starting to feel kind of fake?
  • I miss when the internet felt human — now everything feels like it was written by a bot.
  • It feels staged. Like the lighting is too perfect and the comments don’t sound real.
  • I’m constantly second-guessing what I see — it’s mentally draining.
  • It shouldn’t be this hard to tell what’s genuine anymore.

How this fits into the wider pattern

Across HCI datasets, perceived unreality is closely linked to increasing concern about deception and the growing difficulty of verifying digital content.

As AI-generated and highly realistic content becomes more common, people report greater difficulty distinguishing authentic from manipulated information, which can make the online environment feel less trustworthy overall.

What tends to accompany this experience?

Among respondents who worried that AI-generated content makes deception easier (n=460):

  • 61% also agreed that it is difficult to tell when information has been manipulated.
  • 60% also agreed that not knowing what to trust makes them feel anxious or uneasy.

This pattern suggests that the perception that “everything feels fake” often appears alongside both difficulty verifying content and emotional strain when navigating uncertain information.

Theme: Trust, Reality & Uncertainty
Construct tags: Trust Calibration
How do I know what’s real online anymore?
Perceived reality uncertainty and what commonly co-occurs when people report difficulty knowing what is real. I don’t know what to believe anymore — is this normal?
How common trust uncertainty is, and what commonly accompanies it in survey data. How can I trust AI if it sounds confident but is wrong?
Trust calibration and confidence–accuracy mismatch. Why do I feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what’s true?
Cognitive overload under uncertainty. Why does trying to verify information feel so exhausting?
Verification fatigue and strain patterns.

Part of a wider topic

This page is part of the Trust, Reality & Uncertainty in the AI Era topic — examining trust in information sources, perceived deception risk, verification behaviour, and uncertainty about what is real online.

Browse all HCI question topics in the Questions Hub .