# Theories by Anthony Roberts, Jr.

> Eighteen data-backed forecasts on what the internet is doing to people, by Anthony Roberts, Jr., a marketing strategist and internet trends analyst (A.S. and B.S. in Marketing, M.S. in Internet Marketing). Figures are U.S. unless noted, with sources linked on the page.

Site: https://theories.arobjr.com/
Contact: contact@arobjr.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arobjr
Last updated: 2026-10-09

## The theories

1. [The open internet has an expiration date.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/open-internet-expiration-date/): 55% of U.S. adults said in 2023 that the federal government should restrict false information online, up from 39% in 2018 (Pew Research Center).
2. [The next war will be fought on the network.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/cyberwarfare-next-war-network/): Americans reported a record $20.9 billion in cybercrime losses in 2025, up 26% in one year (FBI).
3. [Data is the currency. You are the mint.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/data-is-the-new-currency/): 73% of Americans say they have little or no control over the data companies collect about them (Pew Research Center, 2023).
4. [The internet will have toll lanes.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/internet-toll-lanes-digital-divide/): 23 million U.S. households lost their internet subsidy when the Affordable Connectivity Program ended in June 2024 (FCC).
5. [The smarter the internet gets, the less we think.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/smarter-internet-less-thinking/): 28% of U.S. adults read at the lowest literacy level in 2023, up from 19% in 2017 (NCES).
6. [A generation can’t tell time without a screen.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/analog-skills-clock-map/): Only 43% of Americans under 30 can instantly read an analog clock, compared with 95% of those 65 and older (YouGov).
7. [The economy has no offline mode.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/economy-no-offline-mode/): One day without the internet would cost the U.S. economy about $11 billion (Atlas VPN).
8. [If the AI said it, it must be true.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/ai-said-it-must-be-true/): Google users click a source inside AI summaries in just 1% of visits (Pew Research Center, 2025).
9. [The answer is the end of the search.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/zero-click-search-ai-answers/): 68% of U.S. Google searches ended without a click in early 2026, up from 60% in 2024 (SparkToro and Similarweb).
10. [Every instant answer drains the grid.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/data-centers-electricity-water/): U.S. data centers could use up to 12% of the country’s electricity by 2028, up from 4.4% in 2023 (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory).
11. [Seeing is no longer believing.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/deepfakes-seeing-not-believing/): 53% of Americans are not confident they could tell whether content was made by AI or a person (Pew Research Center, 2025).
12. [Every message is a possible trap.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/scams-phishing-text-links/): Americans reported losing a record $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, up from $12.5 billion in 2024 (FTC).
13. [We only believe what agrees with us.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/echo-chambers-misinformation/): About 1 in 7 Americans watches more than eight hours of partisan media a month (UC Berkeley).
14. [The loudest voice wins.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/loudest-voice-influencers-credibility/): 77% of the news influencers Americans follow have no background in news (Pew Research Center, 2024).
15. [The creator economy is a bubble.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/creator-economy-bubble/): 48.7% of U.S. creators earn less than $10,000 a year from their content (The Influencer Marketing Factory).
16. [Social media stopped being social.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/social-media-stopped-being-social/): Using social media to stay in touch with friends has fallen by more than a quarter since 2014 (GWI).
17. [We forgot how to talk face to face.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/face-to-face-conversation-decline/): Americans spent about 20 minutes a day with friends in person in 2020, down from 60 minutes in 2003 (U.S. Surgeon General).
18. [We film instead of help.](https://theories.arobjr.com/theories/filming-instead-of-helping/): Responders recorded a bystander helping in just 11% of 16.2 million U.S. emergency medical calls (NEMSIS study).

## How to cite

Roberts, Anthony, Jr. "We built a machine to think for us. It’s working." https://theories.arobjr.com/, 2026.

## Usage

Text and statistics may be quoted with credit to Anthony Roberts, Jr. and a link to the theory page. Code and design may not be reused.