I think we have 10-15 years or so left before the internet becomes totally unusable due to ads, paywalls and general bad design all over the place.
2 years, optimistically. 1 year if you want to be a pessimist and realist like me. Current amount of content needs to exist on internet with the users hooked onto big sites. Content is being purged, users are going away.
Where are users going? Genuinely curious, as everything seems to be in the Internet nowadays
Some are quitting social media altogether. Others are gathering on fewer websites outside of Big Tech i.e. Fediverse. Some are using few platforms like Telegram and/or Discord. Some simply heavily restrict usage while sticking to big platforms. Many are simply social butterflies that love their Snapchat, Tinder and Instagram for hookups.
Tinder I get, but Instagram for hookups? Cmon now.
As true as it gets. FB Messenger and Snapchat also serve that purpose.