2025 11 30

Kid on break. Chicago, Illinois. December, 2022. © Clayton Hauck

I’ve become quite obsessed with my fake internet visitors from China. Over 76% (up from 73%) of This Here Blog’s traffic comes from Unknown, China. While it’s quite clear these are not real people and I must be on some ominous list, it’s remarkable how the dopamine hits to my brain are still pleased by the jump in “engagement.” Once the mysterious computers in a dark basement in Shanghai get redirected elsewhere, I’ll feel like this distraught kid on the floor, wondering where all my imaginary friends ran off to.

-Clayton