The term is controversial and the subject of much criticism in the art community. Art in America's Brian Droitcour in 2014 opined that the term fails to describe the form of the works, instead "alluding only to a hazy contemporary condition and the idea of art being made in the context of digital technology." According to a 2015 article in The New Yorker, the term describes "the practices of artists [whose] artworks move fluidly between spaces, appearing sometimes on a screen, other times in a gallery." Fast Company's Carey Dunne summarizes they are "artists who are inspired by the visual cacophony of the web" and notes that "mediums from Second Life portraits to digital paintings on silk to 3-D-printed sculpture" are used.
Though the term "post-internet" originated in the contemporary art world its influence has extended into music—particularly electronic, pop, and underground genres.
Early post-internet music often embraced ironic, nostalgic, self-referential internet aesthetics, defined by microgenres and subcultures such as seapunk and vaporwave, other influences included the PC Music label founded by A. G. Cook, which gave way to bubblegum bass and hyperpop. These styles incorporated 1990s and early 2000s internet nostalgia, kitsch, online memes, and consumer culture into a new context. They emerged primarily online and were more prevalent there than in traditional performance venues.
By the late 2010s, post-internet music began to incorporate themes regarding the rise of social media and the increasing dominance of the internet in wider society.
Some post-internet musicians have also collaborated with post-internet visual artists, such as Jon Rafman's work with Oneohtrix Point Never on a two-part music video for "Sticky Drama", from Lopatin's 2015 album Garden of Delete. James Ferraro has also experimented with post-internet related visual art, releasing the film "9/11 Simulation in Roblox Environment" in 2017.
There have been a number of significant group art shows explicitly exploring Post-Internet themes. There was a 2014 exhibition called Art Post-Internet at Beijing's Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, which ARTnews named one of the "most art exhibitions of the 2010s" which "set out to encapsulate the budding movement." MoMA curated Ocean of Images in 2015, a show "probing the effects of an image-based post-Internet reality." The 2016 9th Berlin Biennale, titled The Present in Drag, curated by the art collective DIS, is described as a Post-Internet exhibition. Other examples include:
Amarca, Nico (March 1, 2016). "From Bucket Hats to Pokémon: Breaking Down Yung Lean's Style". High Snobiety. Retrieved May 24, 2020. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/yung-lean-style/
Wallace, Ian (March 18, 2014). "What Is Post-Internet Art? Understanding the Revolutionary New Art Movement". Artspace. http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/post_internet_art
Amarca, Nico (March 1, 2016). "From Bucket Hats to Pokémon: Breaking Down Yung Lean's Style". High Snobiety. Retrieved May 24, 2020. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/yung-lean-style/
Dunne, Carey (2014-03-10). "9 Post-Internet Artists You Should Know". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-01-26. https://www.fastcompany.com/3027356/9-post-internet-artists-you-should-know
Connor, Michael (November 1, 2013). "What's Postinternet Got to do with Net Art?". Rhizome. http://rhizome.org/editorial/2013/nov/1/postinternet/
Connor, Michael (November 1, 2013). "What's Postinternet Got to do with Net Art?". Rhizome. http://rhizome.org/editorial/2013/nov/1/postinternet/
"Art Post-Internet". UCCA Center for Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2021-01-23. https://ucca.org.cn/en/exhibition/art-post-internet//
Folks, Eve (3 March 2014). "Concerning Art Post-Internet". AQNB. https://www.aqnb.com/2014/03/03/life-after-internet-concerning-art-post-internet-in-beijing/
Amarca, Nico (March 1, 2016). "From Bucket Hats to Pokémon: Breaking Down Yung Lean's Style". High Snobiety. Retrieved May 24, 2020. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/yung-lean-style/
Droitcour, Brian (2014-10-29). "The Perils of Post-Internet Art". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2021-01-26. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/the-perils-of-post-internet-art-63040/
Kenneth, Goldsmith (2015-03-10). "Post-Internet Poetry Comes of Age". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2016-09-14. http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/post-internet-poetry-comes-of-age
Dunne, Carey (2014-03-10). "9 Post-Internet Artists You Should Know". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-01-26. https://www.fastcompany.com/3027356/9-post-internet-artists-you-should-know
"The New Aesthetic and its Politics | booktwo.org". Retrieved 2021-01-24. http://booktwo.org/notebook/new-aesthetic-politics/
Wallace, Ian (March 18, 2014). "What Is Post-Internet Art? Understanding the Revolutionary New Art Movement". Artspace. http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/post_internet_art
Wallace, Ian (March 18, 2014). "What Is Post-Internet Art? Understanding the Revolutionary New Art Movement". Artspace. http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/post_internet_art
"Post-Internet Materialism Martijn Hendriks & Katja Novitskova - Features - Metropolis M". www.metropolism.com. Retrieved 2021-01-24. http://www.metropolism.com/en/features/23573_post_internet_materialism
"Katja Novitskova's Work In A Post-Internet World – the Future In A Mediated Reality < 1/2015 < Issues - kunst.ee". ajakirikunst.ee. Retrieved 2021-01-24. https://ajakirikunst.ee/?c=magazine&l=en&t=katja-novitskovas-work-in-a-post-internet-world--the-future-in-a-mediated-reality&id=1331
Wallace, Ian (March 18, 2014). "What Is Post-Internet Art? Understanding the Revolutionary New Art Movement". Artspace. http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/post_internet_art
Doulas, Louis (2011). Within Post-Internet, Part One. pooool.info.
Chakrabarti, Tuhin (2019-12-28). "The apathy of post-internet generations and VAPORWAVE". The Stony Brook Press. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://sbpress.com/2019/12/the-apathy-of-post-internet-generations-and-vaporwave/
Scherer, James (2016-10-26). "Great artists steal: An interview with Neon Indian's Alan Palomo -". Smile Politely — Champaign-Urbana's Culture Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.smilepolitely.com/music/great_artists_steal_an_interview_with_neon_indians_alan_palomo/
"The Last Relevant Blogger". VICE. 2015-01-30. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.vice.com/en/article/hipster-runoff-the-last-relevant-blogger/
Amarca, Nico (March 1, 2016). "From Bucket Hats to Pokémon: Breaking Down Yung Lean's Style". High Snobiety. Retrieved May 24, 2020. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/yung-lean-style/
"Adam Harper tracks the evolution of post-internet music". Red Bull. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.redbull.com/us-en/evolution-post-internet-music
"2010s: Against The Post-Internet". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/against-the-post-internet
"So What Is Post-Internet Music, Anyway?". VICE. 2015-11-11. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.vice.com/en/article/so-what-is-post-internet-music-anyway/
Snapes, Laura (February 19, 2020). "Pop star, producer or pariah? The conflicted brilliance of Grimes". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/19/pop-star-producer-or-pariah-the-conflicted-brilliance-of-grimes
Krebs, Nolan. "Grimes rises beyond post-Internet label". The North Wind. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://thenorthwindonline.com/3863865/entertainment/grimes-rises-beyond-post-internet-label/
Blanning, Lisa (April 2019). "Listening today: James Ferraro's Far Side Virtual and the fate of functional sounds". Organised Sound. 24 (1): 36–44. doi:10.1017/S1355771818000375. Retrieved 30 June 2025. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330592719_Listening_today_James_Ferraro's_'Far_Side_Virtual'_and_the_fate_of_functional_sounds
Cheung, Terence (2017). Human Excess: Aesthetics of Post-Internet Electronic Music (PDF). Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC). Retrieved 30 June 2025. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/p/pod/dod-idx/human-excess-aesthetics-of-post-internet-electronic-music.pdf?c=icmc;idno=bbp2372.2017.080;format=pdf
"Oneohtrix Point Never's 'Age Of' Is As Unbound As Its Title » PopMatters". www.popmatters.com. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.popmatters.com/oneohtrix-point-never-age-of-2585812658.html
"Adam Harper tracks the evolution of post-internet music". Red Bull. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.redbull.com/us-en/evolution-post-internet-music
"The Singularity You Can Hear: Post-Internet Waves in Popular Music | Highbrow Magazine". www.highbrowmagazine.com. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/6034-singularity-you-can-hear-post-internet-waves-popular-music
Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Sticky Drama - Music Video. YouTube. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/td-e4i2BL_Q
Domanick, Andrea (2015-12-17). "The Noisey Editors' Best and Worst of 2015: Andrea Domanick". VICE. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.vice.com/en/article/noisey-editors-best-2015-andrea-domanick/
"James Ferraro Talks Phases, Fads and Fidget Spinners". www.sleek-mag.com. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.sleek-mag.com/article/james-ferraro-interview/
"Soulja Boy Responds to Lil B Saying Wiz Khalifa Was the F..." Complex. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.complex.com/music/a/j-rose/soulja-boy-calls-out-lil-b-for-saying-wiz-khalifa-was-first-rapper-he-saw-on-twitter
"The Mysterious Figure That Is Lil B The Based God". For the Speakers. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://forthespeakers.com/f/the-mysterious-figure-that-is-lil-b-%E2%80%9Cthe-based-god%E2%80%9D
"The Strange Cult of Lil B". VICE (in Danish). 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.vice.com/da/article/why-im-not-going-to-listen-to-lil-bs-new-mixtape/
"Myspace Lost A Ton Of Songs And Some True Hip-Hop History". UPROXX. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://uproxx.com/music/myspace-loses-music-hip-hop-loses-history/
"MySpace Played a Big Role in Hip-Hop History; Now Much of That Record Is Gone". CBC Radio. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/mueller-report-saving-lives-in-mozambique-new-zealand-s-haka-myspace-megafail-cory-doctorow-and-more-1.5066299/myspace-played-a-big-role-in-hip-hop-history-now-much-of-that-record-is-gone-1.5066312
Kramer, Kyle (2017-01-10). "A Year of Lil Wayne: Lil Wayne and Lil B". VICE. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-year-of-lil-wayne-lil-wayne-and-lil-b/
Dazed (2024-03-28). "How the SoundCloud rapper became the internet's most hated aesthetic". Dazed. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/62223/1/soundcloud-rapper-became-the-internet-most-hated-aesthetic-lil-peep-the-crow
Dunham, Ian (2022). "SoundCloud Rap: An investigation of community and consumption models of internet practices". Critical Studies in Media Communication. 39 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1080/15295036.2021.2015537. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Garneni, Mansi (2023). Internet Rap and Generational Tensions in Hip Hop's SoundCloud Era. Oxford University Press. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (help) https://academic.oup.com/book/58670/chapter/485385059
Amarca, Nico (March 1, 2016). "From Bucket Hats to Pokémon: Breaking Down Yung Lean's Style". High Snobiety. Retrieved May 24, 2020. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/yung-lean-style/
"JPEGMAFIA is at the mercy of the music industry". District Magazine. 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://districtmagazine.ie/music/jpegmafia-is-at-the-mercy-of-the-music-industry-2/
"JPEGMAFIA Nails the Chaos of Post-Internet Society in 'All My Heroes Are Cornballs'". Highsnobiety. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/jpegmafia-all-my-heroes-are-cornballs-review/
Barlas, Jon (2021-12-30). "Our Generation Awards: OGM's Top 10 rising stars of 2022". Our Generation Music. Retrieved 2025-06-30. https://ourgenerationmusic.com/editorials/our-generation-awards-ogms-next-gen-top-10/
Durón, Maximilíano; Greenberger, Alex (17 December 2019). "The Most Important Art Exhibitions of the 2010s". Artnews. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/most-important-exhibitions-2010s-1202672433/
Wallace, Ian (March 18, 2014). "What Is Post-Internet Art? Understanding the Revolutionary New Art Movement". Artspace. http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/post_internet_art
"Ocean of Images: New Photography 2015 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2021-02-01. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1539
"You missed the 9th Berlin Biennale". showerofkunst.com. Retrieved 2020-12-15. http://showerofkunst.com/sok/2016/12/31/berlin-biennale-ix/
"DIS – the post-internet collective Curating the 9th Berlin Biennale". fineartmultiple.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25. https://fineartmultiple.com/blog/dis-berlin-biennale/
""Die Stadt ist internationaler geworden" | Monopol". www.monopol-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-02-01. https://www.monopol-magazin.de/die-stadt-ist-internationaler-geworden
""Raster Raster" at Aran Cravey Gallery, Los Angeles •". Mousse Magazine (in Italian). 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2021-01-26. http://moussemagazine.it/raster-raster-aran-cravey/
"2015 Triennial: Surround Audience at the New Museum". DAILY SERVING. Retrieved 2021-01-26. https://www.dailyserving.com/2015/03/2015-triennial-surround-audience-at-the-new-museum/
"Exhibitions". https://archive.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/1873
"Exhibition // 'Zero Zero' Proposes A New Post-Internet Landscape". Berlin Art Link. 2016-07-17. Retrieved 2021-01-26. https://www.berlinartlink.com/2016/07/17/exhibition-zero-zero-proposes-a-new-post-internet-landscape/
"Interview with new media artist Stepan Ryabchenko". 6 February 2024. https://art.art/blog/interview-with-new-media-artist-stepan-ryabchenko
Vierkant, Artie (27 October 2009). "Information, Aesthetics & Fun: An Interview with AIDS-3D". Hyperallergic. https://hyperallergic.com/481/aids-3d-interview/
Wallace, Ian (March 18, 2014). "What Is Post-Internet Art? Understanding the Revolutionary New Art Movement". Artspace. http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/post_internet_art
Folks, Eve (3 March 2014). "Concerning Art Post-Internet". AQNB. https://www.aqnb.com/2014/03/03/life-after-internet-concerning-art-post-internet-in-beijing/
"R-U-IN?S / GARDEN CLUB KAI (KARI) ALTMANN 2009 - ONGOING". Rhizome Anthology. 27 October 2016. https://anthology.rhizome.org/r-u-in-s-garden-club
Wallace, Ian (March 18, 2014). "What Is Post-Internet Art? Understanding the Revolutionary New Art Movement". Artspace. http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/post_internet_art
""Raster Raster" at Aran Cravey Gallery, Los Angeles •". Mousse Magazine (in Italian). 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2021-01-26. http://moussemagazine.it/raster-raster-aran-cravey/
"DIS – the post-internet collective Curating the 9th Berlin Biennale". fineartmultiple.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25. https://fineartmultiple.com/blog/dis-berlin-biennale/
""Die Stadt ist internationaler geworden" | Monopol". www.monopol-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-02-01. https://www.monopol-magazin.de/die-stadt-ist-internationaler-geworden
McLean-Ferris, Laura (21 July 2014). "Aleksandra Domanović". ArtReview. Domanović has ... created paper-stack sculptures (made by printing to the edge of blank A4 paper, at full bleed) that commemorate the day in 2010 that the .yu domain was taken off the Internet.... The memorialising of this moment makes sense for an artist so committed to the Internet as a form... https://artreview.com/mar-2012-future-greats-aleksandra-domanovic/
Folks, Eve (3 March 2014). "Concerning Art Post-Internet". AQNB. https://www.aqnb.com/2014/03/03/life-after-internet-concerning-art-post-internet-in-beijing/
"Parker Ito, or the anxiety of over-hyped young artists". Judith Benhamou-Huet Reports. 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2021-01-25. https://judithbenhamouhuet.com/parker-ito-or-the-anxiety-of-over-hyped-young-artists/
"Rachel De Joode". Akoya Books. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2021. https://akoyabooks.com/interviews/rachel-de-joode/
Heuser, Biance (4 May 2016). "HIJACKING CLASSICAL SCULPTURES IN VIENNA Artist Oliver Laric Open-Sources Museum Sculptures and Shows How Technology Has Changed Authenticity". Ssense.com. https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/art/hijacking-classical-sculptures-in-vienna
"Berlin Biennale | Participants". September 2022. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/kalup-linzy-art21-2168437
Moulon, Dominique. "ARS ELECTRONICA 2017". https://www.mediaartdesign.net/EN_ars17.html
Culture, Magazine Contemporary (2012-01-30). "Post Internet Survival Guide, 2010". Magazine Contemporary Culture. Retrieved 2021-01-24. http://www.magazinecontemporaryculture.com/post-internet-survival-guide/
Wallace, Ian (March 18, 2014). "What Is Post-Internet Art? Understanding the Revolutionary New Art Movement". Artspace. http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/post_internet_art
No, Ryder Ripps Didn't Do the CIA Redesign|CQ https://www.gq.com/story/ryder-ripps-cia-redesign
"6 'Postinternet' Artists You Should Know". 5 March 2014. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/postinternet-art_n_4893271
Folks, Eve (3 March 2014). "Concerning Art Post-Internet". AQNB. https://www.aqnb.com/2014/03/03/life-after-internet-concerning-art-post-internet-in-beijing/
Frank, Simon (March 2019). "Timur Si-Qin MAGICIAN SPACE 魔金石空间". Artforum. https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/201903/timur-si-qin-78746
Sánchez Gómez, Laura (2023-01-02). "Futuros postdigitales en español: tensiones postidentitarias en la creación electrónica" [Post-digital futures in Spanish: post-identity tensions in electronic creation]. Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies (in Spanish). 24 (1): 121–133. doi:10.1080/14636204.2023.2177024. ISSN 1463-6204. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Post-Internet Art is the Fast Food of the Contemporary World https://1701vb.com/post-internet-art-is-the-fast-food-of-the-contemporary-art-world-by-phoebe-cochran/
"Exhibition // 'Zero Zero' Proposes A New Post-Internet Landscape". Berlin Art Link. 2016-07-17. Retrieved 2021-01-26. https://www.berlinartlink.com/2016/07/17/exhibition-zero-zero-proposes-a-new-post-internet-landscape/
"Art Post-Internet". UCCA Center for Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2021-01-23. https://ucca.org.cn/en/exhibition/art-post-internet//
Folks, Eve (3 March 2014). "Concerning Art Post-Internet". AQNB. https://www.aqnb.com/2014/03/03/life-after-internet-concerning-art-post-internet-in-beijing/
"Interview Theo Triantafyllidis". 12 February 2024. https://www.factmag.com/2024/02/12/interview-theo-triantafyllidis/
"Frieze Editors Debate the Artist of the Decade | Frieze". Frieze. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 2021-01-25. https://www.frieze.com/article/frieze-editors-debate-artist-decade
"Exhibitions". https://archive.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/1873
"magazine / archive / Ann Hirsch | MOUSSE CONTEMPORARY ART MAGAZINE". 2015-03-18. Archived from the original on 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2021-02-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20150318222950/http://moussemagazine.it/articolo.mm?id=1093
"Berlin Biennale | Participants". Retrieved 2020-12-15. http://bb9.berlinbiennale.de/participants/
Mallonee, Laura (2019-02-07). "Is That a Hand? Glitches Reveal Google Books' Human Scanners". WIRED. Retrieved 2023-11-07. https://www.wired.com/story/google-books-glitches-gallery/