Hypeflation

Describing the tendency of people to overestimate a piece of media that they are very excited about, starting something of a domino chain that ends up “inflating” the media’s perceived quality.

To “adjust for hypeflation” would be to regard recommendations of a piece of media from people who are caught up in hype as if they are slightly less positive than they actually are.
“Dude, I was really disappointed by Chainsaw Man. It didn’t match my expectations at all.”
“That makes sense. It’s a really good story, but you definitely should’ve adjusted for hypeflation when that dude told you it was the best thing ever written.”
by Kit-Katherine May 13, 2025
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