AFK inflation refers the increase of the amount of screen time you're supposed to have in order to catch up latest YouTube videos that happens whilst the amount of screen time you're able to have remains the same. There are quite a few causative factors that can cause AFK inflation, e.g. having many YouTube channels uploading new videos at the same time.
After a week of being busy, I felt the effects of AFK inflation hit hard; with dozens of new uploads waiting for me, I realized I’d need to binge-watch for hours just to catch up latest YouTube videos!
by Emotional Cruiser August 19, 2025