To be fair, the decline had already begun before ChatGPT launched. LLMs likely accelerated this decline, and COVID-19 only paused it temporarily.

I think it's more important than ever to ask ourselves: Is this true? How do I know? What are my sources? However, most people probably don't have time to ask these questions and must rely on trusted sources—as we all do at some point.

I hope SN doesn't meet the same fate as SO. I'm here on SN for now, though who knows what the future holds.