"Doctorow came up with the phrase, in 2022, to describe how all the digital services that increasingly dominated our daily lives seemed to be getting worse at the same time. Google Search had become enshittified, showing ads and product links instead of relevant website results. TikTok had become enshittified, artificially "heating" specific videos so that some would go viral, inspiring copycats and goosing engagement while frustrating creators whose output didn't get the same treatment."
"Enshittification was named the word of the year by the American Dialect Society in 2023 and by Australia's Macquarie Dictionary in 2024. The embrace of the term reflected a sense of collective frustration. Technology was improving, after a fashion, but too often those improvements made platforms more adept at extracting value from users and clients, driving profit and engagement for the companies themselves."
Enshittification names a pattern in which digital platforms deteriorate because corporate incentives push monetization and engagement above usefulness. Search, social, streaming, hardware, and software services showed declining user experiences as interfaces prioritized ads, product links, algorithmic amplification, and viral mechanics. Tactics like artificially "heating" specific content rewarded sensational creators and spurred copycats while leaving many creators and users frustrated. Purpose-built devices with proprietary constraints—exemplified by Juicero—also illustrate extractive design failures. Recognition of the term by language authorities in 2023–24 signaled widespread frustration. Technical advances often increased platforms' capacity to extract value from users, clients, and advertisers.
Read at The New Yorker
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