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In a recent Reddit post shared to r/AskUK, site user u/podcastaddjct asked forum members to share their most blatant cases of “enshittification”. Commenters mentioned “shrinkflation”, or paying the same amount for goods like chocolate despite getting less food, alongside the quality of men’s boxers and the introduction of ads to movies streamed on services you already pay for. Some were even less optimistic. “Everything. Everything has just gotten worse and more expensive. I can’t think of anything that’s improved,” u/Norfhynorfh opined. But what exactly is “enshittification,” and why does it feel like we’re seeing it everywhere? What does “enshittification” mean? The term was invented by writer Cory Doctorow in November 2022 (he has since released the book “Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It”). Though it would be easy to assume the word simply means “worsening,” the author, who originally used it to refer to the deterioration of online platforms, describes it as quite a specific pattern. First, he argues, a platform (or product, or service) shows up in all its helpful, exciting glory. Maybe you can find unusually cheap car rides or reconnect with friends you haven’t spoken to for years, for instance. Then, The New York Times explains, “When enough people have joined a platform that there aren’t any alternatives, the platforms start exploiting their own users to entice businesses”. Perhaps you’ll see more ads and less of the content you signed up for. But, Doctorow suggests, the “enshittification” becomes so bad that not even the advertisers or business partners are getting the best deal. The cost of advertising may skyrocket, or your products could get buried out of sight unless you pay extra for better precedence. Worse – in his book, the author suggests that this does not mean customers simply reach the “screw this” meridian and feel able to jump ship. “All our tech businesses are turning awful,” Doctorow wrote. “And they’re not dying. We remain trapped in their carcasses, unable to escape.” Where does “ensihittification” appear? Originally, it was meant to describe tech and online issues. But its meaning has spread (like manure?) – the British Journal of General Practice, for instance, has a report about “the enshittification of general practice” which highlights “the erosion of public services” following austerity. Some suggest it’s come for superhero movies, and the Financial Times suggest it’s “coming for absolutely everything”. Others have even called our current environment the “enshittocene”, or “an era defined by the spread of degradation from the web to the real world, to our jobs, privacy, politics and beyond”. Once you see it, as the endless comments under the original Reddit thread proves, it’s very hard to unsee.
