The online realm feels a tad off these days, you know?
The online realm feels a tad off these days, you know?
In the modern digital landscape, a prevalent theory has emerged, called "enshittification." Coined by journalist and activist Cory Doctorow in 2022, this theory accurately describes the deterioration of services, especially online, as a result of massive corporations exploiting their customer base for maximum profit. In a 2023 article for Wired, Doctorow outlined the core concept of this process, which he references as the "enshittification arc."
Initially, these services are designed with user satisfaction in mind, as companies seek to attract and maintain a large user base. Once a critical mass of users has been achieved, however, the focus begins to shift to maximizing profits for business customers. This shift may involve showing users content they never asked for, abusing their data, or degrading the overall user experience. As profits continue to grow, companies may eventually start exploiting both their users and business customers to turn the maximum possible profit for shareholders.
As a result, the service quality begins to decline, and the value proposition for users and businesses starts to crumble. This deterioration can be observed across various industries, not only in the digital world, but also in those that have fallen victim to private equity investment. For instance, vet clinics, nursing homes, prisons, and countless other industries often see a degradation of service quality as these entities become profit-driven.
As evidence of the power of this concept, the Australian dictionary Macquarie named "enshittification" as its 2024 Word of the Year, recognizing its ability to capture the frustration and disillusionment many of us feel towards the erosion of quality and value in services and aspects of our lives.
Quoting Doctorow, "First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die." By understanding this enshittification arc, we can begin to make sense of the online angst that has become common in the modern digital age.
When asked for a cocktail-party-level introduction to enshittification, Doctorow explained the theory as a result of unchecked power in the hands of large companies. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a pertinent example of such power, as it allows these firms to wield regulation against competitors, their workforce, and their users without consequence.
In the context of Meta (formerly Facebook), enshittification can be seen as a gradual decline in quality and user satisfaction as the company shifted its focus from creating value for users to maximizing profits for its business customers and shareholders. By providing mediocre services that lock users into the platform, Facebook has managed to maintain a user base, even as the quality of the service continually declines.
Doctorow believes that companies like Meta are on a trajectory towards becoming "zombie" platforms, whose once-popular services are now replaced with artificial intelligence-generated content. This strategy may allow the company to post growth, but the equilibrium they have reached is one in which they maintain a user base with minimal investment in quality or user satisfaction.
While the future of tech remains uncertain, Doctorow is optimistic that the coalition of angry users and advocates for competition can create a shift in the status quo. By recognizing the power of enshittification and working towards creating alternative platforms and infrastructures, we can begin to resist the relentless exploitation of consumers and businesses alike.
As the philosopher George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." By understanding the enshittification arc, we can strive to create a digital world that prioritizes user satisfaction and creates lasting, meaningful value – one in which we don't have to succumb to the erosion of quality and value that has plagued so many industries before us.
In the pursuit of maximizing profits, businesses may shift their focus from user satisfaction to exploitation, as seen in various industries beyond the digital world. This can lead to a decline in service quality and the erosion of value for both users and businesses.
The theory of enshittification, coined by Cory Doctorow, serves as a warning against unchecked power in corporate hands, highlighting the danger of prioritizing profits over user satisfaction in the digital age.