enshittification
noun/ɪnˌʃɪtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ · /ɛn-/
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Old French en-bor. Middle English en- English en- English shit English -ification English shittification English enshittification From en- + shittification (“becoming shitty”). Coined by Canadian-British-American blogger, journalist, and science fiction author Cory Doctorow in 2022 as a designation for a particular phenomenon affecting online platforms.
1
Internet, Neologism, Vulgar The phenomenon of online platforms gradually degrading the quality of their services, often by promoting advertisements, recurring payments, and sponsored content, in order to increase profits.
- Ultimately, it doesn't matter if Amazon's enshittification is because [Jeff] Bezos was a cynic or because he sold out. Once Amazon could make more money by screwing its customers, that screw-job became a fait accompli.2022 November 28, Cory Doctorow, “How monopoly enshittified Amazon”, in Pluralistic, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2023:
- Here is how platforms die: 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. I call this enshittification2023 January 28, Cory Doctorow, “The 'Enshittification' of TikTok”, in Wired, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2024:
4 more examples
- Both switching costs and network effects tend to lead to enshittification because platform providers see early adopters as an investment in future profits.2023 March 3, Tim Harford, “The enshittification of apps is real. But is it bad?”, in Financial Times, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2023:
- But it's not just users who are effectively incarcerated by enshittification. The advertisers and vendors who are the real customers of tech platforms are also prisoners.2023 March 11, John Naughton, “Users, advertisers – we are all trapped in the 'enshittification' of the internet”, in The Observer, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Apr 2023:
- Musk perceived instantly that he had one of the perfect conditions for enshittification. Twitter had a multi-million-strong user base, who had built up relationships and reputations among themselves over years.2023 November 25, Jane Cassidy, “Matheson might just be the latest victim of ongoing ‘platform decay’”, in The National, Glasgow, page 20:
- As automation and AI become ubiquitous, the human touch has become a luxury good. In some ways, this might seem to be merely a continuation on a theme: The rich get white-glove customer service while the rest of us are trapped pressing “1” and “2” and shouting “speak to an agent” into automated phone-tree voids. It can seem like just another symptom of the broader enshittification of our age and plutocratic economic order. [...] And yet it’s the poor who are subject to its most consequential uses.2026 May 23, Kali Holloway, “AI Is for the Poors”, in The Nation, volume 322, number 5, via EBSCOhost, →ISSN, page 14:
- Related terms
- enshittify, shittification, shittiness, AIpocalypse, Black Mirror, human fracking, Muskification, you will own nothing and be happy