enshittification

From en- (“caused”) +‎ shittification (“becoming shitty”). As a designation for a particular phenomenon affecting online platforms, coined by Canadian-British-American blogger, journalist, and science fiction author Cory Doctorow in 2022.

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˌʃɪtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, /ɛnˌʃɪtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

enshittification (uncountable)

1. (neologism, Internet, vulgar) The phenomenon of online platforms gradually degrading the quality of their services, often by promoting advertisements and sponsored content, in order to increase profits.
   • 2022 November 28, Cory Doctorow, “How monopoly enshittified Amazon”, in Pluralistic‎, archived from the original on 2023-03-26:

     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.

   • 2023 January 28, Cory Doctorow, “The 'Enshittification' of TikTok”, in Wired‎, archived from the original on 2024-01-20:

     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 enshittification

   • 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 5 March 2023:

     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 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 2023-04-19:

     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 November 25, Jane Cassidy, “Matheson might just be the latest victim of ongoing ‘platform decay’”, in The National, Glasgow, page 20:

     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.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:enshittification.

• “Enshittification”, in Know Your Meme, launched 2007
• Nancy Friedman (2023 February 1) “Enshittification”, in Strong Language‎, archived from the original on 2023-03-28