Coined by Cory Doctorow, “enshittification” describes the predictable lifecycle of digital platforms: they start by serving users, then exploit users to serve advertisers, and finally exploit everyone to serve shareholders.^1^ The result is a steady degradation of everything that once made the platform valuable.^2^
The American Dialect Society named “enshittification” its Word of the Year, recognizing a term that captured a universal experience—everything on the internet was suddenly, simultaneously, getting much worse.^3^
The Three Stages
Stage 1: Be Nice to Users
Platforms begin by offering genuine value. They provide useful services, often at a loss, to attract users:
- Google: Organized the world’s information
- Facebook: Connected you with friends
- Amazon: Made everything available with one click
- Twitter: Gave everyone a voice
Users flock to these platforms because they deliver real benefits. The platforms are generous because they need users more than users need them.
Stage 2: Be Nice to Advertisers
Once users are locked in, the platform shifts focus to extracting value from them for advertisers:
- Algorithms prioritize engagement over quality
- Organic reach declines, forcing paid promotion
- User data becomes the product
- The platform becomes less useful but more profitable
Users notice the degradation, but switching costs keep them trapped.^1^
Stage 3: Be Nice to Shareholders
With both users and advertisers locked in, the platform squeezes everyone:
- Users face more ads, worse algorithms, higher prices
- Advertisers pay more for less effective placement
- Creators see their reach throttled unless they pay
- Quality declines across every metric
The platform has become a toll booth, extracting rent from every interaction.^1^
Why It Happens
Enshittification is not accidental—it is structural:^4^
- Network effects create natural monopolies
- Switching costs trap users
- Misaligned incentives reward extraction over service
- Regulatory gaps allow anti-competitive behavior
- Surveillance capitalism treats users as resources to be mined
The Antidote
Reversing enshittification requires:^4^
- Interoperability: The ability to leave without losing everything
- Data portability: Your data belongs to you
- Competition: Real alternatives prevent monopolistic abuse
- Regulation: Guardrails against the worst excesses
- User empowerment: Tools that let people control their experience
Most importantly, it requires recognizing that trust is the foundation—and once destroyed, it does not return easily.
Read more: Enshittification Case Studies →
Enshittification is what happens when platforms forget that their users, not their shareholders, are the reason they exist.^5^