enshittification

English

This English term is a hot word. Its inclusion on Wiktionary is provisional.

Etymology

From en- +‎ shittification. Coined by Canadian-British-American author and blogger Cory Doctorow in 2022.

Noun

enshittification (countable and uncountable, plural enshittifications)

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^[1], 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 March 3, Tim Harford, “The enshittification of apps is real. But is it bad?”, in Financial Times‎^[2], 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^[3], 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.

Related terms

• enshittify
• shittification

 

Further reading

• “Enshittification”, in Know Your Meme, launched 2007.