Platforms degrade user experience to extract profit until users flee

Evidence

Cory Doctorow coined the term “enshittification” to describe a cycle in which platforms initially offer users value to attract massive audiences, then shift focus to advertisers and suppliers, and finally prioritize their own profits at the expense of everyone else. Amazon drew in third-party sellers, copied their successful products, and then forced them to pay for ad placement to remain visible. According to Doctorow, this process would inevitably lead to users abandoning the platform—but only if there were any viable alternatives. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 707

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘enshittification,’ a precise term for a platform life-cycle Marx invokes to explain the homogenized internet.
• XREF: Connects to the Facebook/Threads ‘dying Rust Belt city’ claim and to Marx’s broader thesis on platform-driven cultural flattening.