You may have been hearing this word tossed around over the last year: enshittification. According to Merriam-Webster, it’s “when a digital platform is made worse for users, in order to increase profits.” However, it’s colloquially come to describe more than just apps, platforms, or sites. It seems like everything these days is declining in quality just so those at the top can make a buck. Even worse, companies often frame it as “innovation” or pretend like the changes are a good thing.
Don’t believe me? Here are some ways enshittification is taking over all our lives.
1.
So often, enshittification involves making things more high-tech…when the original low-tech version was actually way better. Then businesses can justify raising prices, or boast to investors about their “innovations.”
2.
Sometimes, it seems at first like these changes might make our lives easier. For example, as someone with social anxiety, I was excited about self-checkout when it first debuted. Until I realized it was an excuse to hire fewer workers. It also often results in massive lines. Don’t get me started with the glitches that require you to call a staff member over anyway.
3.
The modern company playbook: create a service that avoids the pitfalls of other services (like commercials on cable TV). Get everyone to move over to your service, then implement that same pitfall that caused people to move to your service in the first place.
4.
So many companies did this that we’re now paying more for streaming services than we were for cable, and yet we have more ads than ever.
5.
Every feature that used to be free is locked behind a paywall, so companies can squeeze every dime from you.
6.
They get you to come to rely on certain features, then make them cost money.
7.
So often, you have to choose between paying more and selling your data/attention.
8.
Even if you pay extra for something, they’ll add limits so that you still need to shell out more cash.
9.
Ads have completely taken over. You can’t do anything without being forced to watch an ad.
10.
Literally — you can’t even use your fridge without getting an ad these days.
12.
Want to see prices so you can decide what you can afford? Too bad! Here’s some ads instead!
13.
And some companies will even make it impossible to ignore ads; ads will pause if you navigate to another page or mute them, or they’ll even unmute themselves.
14.
The rise of the “smart” device is one of the worst advancements of the century. Appliances shouldn’t need to connect to the internet to work.
15.
It shouldn’t need to install updates, either.
16.
In fact, I’d even say nothing needs to be “smart.” Except our phones, and honestly, I’m about ready to go back to a Motorola Razr.
17.
In fact, it’s starting to seem like smart devices were only created so that we could be bombarded with ads.
18.
Don’t you love how you have to replace your tech every few years, simply because they “no longer support” the newest tech?
19.
What a great feautre — having to be connected to the internet to play a game you OWN A HARD COPY OF.
20.
Sometimes I feel like all the technology we’ve made in the last decade was a mistake.
21.
It should be illegal to put ads in cars.
22.
Everything has an app nowadays, so if you don’t have a smartphone, it’s dead/you have no service (TBT to that Verizon shutdown the other week), or you simply would rather speak face-to-face, you’re screwed. Oh, and you probably have to make an account and let the company use your data, too!
23.
What was I saying about privacy?
24.
Remember when we thought the future would have flying cars? Instead, we have a QR code for literally everything, which makes simple tasks like shopping way more annoying and time-consuming. But hey, at least companies can raise prices at will!
25.
JUST LIST THE INFO. WE DON’T NEED TECHNOLOGY FOR EVERYTHING. This just makes it way more time-consuming to check the hours!
26.
WHY MUST EVERYTHING HAVE A QR CODE??? I don’t want to use my phone to play a board game!!!
27.
What happened to ordering from a human being???
28.
What was wrong with good ol’ price tags, which would never glitch or run out of battery? Well, companies couldn’t change their prices to take advantage of shortages or increased demand, of course!
29.
Remember how we thought we’d have cool robots in the future? Instead, we have incompetent automated voice bots taking minimum wage work, and rich people complaining that no one wants to work these jobs.
30.
Airbnb used to be a great, affordable alternative to hotels. Now they’re even more expensive. Oh, and they force you to do all the cleaning even though you paid a cleaning fee. And it’s led to people buying properties just to rent them out on Airbnb, driving up prices and turning homes into soulless capitalist enterprises rather than an opportunity to stay in someone’s home.
31.
Buying concert tickets used to be a breeze. You could even do it in person! Now it’s all online, and uses ridiculous queues that are overrun with bots. And it’s gone way past concerts to every single event.
32.
Oh, and they charge ridiculous fees.
33.
Did anyone actually ask for thinner computers? Or did they just over-advertise the heck out of a feature no one wanted in the first place to justify higher prices, forcing customers to buy external products and adapters to actually plug anything but a charger into their computer?
34.
Enshittification has come for the job market, too. It’s overrun with AI and auto-rejections, and it’s starting to feel like applying for jobs is completely pointless. Remember when you could just call or show up at a business and ask to apply for a job?
35.
Now, you’re forced to chat with a bot just to get information about a job.
36.
It’s also come for jobs themselves – especially the healthcare that jobs offer.
37.
And healthcare in general. Going to the doctor even once is wildly expensive, and now, in some places, you can only address one issue per visit…causing you to go again and again (and spend more and more money) if you have multiple issues.
38.
Healthcare companies really want to milk every dime from you, no matter how sick you are. And is it just me, or is the actual care getting worse? It feels like a doctor talks to you for five minutes before claiming something is “anxiety.” Or maybe that’s just a fun part of being a woman!
39.
It’s happening to apartments, too — your landlord will increase the rent and then do “upgrades” that actually make things worse.
40.
Genuinely, what is the point of this?
41.
I bet this increase was made without a single improvement… and that the apartment’s actually worse off than in 2014 because all the appliances are outdated and close to their breaking point.
42.
Everything’s just getting worse and more expensive all the time.
43.
We can’t make this post without talking about AI. It’s everywhere, but the tech isn’t all the way there yet…meaning it gives a ton of false and dangerous info.
44.
There are so many AI tools meant to “help” us that end up being way less effective than just having a human do it.
45.
Platforms are becoming filled with low-effort, computer-generated content, all while prices continue to rise.
46.
You can’t even get accurate product info anymore because a computer is writing it.
47.
And can someone explain why we have to PAY to opt out of AI???
48.
I hate going to the movies nowadays. It just gets more and more expensive, and then you have to sit through SO many ads. Don’t get me started on concession prices.
49.
I’m not sure if this quite counts, but it’s still a way a company made everything worse in order to save a few dimes, so I’m including it. Does this even actually stop shoplifting? The employee walks away the second you have the item!
50.
Let’s move on to products and food. They really don’t make things like they used to. And by that, I mean that they make them WAY worse/cheaper so that you’ll have to replace them constantly, and overall spend more $$$.
51.
At least have the decency to be upfront about cost-cutting.
52.
When it comes to food, they’ll just decrease the amount of product and keep the price the same. Check out how many gushers come in a single snack pack nowadays.
53.
Or they’ll even INCREASE the price despite making the product worse or containing less.
54.
C’mon. Is this a joke? I bet prices went up, too, due to “inflation.”
55.
You know it’s bad when they can’t even call it “ice cream” anymore.
56.
Or “chocolate.” Anything to cut costs!
57.
And finally…we used to be a proper country.
What’s the worst example of enshittification you’ve noticed? Let us know in the comments.
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