Enshittification everywhere

Enshittification is a term broadly used for tech platforms. Where they start off great for users, get dominant and squeeze their suppliers, and then start exploiting the users in a chase for more profits.

This is a gradual rot, where over time only the shareholders are benefited. An inevitable outcome of capitalism amplified by network effects of technology.

But the idea of enshittfication has prevailed before technology became too mainstream, or rather 'tech companies'. Take healthcare, education, or retail in general.

Even culturally. Subcultures happen; get adopted by companies, parties, institutions; and exploitation follows. The original intent behind the grassroots movement falls to capture.

Enshittification has generally followed the 3-step process mentioned above. It used to take decades. With hypergrowth of tech companies, that cycle got accelerated, or condensed. There would be a honeymoon period for users before the inevitable rot set in.

But as enshittification gets prevalent and more commonly accepted (or forced), the process of condensation has shrunk to a rot from inception. When you know the inevitable outcome, why bother with delight in the beginning. What's the point of flirting and banter when sex is all that one is interested in. Is that taking the analogy too far?

The frustration with enshittification is not from tech platforms just adding charges and categories which didn't exist earlier. It's not even from being shown ads incessantly even after paying a subscription. It is when the rot gets deeply embedded in kids, in an entire generation.

It is from cases like Metashot smart bat. You pay a decent amount to buy the game. But in the process of playing the game, you are constantly bombarded by ads. You are constantly being asked to "pay to play". Spend money to participate. Sure, you can have a model where you some benefits can be unlocked by purchases. But does it have to be in-your-face, all-the-f*ing-time?

For a kid, playing used to be about fun, wonder, discovery. Now kids are nudged into stress about money, status, and survival long before they even understand how any of it works. Instead of joy, all they are getting is anxiety.

They are getting enshittified.