You got my attention with 'enshittification'. Let it be known that there is some magic in unprofessional-looking language that doubles as an engaging attention getter.
I think one thing that you do not consider is the "enshittification" of our lives in general.
When your job sucks, when the bank sucks, when the cable company sucks, when the airline sucks, when your car / washing machine / TV ends up sucking in few years, when your government sucks (all parties), when most people suck ... when everything around us is both getting worse for the same or more money while raising the cost of switching or taking away any better option (through oligopoly) then even the best options Mr Doctorow could come up with are just too much for a beaten down consumer.
Airline: they all suck so which one you should switch to?
Social Media: they all suck and steal your information so which one do you go to?
Banks: you can take credit unions with barely any services or all the big banks that suck. Not much of an option
As a consumer we were supposed to have companies fight over us (capitalism as advertised?). Now every product is planned and sold like a drug so all that matters is to get the customer hooked ...
And when you are surrounded by siren calls at some point the default is to give in and give up.
I think Mr Doctorow has nailed the symptoms and it is not just about the internet.
In terms of solutions ... the rot has set in almost every corner of society ... so revolution everyone? :-)
🔥
You got my attention with 'enshittification'. Let it be known that there is some magic in unprofessional-looking language that doubles as an engaging attention getter.
I think one thing that you do not consider is the "enshittification" of our lives in general.
When your job sucks, when the bank sucks, when the cable company sucks, when the airline sucks, when your car / washing machine / TV ends up sucking in few years, when your government sucks (all parties), when most people suck ... when everything around us is both getting worse for the same or more money while raising the cost of switching or taking away any better option (through oligopoly) then even the best options Mr Doctorow could come up with are just too much for a beaten down consumer.
Airline: they all suck so which one you should switch to?
Social Media: they all suck and steal your information so which one do you go to?
Banks: you can take credit unions with barely any services or all the big banks that suck. Not much of an option
As a consumer we were supposed to have companies fight over us (capitalism as advertised?). Now every product is planned and sold like a drug so all that matters is to get the customer hooked ...
And when you are surrounded by siren calls at some point the default is to give in and give up.
I think Mr Doctorow has nailed the symptoms and it is not just about the internet.
In terms of solutions ... the rot has set in almost every corner of society ... so revolution everyone? :-)