I’ve recently become fascinated by the concept of the “enshittification” of social media – because it puts a name on a process that I’ve intuitively understood was happening for a long time, even before Elon Musk bought Twitter and started running it into the ground.
Coined by writer Cory Doctorow, enshittification describes the gradual decline in quality of online platforms as they prioritize profit over user experience. This decline often manifests in several ways:
- The Algorithm’s Embrace: Algorithmic feeds prioritize content that keeps you engaged, not necessarily content that enriches your life. This can lead to an echo chamber of negativity, misinformation, and outrage-inducing content.
- The Ad Avalanche: Ads become more frequent and intrusive, disrupting the flow of information and making it harder to find organic content.
- The Feature Frenzy: Instead of focusing on core functionalities, platforms introduce unnecessary features that clutter the interface and distract from meaningful interactions.
- The Privacy Paradox: While promising data security, platforms collect and leverage user data for targeted advertising and potentially questionable practices.
So, what happened? Doctorow proposes a three-stage model:
- The Honeymoon Phase: Platforms start user-friendly, fostering genuine connection and value.
- The Lock-In: Features like messaging and social graphs create “switching costs,” making it difficult for users to leave even if the experience deteriorates.
- The Exploitation: Platforms prioritize revenue through advertising and data monetization, often at the expense of user experience and even ethical considerations.
Most of the big platorms are firmly in the Exploitation phase. For publishers and authors looking to build their audience on social platforms, this trend is particularly concerning – because only a small fraction of an audience will see a brand’s content organically. Political writer Another Angry Voice, in a post called Facebook has wrecked its own product, recently worked out that his move to Substack has gained him more engagement with his audience – because even though his subscriber numbers there are a mere 2% of the total number of users who have liked his Facebook page, he can be sure that Substack users will see his new posts. (Facebook may have wrecked its own product for its users, but as they recently announced a dividend to shareholders for the first time ever, so at least some people are happy that they’re now in the Exploitation phase!).
We’ve recently seen the Alliance of Independent Authors abandonding its private Facebook Group as the main means of allowing members to communicate with one another – which has been very divisive among that community. So while most people can agree that mainstream social networks have got worse, few of us can yet agree what we should be using instead.
In the meantime, it only underlines the value of having your own, dedicated platform to engage with your audience i.e. a website!
This article was partially created with Google Gemini AI