Post #2076467

2026-04-16 08:36 UTC

A thing I am unreasonably annoyed about at the moment is the tendency to describe degradations in quality of any kind as ‘enshittification’, from Doctorow describing monopoly effects on online networks (though IIRC the specific concept predates his use of it). Sometimes commodities in a market decline in quality overall, and that is just the nature of markets and firms in competition economising on materials! Other times we experience commodities getting very much better or cheaper but we don’t have words so much for that.

Replies (6)

@liamvhogan@aus.social 2026-04-16 08:39

A thing about ‘enshittification’ is that while it’s absolutely a real and measurable effect in online services/networks, the notion that all things are getting worse generally over time is also an *ideological* one which we’re primed to see, it’s called declinism, and societies which experienced a shift to modernity longer ago are more subject to it. The English are sick with it. It’s a reactionary project.

Open ##2446695
@damonism@aus.social 2026-04-16 09:07

@liamvhogan@aus.social Is this a subtoot about that article about backpacks, because the enthusiast backpack market has gone nuts over the last couple of years and honestly never has there been a better time to buy a backpack that scratches your very specific itch; it’s just that you won’t get one for $20 at K-Mart.

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@neoluddite@aus.social 2026-04-16 10:44

@liamvhogan@aus.social right, but we very rarely see firms in competition competing by making a decent product at a fair price. Where's the mid-2020's version of early 2000's Google?

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@Qbitzerre@unbound.social 2026-04-16 18:05

@liamvhogan@aus.social the word is progress.

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@nickzoic@aus.social 2026-04-17 03:30

@liamvhogan@aus.social everyone talks about chocolate bars shrinking but the first time I really felt it was the Dunlop KT-26.

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@projectmoon@social.agnos.is 2026-04-17 07:50

@liamvhogan@aus.social are people using the word outside the context of online services/apps transparently and blatantly making the user experience worse in order to make more money?

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