Welcome to the Enshittification Age

Dear High School Graduates (and those navigating adulthood),

Congratulations! You’ve just stepped out of the warm cocoon of education and into a world driven by tweets, algorithms, and an alarming number of cat memes. But before you dive headfirst into this brave new world, you must know its defining feature: enshittification.

This term, coined by author Cory Doctorow, describes how online platforms inevitably decay into something worse as they optimize for profits at the expense of users. Platforms often follow a predictable lifecycle: attract users with value, milk them for revenue, and eventually leave them frustrated and exploited.

To truly grasp what you’re up against, let’s explore how the forces of social media, digital advertising, artificial intelligence (AI), and infrastructure risks converge to impact your life online.

1. Social Media: The Bot-Infested Echo Chamber

Social media was once heralded as a tool to connect the world. Today, it’s as much a battleground as a bulletin board. One major culprit? Bots.

Bot Invasion

Bots now constitute a significant portion of online activity. A study from Imperva in 2023 revealed that more than 47% of internet traffic comes from bots, with malicious bots accounting for 30% of this. These bots can:

• Spread misinformation: In 2020, Twitter reported that more than 20% of accounts discussing COVID-19 were likely bots.
• Amplify extremism: In the lead-up to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, Russian bots flooded social media with divisive content.
• Erode trust: Bots can manipulate public opinion, making grassroots movements appear more or less significant than they truly are.

The result? Social media is less about authentic conversations and more about navigating a maze of automated propaganda.

2. Digital Advertising: Personalized (and Creepy)

Remember when ads were just boring billboards? Those days are long gone. Today’s ads follow you from your browser to your inbox, thanks to personalization and audience segmentation.

How It Works

Advertisers use advanced tracking techniques like cookies, pixels, and device fingerprinting to build profiles of your interests, habits, and even vulnerabilities. Platforms like Facebook and Google allow advertisers to target users with terrifying precision:

• Facebook’s ad tools once let advertisers exclude users by race—raising concerns about discrimination.
• Google Ads enables targeting based on life events like “recently divorced” or “about to move.”

The Downsides

While personalization can make ads more relevant, it also:

1. Violates privacy: Cambridge Analytica’s misuse of Facebook data showed how easily personal information could be weaponized.
2. Feeds consumerism: Targeting users during moments of vulnerability can exploit them financially.
3. Creates filter bubbles: Algorithms optimize for engagement, meaning you’re shown content that reinforces your beliefs and biases.

3. Artificial Intelligence: Both Savior and Saboteur

AI powers much of today’s digital landscape. It’s in your Netflix recommendations, your Spotify playlists, and even your autocorrect. But as it becomes more pervasive, AI introduces new risks.

Deepfakes and Disinformation

AI-generated content, from deepfakes to realistic AI voices, is becoming indistinguishable from reality. In 2023, an AI-generated video of an explosion at the Pentagon went viral, causing panic and briefly affecting financial markets.

Bias Amplification

AI is only as unbiased as the data it’s trained on. A 2019 MIT study found that facial recognition algorithms were 34% less accurate for darker-skinned women than for lighter-skinned men, leading to significant ethical concerns in law enforcement and hiring.

Job Displacement

While AI automates tasks and improves efficiency, it also threatens jobs. According to a 2024 McKinsey report, 30% of work hours globally could be automated by 2030, disproportionately affecting lower-skilled workers.

4. Infrastructure Security: A Fragile Foundation

The internet’s infrastructure is often taken for granted until it fails. And fail it does.

Examples of Catastrophic Failures

• In 2021, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp went offline for six hours due to a configuration error, affecting 3.5 billion users.
• In 2023, a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline caused fuel shortages across the U.S.

Centralization Risks

Many platforms rely on centralized servers, creating single points of failure. Decentralized alternatives like Mastodon exist, but they lack the adoption to replace giants like Twitter.

Data Breaches

Data breaches are alarmingly common. In 2023, the MOVEit Transfer hack exposed the personal information of millions, including sensitive government data.

How It Affects You

These forces combine to create an online experience that feels increasingly exploitative:

1. You’re bombarded with ads.
2. Your data is collected and sold [and sometimes stolen].
3. You’re manipulated by algorithms designed to maximize profits.

Platforms like Reddit and Twitter exemplify this decline. Both began as user-centric communities but shifted toward monetization strategies—like paid subscriptions and ad saturation—that alienate their core audiences.

Hope Amid the Chaos

The good news? You’re not powerless. Here are ways to fight back:

• Learn digital literacy: Understand how algorithms work so you can outsmart them.
• Use alternative platforms: Support ethical companies like Mozilla or decentralized options like Mastodon.
• Advocate for regulation: Push for data privacy laws and accountability for tech giants.

As you navigate this age of enshittification, remember: The internet is what you make of it. By demanding better practices and supporting ethical alternatives, you can help steer the digital world toward a brighter future.

Welcome to the Enshittification Age. It’s messy, chaotic, and absurd—but with awareness and action, it can still be a place of opportunity and hope.

[kept it short on purpose]

References

• Cory Doctorow on Enshittification
• Imperva Bot Traffic Report
• MIT Study on Algorithmic Bias
• Cambridge Analytica Scandal
• What If Your ChatGPT Transcripts Leaked?
• Inside the Booming 'AI Pimping' Industry
• AI could supercharge disinformation and disrupt EU elections, experts warn