From Amazon to Facebook and Google, here's how platforms can 'decay'

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/04/ [login to see] /amazon-google-facebook-twitter-social-media-online
If you feel like some important places on the internet have been getting worse, you're not alone.

In 2023, there were federal lawsuits accusing Amazon and Google of exploiting their monopolies; streaming services offered less content for more money; and a site-wide protest on Reddit occurred after a new policy threatened what many considered to be identity of the website.

Social media networks are now filled with ads and recommendations for stores and products you know you never asked for. And then there's whatever is happening at X, formerly known as Twitter, under Elon Musk.

Tech journalist and science fiction writer Cory Doctorow coined a term to describe this process: ens***ification.