Rethink
Rethink: Is the internet getting worse?
Sep 19, 2024
Cory Doctorow, a Visiting Professor of Computer Science and co-founder of the UK Open Rights group, dives into the concept of 'enshitification'—the decline of the internet due to profit-driven motives. The conversation highlights how platforms like Facebook and Amazon shift focus from user experience to advertisers, complicating our online interactions. Doctorow explores the nostalgic longing for a more engaging internet and discusses the need for regulatory action and community-driven alternatives to combat monopolistic control, emphasizing the importance of a rights-based digital society.
28:35
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Quick takeaways
- The decline of internet quality, termed 'inshittification', reflects a shift towards profit-driven models over user-centric experiences.
- Effective regulation of large tech firms requires a multi-faceted approach, addressing monopolistic power while prioritizing user needs and competition.
Deep dives
The Internet's Deteriorating Quality
The discussion emphasizes a widespread sentiment that the quality of the internet has significantly worsened over recent years. Experts highlight how platforms that were once user-friendly and community-focused, like Facebook, have shifted priorities, increasingly catering to advertisers at the expense of user experience. This alteration has resulted in cluttered interfaces flooded with ads and algorithmic content that prioritizes engagement over meaningful connections, leading users to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. The term 'inshittification' is introduced to describe this decline, underscoring the negative trajectory where platforms begin to focus more on profit and less on providing genuine value to their users.
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