'Enshittification' sums up the internet's downfall

Australian dictionary crowns Word of the Year

If you've ever felt like your favourite app, website, or service is slowly turning into hot garbage, congratulations – you've just experienced enshittification. Australia's Macquarie Dictionary, the trusted guardian of Aussie English, has crowned "enshittification" as its Word of the Year for 2024.

In case you're wondering, it's not just a cheeky insult. The dictionary defines it as "the gradual deterioration of a service or product, particularly online, driven by profit-seeking at the expense of users." Think about that once-beloved social media platform that's now a minefield of ads and irrelevant posts. That's enshittification in action.

"This term taps into a growing sense that things are getting worse—especially in the digital world," said the the Macquarie judging panel to Al Jazeera. The internet was supposed to make life easier, but now it's mostly just about dodging subscription pop-ups and rage-scrolling through poorly targeted ads.

The term actually comes from Canadian-British author Cory Doctorow. He first used it in a 2022 essay to describe how platforms like Facebook and Twitter go from useful to unbearable. In his words, digital platforms "start off being good to users, then pivot to exploiting them, and eventually squeeze every last drop from businesses too."

Beating out contenders like "looksmaxxing" (obsessively optimising one's appearance) and "overtourism" (too many tourists, not enough space), enshittification struck a nerve. Honourable mentions went to "right to disconnect", a dream come true for anyone haunted by work emails after 5PM, and "rawdogging" (the nightmare scenario of enduring a long-haul flight without any form of entertainment).

Meanwhile, over in the UK, Oxford Dictionary's shortlist includes "brain rot" and "dynamic pricing." Clearly, we're all just trying to put words to the madness of modern life.