Social Media, Google and Online Platforms Are Rapidly Declining

Google search, once a reliable tool, now often shows AI-generated summaries and ads before relevant results. Facebook feeds are dominated by commercial content, with genuine posts from friends appearing rarely. Analysts have described this trend for years, and Canadian writer Cory Doctorow coined the term “enshittification” to capture it. His upcoming book explains the phenomenon in detail.

Doctorow outlines four stages:

1. The golden phase – the platform works well (Google, Facebook in 2010), helping users connect or find information.

2. Exploitation of users – more ads, more tracking, constant data collection.

3. Exploitation of businesses – advertisers must pay higher costs to stay visible, while algorithms hide competitors.

4. Collapse – the platform degrades; nobody likes it, but both users and companies remain trapped while owners profit.

Amazon is a clear example. Initially an online bookstore, it expanded through cheap prices, free delivery, and easy returns. Later, advertising replaced genuine search results, fake reviews multiplied, and Amazon began copying successful products to sell under its own labels. Even books are often replaced by AI summaries of Wikipedia articles.

Facebook followed a similar path. Once a place for communication, it now forces people to stay only because of personal and professional ties, while advertisers pay more for less impact. Google too shifted from showing the most relevant answers to prioritizing paid content and AI-generated overviews.

Doctorow argues that decline is not inevitable. Solutions include restoring strong antitrust laws, protecting the right to repair, encouraging unions in the tech sector, and giving users more freedom to switch or modify digital tools. Without such changes, platforms will continue to “enshittify.”