DICTIONARY PICKS WORD OF THE YEAR: “ENSHITTIFICATION”

The Macquarie Dictionary, the national dictionary of Australia, has picked its word of the year, and we can’t say it on the radio, becasue we’re not cool like those podcasters. The word is very, very close to “en-shift-ification”, if you take out the first “f”. Enshiftification is defined as “the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.” In other words… Google. Facebook. Spotify. Amazon. Twitter. YouTube. Cell phones. Windows 11. Streaming. The new edition of that video game you like. Going to the movies. Airplanes. Virtually everything tech-oriented you like gets changed in the name of “improvement,” but the change is always worse than what you liked about it in the first place. That’s en-SHIFT-ification, without the first F. Some examples:
– Once a week, your computer updates, and all that does is slow it down and bring more pop-up ads.
– Your streaming service throws up a suggestion for the same show every time you open the screen… until the time you want to watch it. Then, that show has disappeared and you have to go searching for it.
– Buying something. Used to be you go to checkout, pay cash or credit, you leave. Now, you check out, you have to tell the checker your phone number for the Rewards Program, you get asked if you want to open a credit account, you get pestered by the credit screen to donate money to a charity, and then you have to bag your own stuff in your own bag which you have to remember to bring.
– Going to the movies. Used to be buy a ticket, pick up some popcorn, go find a seat. Now you have to pick and pay for your seat before you get to the theater, and you get 30 minutes of trailers and commercials, and the volume of the movie is cranked to 11 to cover up for all the talking by the audience.
* PHONE TOPIC: Do you have an example of something in your life that used to be great, but now is worse because the company tried to improve it?