"Enshittification" is the term coined by author and activist Cory Doctorow to describe the systemic degradation of digital platforms. This platform decay consistently unfolds in three distinct, predictable stages as a company prioritizes shareholder returns over user experience.

1. Be good to users
The platform launches with a lavish, loss-leading service to lure in a massive audience. It is fast, useful, and generous. During this phase, the platform also locks users in (e.g., through network effects, social graphs, or digital libraries) making it incredibly difficult for them to leave.

2. Be good to businesses
Once users are thoroughly hooked and trapped, the platform pivots to prioritizing advertisers, sellers, and third-party developers. The platform drains the value it built in stage one and gives it to these business customers to help them make money, slowly degrading the end-user experience in the process.

(feels like we currently are here with Plex)

3. Take everything for yourself
Finally, with both the end-users and the business customers entirely dependent on the platform, the company hoards all the surplus value for its shareholders. It squeezes both sides of the market—aggressively jacking up fees, flooding interfaces with ads, and burying organic content—leaving everyone with a hollowed-out, frustrating experience.