The $hitification of everything

spedini said:
So many negative bitter people sitting in front of a computer screen
looking for other negative bitter people sitting in front of a computer screen
to commiserate with.

"The shittification of everything."

You should be ashamed of yourselves.
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Well. It was the word "$hitification" that drew me in. It spoke to me.
 

I DO think; things in general are made a lot more disposable than they were say 30-40-50 years ago. This is especially frustrating with large appliances, but if you think about it ... goes all the way down to things like shoes. Does anyone get their shoes repaired anymore?

Most things are cheap and disposable, meanwhile --- we can't have plastic straws because they are bad for the environment. Doesn't make a lot of sense....
 

If you're on the internet complaining,
you don't know what problems are.
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That doesn't really make sense to me

Sure. we should keep our complaints or problems in perspective - but the fact that I am not in a war zone or starving i n a famine doesn't mean I can't have any issues about my health care or my family concerns - or i n case of the video of the thread ,the poor quality and disposable-ness of items.

 
Planned obsolescence.....a huge amount of money is spent determining the line where the buying public will revolt against shoddy goods.

How many crummy (insert brand name here) refrigerators does a consumer have to go through in a period of time before he says, "That's it! I'm NEVER buying a ( _____) appliance again!" Is it two in 10 years...is it three in 20 years? There some analyst out there who knows.

He says, "OK, 70% of the buying public is OK with buying a new bottom-of-the-line (____) refrigerator every 7 years without getting too upset about it".

So, (____) makes their budget line to last approximately 7 years before going bad. And it won't be economically feasible to repair it since it'll not be too much more to buy a new one.

And you'll buy a new one.

And that, folks, is planned obsolescence...
 
CallMeKate said:
She is so right about the planned obsolescence. I first started paying attention to it about 8 years ago... things are not being made like they were in the past, and the first culprit I noticed was major appliances. What our parents bought that lasted for 20 or 25 years now has a lifespan of 8 or 10. But did the cost go down? No way!

Clothing the same on a smaller scale. And even smaller still, I noticed a few years ago when tuna cans went from 6 oz. to 5 oz. Did they think we wouldn't notice? But they didn't have to raise the price too much... just give less food and maybe no one will catch it. Shrinkflation is showing up more and more every time I shop.
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They figured out they can't make money hand over fist if it lasts too long. This way they satisfy they're greed.
 
One needs to also understand that such is nothing new, but rather, there is much more today. That is a key reason Japanese vehicle manufacturers were able to overtake Detroit, because American manufacturers purposely built most vehicles not to last too long, so customers would need to buy new vehicles every few years. On the other hand, my old 1970s mechanical except for motors/fans, General Electric refrigerator is still functional unlike expensive modern products full of electronics, though is not energy efficient and uses rather noisy motors and fans.
 
Not to mention the lack of competition. Fewer and fewer companies by mergers and acquisitions. If there was really competition among manufacturers there would be someone willing to cater to the customer and the incentive for true innovation.
 
outlander said:
"The shittification of everything."

You spelled $hitification wrong;)
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Whilst the word described, ( and spelling corrected, ) is creative, it is also vulgar and fictitious. Had the word been excoriation, meaning a severe, public expression of strong disapproval and criticism of both someone and/or something. I would have been impressed.
 
Apparently it is a recognized phrase using "perplexity.AI" :

"Shittification of everything" refers to a perceived, widespread decline in quality and user experience across products, services, and institutions—especially as a result of commercial, corporate, and technological pressures.twitter+2

Meaning and Origins​

The term stems from the slang "shitty," adding the suffix "-ification" to denote transformation or process. It essentially describes the process by which things become worse or lower in quality over time. Related terms like "enshittification" have been popularized to highlight how previously good, useful, or enjoyable things become degraded, usually as companies pursue profit at the expense of users or quality.youtube+1

Common Examples​

  • Many users point to the decline in durability ("planned obsolescence") of everyday goods as classic shittification.reddit
  • Online platforms, apps, or websites that start off user-friendly but become bloated with ads, microtransactions, paywalls, and exploitative design.
  • Institutions shifting from public-good orientation to maximizing revenue, often at the cost of public trust, satisfaction, and quality.linkedin+1

Causes​

  • Corporate incentives: Pursuit of short-term profit over long-term value often leads companies to compromise on quality.
  • Lack of accountability: With limited regulation or oversight, companies may have little incentive to maintain high standards.
  • Market consolidation: Fewer competing companies results in less pressure to innovate or maintain quality, accelerating decline.reddit+1
  • Technological lock-in: Users become dependent on platforms or products, making it difficult to leave even as quality drops.

Cultural and Social Response​

  • Communities are forming around concepts like "de-shittification": finding, supporting, or building alternatives that resist these trends.
  • Movements prioritize regulation, cooperative ownership, mutual aid, and transparent business practices to push back against shittification.reddit
  • High-profile advocates discuss strategies ranging from law and policy (e.g., stronger antitrust or consumer protection) to grassroots economic and technological alternatives.

Related Concepts​

  • Enshittification: Popularized by writer Cory Doctorow, specifically describing how digital platforms extract increasing value from users/creators while offering less in return.youtube
  • Planned obsolescence: The design of products to have a short useful life, pushing users to buy replacements more frequently.reddit
In essence, the "shittification of everything" is a critique of contemporary trends that result in systematically worse products, services, and experiences for individuals and communities, often as a byproduct of economic interests overtaking all other considerations.wiktionary+2

  1. https://twitter.com/search?q=#Shittification&src=hashtag_click
  3. shittification - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
  4. https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/1bfa59d
  5. #comcast #tmobile #dynamics #shittification | Joseph C Markovich
  6. https://x.com/robertberens/status/1696985988659335623
  7. https://www.reddit.com/r/enshittification/comments/1djq25r
 
I think this is part of the "place is falling apart" type of internet influenced outlook. I don't want to get political, but it's the often used phrase indicating the US has deteriorated. I'm quite sure the UK & OZ has similar "influencers".
I bought my place 35 years ago, and I've replaced everything except the walls, nothing lasts for ever. Just because your "new' jeans wore out doesn't exactly mean the world is shoddy and gone to hell.
 
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The term originally in 2022 applied to the decline of the internet. Now it applies to everything.

"En$hittification" is a term coined by science fiction author, activist, and journalist Cory Doctorow to describe the predictable decline of online platforms and services. It's a process that has been widely discussed and has resonated with a lot of people who feel like the internet is getting worse.

Doctorow describes "en$hittification" as a three-stage process:
  1. They are good to their users. In the first phase, a new platform or service, often backed by venture capital, offers a great product at a loss to attract a large user base. The focus is on a high-quality user experience.
  2. They abuse their users to make things better for their business customers. Once the platform has a large, "locked-in" user base (due to network effects, where everyone you know is already there), it starts to shift its focus. It begins to degrade the user experience to benefit its business customers, like advertisers, who are now paying to access that audience. This can manifest as more ads, less relevant search results, or algorithmic changes that prioritize paid content over what users actually want to see.
  3. They abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. In the final stage, the platform, now a near-monopoly, turns on its business customers. It raises prices, reduces the effectiveness of advertising, and generally extracts all the remaining value for itself and its shareholders.
 
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