Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and what we can do about it

Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and what we can do about it

  • Anomnomnomaly@lemmy.org
    21·
    2 days ago

    The only way to win, is not to play. Cancel your prime, shop elsewhere and you ‘WILL’ get better deals, for those of you in the UK and EU, ALWAYS use a credit card for online purchases, as that gives you even better protections.

    Shop locally, support businesses in your community, because the money you spend there, gets spent there over and over again. When you spend it in chain stores and online, that money is sucked out of your community.

    I get it though… some people only care about the convenience of the deal, and that’s the real cause of enshitification… the peoples failure to care about the effort they put into things… In effect it’s a form of laziness and conditioning, people value their convenience above and beyond anything else. We see it in everything, social media is amongst the very worst of it, with friends complaining that they can’t keep in touch because ‘you’re not on (insert SM name here)’… because the effort of stepping outside the bubble they’ve been sucked into is far too inconvenient for them, and you get to find out that these people are not really your friends… they never were, because they’re convenience was always more important than your existence to them.

    As for amazon, brands have woken up… do a search for something and you’ll rarely find anything from those branded manufacturers… only 3rd party sellers and cheap crappy chinese knock-offs. Items that don;t even meant safety standards in the country they being sold in. Electrical goods that are a fire hazard and have caused loss of life… and amazon keeps getting away with it because ‘3rd party sellers’ not them.

    The only way to win is not to play… cancel your subscriptions, stop using their services, stop buying digital goods that can be taken away from you. Return to physical media that actually ends up being cheaper in the long run. You are the consumer, you have the power… hell… try going without a few times, you don’t actually need that cheap piece of plastic crap you just ordered to save yourself a few minutes of ‘prep’ time in the kitchen that will break after a couple of weeks or be consigned the back of a cupboard after a few uses and forgotten about.

    You have the power… use it better.

    • wulrus@lemmy.world
      71·
      2 days ago

      I’m a huge fan of Amazon’s user experience, how well the product selection, checkout and everything works. For some people with ADHD, seniors, the impatient etc. it’s particularly tempting.

      As things got worse, in terms of politics and workers’ rights, I checked out alternatives more. And in many cases, it was about just as convenient. Even small shops, such as buying directly from the manufacturer, often have a simple PayPal or similar checkout which is equally convenient, and it’s not rare that it’s cheaper. Even if they don’t have that, browser support to enter the address and credit card details makes a 1-time purchase less of a hassle than it used to be.

      The big national alternatives, e. g. in Germany Otto, Alternate, Thalia for books … are more often than not pretty good too, as they had Amazon as a competitor for years and survived.

      • Anomnomnomaly@lemmy.org
        4·
        2 days ago

        I think the jist of my reasoning is quite simple… people need to be willing to put up with a fraction more inconvenience, perhaps get used to waiting a few extra days for a delivery. I cancelled my prime almost 2yrs ago, get a lot more stuff locally, sometimes being prepared to pay a little extra because I know I’ll get better quality products. I have a thing with my feet called supination (both feet roll outwards slightly) that caused me pain and injuries. After a gait analysis, I was recommended a specific type of ‘rocker’ style footware (good running shoes are perfect) and orthotics to go in them. it’s transformed my ability to walk and reduced my pain. But those shoes aren’t cheap, nor are the orthotics. I got the first pair from amazon a few years ago. I decided to get a waterproof pair for winter and extra orthotics as I should replace those every 4-6 months at least.

        I found buying the running shoes direct from the maker, was no different than amazon, and found specialist online sellers of the orthotics that were 10% cheaper. I buy 2 pairs of orthotics a year and replace one pair of trainers each year… so summer ones one year, winter ones the next… and each pair does me at least 18 months… and I now subscribe to the Samuel Vimes theory of socioeconimic unfairness.

        The old saying, “you can have things cheap, quality or quick, but can only pick two”. is how I’ve adjusted my life now and you know what… it’s improved it a huge amount.

    • krooklochurm@lemmy.ca
      1·
      2 days ago

      I try to shop locally. There is SO MUCH shit that you just can’t buy in person. It’s not possible.

      I recently wanted a raspberry pi. I’m in a large Canadian city and literally no one sells them. You can only get them online. It’s one example but it’s a thing.