HALLIE EPHRON: One day I typed GOOGLE DOCS into the Google search engine and Google's own app (Google Docs) showed up buried under about a half-dozen miscellaneous (but not GOOGLE DOCS) links to what can only be explained as advertisers.
What a huge waste of time. Inconvenience. Experience it over and over again and it's rage-nducing.
I started noticing this a few months ago. And it's just another example of how customer service in general has been decaying. I keep yelling TALK TO A PERSON when I call so-called customer service, but it gets me nowhere.
Computer programs that were supposed to get us the information we needed quickly are, in fact, more and more enraging us at their obtuseness.
I'm always in the market for new words, and one of this year's best is ENSHITTIFICATION. I found it after months of complaining, kvetching, and griping about how my favorite tools seem to be decaying.
Named Dictionary.com's 2024 word of the year, it describes the gradual decay of a product or service's quality over time. User-friendly benefits disappear at the service of increased corporate profit. The user experience decays.
Doctorow applies it to the decline of online platforms and physical products.Tools and products that start out with user-friendly benefits get replaced by increased corporate profit-seeking, decaying the experience for users.
Am I the only one being constantly reminded that we're in an increasingly enshittified digital world? (Somehow I do not think firing all the civil servants and relying on chatbots to get us what we need is a move in the right direction.)
Am I just a grumpy Gus here, or this something we're all experiencing? What do you think: Are things getting better or worse in the digital world? Could we BRING BACK THE PEOPLE, please.
I get so tired of trying to explain to the chatbot why I need to talk to someone [the motor vehicle one actually disconnected my call when I wanted to make an appointment] . . . there are not words to describe how frustrated I get when I need to talk to a real customer service person. Sadly, I do not see any corporate move toward changing any of this, but agree with you that it certainly needs to be addressed . . . .
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