Enshittification: The Fall of Tech’s Promise

On November 25, the Macquarie Dictionary announced 2024’s word of the year. The winning word was Enshittification; a word that was coined two years prior. Granted, the competition wasn’t exactly tough as words like “raw dogging” and “Brain Rot” made it to the honorable mentions list. However, Macquarie chose to award this title to the word because it “captures what many of us feel is happening to the world and to so many aspects of our lives at the moment,”. Quite the praise for a word that was made up only two years ago. So, what’s enshittification, and why does it look like a fitting word for the times we’re facing? 

The Meaning