The internet was supposed to be different, wasn't it? A digital utopia of information and an extension of human connection inside the digital world.
Now, a decade or two into the social media age, we're living in what author Cory Doctorow aptly calls the "enshittocene". An era defined by the gradual, perhaps soul-crushing degradation of online platforms. A few days ago, Australia's Macquarie Dictionary crowned “enshittification” as word of the year. Which, I feel is less a celebration of linguistic ingenuity and more a collective sigh of the recognition of this phenomenon. We see it everywhere - X (twitter) morphing into an even more chaotic and algorithm-driven engagement platform. Facebook drowning its users in a sea of irrelevant ads and questionable content. Instagram feels like it abandoned its chronological feed and went for a messy jumbled one that was designed to keep the user glued.
Doctorow's breakdown of the enshittification process is very accurate. First, the platforms lure us in with a great user experience and then they exploit us to serve their business goals. Anti-features are introduced one at a time, never all at once. This way the users become the digital equivalent of frogs in slowly boiling water. They barely notice the increasing heat until it's scalding hot.
But the "enshittocene" isn’t just about social media. It’s a creeping phenomenon affecting every corner of the internet. Take YouTube, for instance. What began as a democratic platform for sharing videos has become a behemoth riddled with ads, auto-playing videos and an endless barrage of recommended content. Sometimes feels like it was designed not to inform or entertain, but to keep you trapped in an endless watching loop. Searching for a specific tutorial? Well, good luck scrolling through an endless sections of suggested content and “related” videos before you find what you need.
But here's the good news. The internet has a way of fighting back. While the big platforms are busy enshittifying themselves, a vibrant ecosystem of tools and extensions has sprung up over the past few years. Here are a few tips and tools you may or may not be aware of.
You should have an ad blocker. Which one? uBlock Origin stands out among ad blockers. It not only eliminates ads but also neutralizes trackers and resource-intensive scripts. It really improves page load times and has improved my online experience by leaps and bounds. It's free, it’s super customizable and it allows you to whitelist sites you trust while blocking the worst offenders.
Privacy focused browsers (Firefox, Brave, Librewolf). These browsers prioritize privacy by default, blocking trackers, cookies and other data-collection mechanisms. Some features to look out for : enhanced tracking protection, fingerprinting resistance, built-in ad blocking.
Isolate different aspects of your online activity using browser containers. This prevents online platforms from cross-referencing your data across different accounts and services. This kinda limits the amount of information they can gather about you. For example, you can have separate containers for social media, shopping, banking, work or study.
Use the power of browser extensions. Browser web stores are brimming with an ecosystem of nifty addons which can help you. These allow you to customize your online experience in a variety of ways. For example, SponsorBlock automatically skips sponsored segments on YouTube, Control Panel for Twitter improves your X timeline and YouTube Search Fixer cleans up your youtube search page and eliminates all the clutter. There are website specific as well as global addons, choose what fits you best!
Consider the use of a privacy respecting search engine. Ditch engines (hint: google) that track your queries and build profiles about you. Privacy-focused companies have built their business model around not tracking your searches or personalizing results based on your past activity. This hopefully helps in providing a more neutral and unbiased search experience. Popular free ones include duckduckgo and premium paid ones include Kagi.
Configure your OS (operating system) privacy settings. Both Windows and macOS offer various privacy settings that can be tweaked to limit data collection and improve security. Take the time to review these settings and disable any features you don’t need or that compromise your privacy.
Review and revoke app permissions. On your phone, pay close attention to the permissions requested by apps. Revoke any unnecessary permissions and limit access to sensitive data. Be mindful of apps that request excessive permissions that seem unrelated to their core function. Why does a calculator need access to your phone logs? wtf?
Opt-out of data sharing and personalized ads whenever possible. Many online platforms offer options to opt-out of data sharing and personalized advertising. These are cleverly buried deep within settings to prevent you from reaching them. Search "platform-name privacy opt out" on your favorite search engine to reach there. Take advantage of these options whenever they are available, although remember the platforms are not obligated to listen or comply. This limits the amount of data they can collect about you and reduces the amount of targeted advertising you see.
The ultimate fate of these platforms might be that they fizzle out and become obsolete, followed by something new and hopefully better. But until then, we have tools like uBlock Origin and YouTube Search Fixer to help us navigate the digital world and reclaim some semblance of control. Ultimately, the users hold the power to shape their digital life. By adopting the use of these tools and strategies and spreading the word about them, we can resist further enshittification and reclaim the internet as a space for actual connection and information sharing, however naive that may sound now.
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