TL;DR: Platforms like Facebook, Amazon, and Google follow a predictable pattern: they start by offering immense value to users, shift focus to business customers, and ultimately prioritize shareholder profits. This process, driven by monopoly power and unchecked corporate practices, erodes quality and leaves users and creators trapped in degraded ecosystems. Solutions lie in fostering competition, enforcing interoperability, and designing systems that prioritize people over profits.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why digital platforms feel worse now than they used to. There was a time when these services—social media, search engines, and e-commerce sites—felt like transformative tools for connection and discovery. Now, they seem like hollowed-out shells of their former selves, dominated by ads, paywalls, and diminished value. As I dug deeper, I began to see the same pattern everywhere: platforms start great, but over time, they degrade—leaving users, creators, and even businesses frustrated.
This isn’t a coincidence. It’s the result of a predictable lifecycle tied to how these platforms operate and grow.
A Predictable Lifecycle of Decline
Platforms begin by focusing entirely on users, offering exceptional services to attract and lock them in. Whether it’s a chronological feed, affordable shipping, or an algorithm that genuinely works, the initial draw is undeniable. But once users are locked in—socially, financially, or otherwise—the platform shifts its focus to business customers like advertisers, sellers, or vendors.
The final stage? Platforms claw back every ounce of value for their shareholders. The end-user experience degrades, businesses face higher fees and stricter terms, and what was once a thriving ecosystem becomes a brittle, frustrating monopoly.
Platform Economics and Monopoly Power
At the heart of the decline in platform quality is the concept of platform economics. Platforms like Facebook, Amazon, Google, and even newer entrants like TikTok act as intermediaries between users and businesses, controlling access, engagement, and commerce. This intermediary role allows them to consolidate power, using tactics such as acquiring competitors, exploiting regulatory loopholes, and manipulating pricing to eliminate competition and create dependency.
Facebook: Originally pitched as a user-focused service connecting friends, Facebook transitioned into a pay-to-play platform for businesses. Organic reach for posts has been dramatically reduced, forcing creators, publishers, and advertisers to pay for visibility. This prioritization of ad revenue has transformed a once-authentic platform into a marketplace of monetized interactions.
Amazon: Starting as a haven for third-party sellers with low fees and wide exposure, Amazon now uses its dominant position to extract higher profits from vendors. Advertising fees, commissions, and preferential treatment for its own private-label products have made selling on Amazon a necessity for many businesses, even as it erodes their margins.
Google: Once a beacon of innovation with its search algorithm, Google now skews results heavily toward paid content, diminishing the user experience. In its quest for advertising dominance, it has turned search into a pay-to-win system, favoring sponsored links and ads over relevance.
TikTok: Known for its groundbreaking recommendation algorithm, TikTok has begun prioritizing content visibility based on monetization strategies. Reports of tools like the “heating tool” reveal how it artificially promotes certain content, reducing trust in its algorithm and creating barriers for organic content to thrive.
Spotify: The music streaming giant distributes royalties in a way that overwhelmingly benefits the largest record labels—many of which hold stakes in the company. This arrangement prioritizes corporate profits while leaving independent artists with minuscule earnings.
Reddit and Twitch: Both platforms are recent examples of enshittification. Reddit, seeking profitability ahead of its IPO, has imposed exorbitant API fees, alienating developers and volunteer moderators who maintain its communities. Similarly, Twitch has reduced external monetization options for streamers, funneling revenue through its own channels and increasing its share of profits.
Across these platforms, monopoly power enables them to control key aspects of the ecosystem, from content visibility to pricing structures. By locking in both users and businesses, they create a stranglehold that reduces options, increases dependency, and ultimately harms everyone except shareholders.
Examples of Degradation in Practice
The same story plays out across the digital landscape:
Social Media: Once about connecting people, platforms now prioritize ads and paid promotions over organic content. Your feed is filled with irrelevant posts unless businesses pay for visibility.
E-Commerce: Platforms like Amazon bury quality products under a mountain of paid placements, making it harder for users to find the best deals.
Search Engines: Algorithms that once delivered the most relevant results are now skewed by ad revenue, prioritizing paid links over accuracy.
The Cost to Creativity and Labor
The impact extends far beyond user frustration. Creative industries—like music, publishing, and film—are increasingly dominated by a few corporations that act as gatekeepers. These companies extract massive profits while leaving creators with only a fraction of the value their work generates.
This dynamic creates a chokepoint, where creators and producers must conform to restrictive rules just to survive. The more concentrated these industries become, the harder it is for creators to break free or achieve fair compensation.
How Do We Fix This?
While the problem feels overwhelming, there are clear paths forward:
Interoperability: Platforms should adopt open standards, allowing users and creators to move freely between services without losing connections or assets.
Antitrust Enforcement: Breaking up monopolies and enforcing competition laws would restore balance and encourage innovation.
Empowering People Over Profits: Platforms should be designed to serve users and creators first, not shareholders. This might sound idealistic, but it’s the only way to ensure these systems work for the many, not the few.
Reclaiming the Internet
As someone who remembers when these platforms felt empowering, I know what we’ve lost. But I also believe we can do better. Reclaiming the promise of the internet will take effort—from regulators, yes, but also from users, creators, and communities. We have to demand systems that prioritize our needs, not just corporate profits.
The internet doesn’t have to be five giant websites controlling every interaction. It can be a space of genuine connection, innovation, and creativity again. We just need to reimagine it—and act.
#TechPlatforms #DigitalMonopolies #UserExperience #BigTech #Innovation #CreatorEconomy
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