#youtubepick The Enshittification of Internet is Here - Why and How?
Mrwhosetheboss breaks down why we are all drowning in fees on top of fees on top of subscribing .... Enshittification
- Big tech companies follow a pattern called "Enshittification" where they start by offering surplus benefits to users to become essential, then shift focus to suppliers to build a monopoly, and finally, extract maximum surplus for themselves.
- This surplus extraction leads to tiering of services, where higher tiers offer better experiences at higher prices while lower tiers provide minimum acceptable service, making the experience worse for non-premium users.
- Subscriptions are used by big tech to increase revenue by charging both upfront and monthly fees, often resulting in users paying more for a worse service compared to the initial free or cheaper versions.
- Companies like Uber and Amazon use platform fees and dark patterns like default options manipulation and confusing cancellation processes to extract maximum value from consumers, often at unfair prices.
- Dark patterns include deliberately confusing website designs, guilt-tripping tactics, and making it challenging to cancel subscriptions, leading to consumer exploitation and overpayment.
- The proliferation of subscription services across various platforms results in users paying more for content they used to access at lower costs, leading to increased expenses for consumers.
- The video highlights examples of predatory pricing, misleading subscription models, and the negative impact of tiering and surplus extraction on consumer experiences and costs.
- Overall, the main takeaway is the need for consumers to be aware of these tactics and advocate for fairer pricing and transparency from big tech companies.
- 📺 Subscription services have become ubiquitous, leading to a significant financial burden on consumers who subscribe to multiple platforms for work and personal use.
- 💰 Subscriptions offer businesses predictable revenue and create lock-in effects where subscribers are likely to continue paying for additional features or higher tiers.
- 🔄 Consumers can mitigate subscription costs by canceling subscriptions they only need for a short period or by rotating subscriptions to different services.
- 📚 Governments should enforce policies that facilitate smooth switching between platforms and ensure platforms deliver on their initial promises to consumers.
- 🌐 Fragmentation of attention and services due to companies getting too big can worsen the consumer experience, especially in the subscription era.
- 🛡️ Consumers should be mindful of the subscriptions they commit to and advocate for fairer pricing, transparency, and quality improvements from subscription-based companies.
- 💡 The key takeaway is the importance of consumer awareness, government policies, and companies delivering on their promises to enhance the subscription experience for users.
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