#Capitalism

Social media brims with dubious solutions to health problems we didn’t even know we had. In her latest piece for The Guardian, writer and journalist Katherine Rowland asks why health and wellness have become a quasi-religion for so many and what possible underlying systemic issues this points to.

“The industry’s offerings run the gamut from the tried and true (walking) to the benignly absurd (crystal dildos) to the predatory and dangerous (castor oil for cancerous tumors). [Author of The Gospel of Wellness Rina Raphael] writes that being healthy once meant dutiful visits to the doctor, but now entails a never-ending quest to overcome sickness, sadness, stress and even death.”

The Pudding once again has a good publication to detail Dark Patterns used among some big brands. Too few people know what they are and that they serve a purpose.

When you sign up for digital service, sometimes they make it difficult to unsubscribe. You see these tricks every time you order a product online, use a search engine, sign up for a streaming service, or join a social media community. They’re so common in subscription and shopping websites that they have a name: Dark Patterns.

Especially those at the pinnacle that've lost touch with their customers.

I've blogged about it before.

Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.

Source: Pluralistic

I've just learned that Amazon Kindle killed the book loaning feature... Something they initially used as a selling point when I got my first Kindle in 2017 (or whenever it was).

Here is how platforms die: First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.

[...]

This is enshittification: Surpluses are first directed to users; then, once they’re locked in, surpluses go to suppliers; then once they’re locked in, the surplus is handed to shareholders and the platform becomes a useless pile of shit. From mobile app stores to Steam, from Facebook to Twitter, this is the enshittification lifecycle.