Sydney, Australia – The Macquarie Dictionary, Australia's most authoritative dictionary, has selected the slang term "enshittification" as its 2024 Word of the Year. The word, which describes the degradation of online services and products, has become increasingly prevalent in recent years.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Macquarie Dictionary said the word captured a widespread sentiment of things getting worse, particularly in the digital world. "This word captures what many of us feel is happening to the world and many aspects of life right now," the dictionary's panel of judges said in a statement on its website.
The dictionary defined "enshittification" as "the process by which a product or service, especially an online platform, is deliberately degraded over time due to a focus on profit." The word was chosen over other contenders such as "looksmaxxing," "overtourism," and "sigma."
The panel also selected "right to disconnect," which refers to the right of employees to not respond to their employer outside of working hours, and "rawdogging," the practice of flying long-haul without electronic entertainment or reading material, as runners-up.
The term "enshittification" was coined by Canadian-British author Cory Doctorow in a 2022 essay criticizing the perceived decline of digital platforms like Facebook and Twitter. In a follow-up blog post in 2023, he expanded on the concept, describing the process by which digital platforms "die": "First, they are good to the user. Then they turn evil to make things better for business customers. Finally, they turn on those business customers to extract all value for themselves."
Last year, the Macquarie Dictionary named "cozzie livs" (cost of living) as its 2023 Word of the Year.
The Macquarie Dictionary is one of several dictionaries worldwide that selects a Word of the Year annually. England's Oxford English Dictionary is currently narrowing down its choices from contenders such as "brain rot," "demure," and "dynamic pricing" through a public vote.
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