From a 70-year-old Arts grad's perspective, it seems crude layouts and a conglomeration of quick headlines, like, oh, The Drudge Report, is rewarded by the algo.
But even @fintwitter.bsky has a use. (most multiples)
I am not a content creator. I purposely do not subscribe to Instagram or tiktok; I do not have the fb app on my phone, as I found that the notification thing made me behave like an addict. I choose when I check fb, but find that its enshittification means I have to hunt for the human friends among the extensive weeds. I have tried to curate the folks I follow on substack, so as to only read solid, serious sources of news and analysis. I try to avoid the click bait, but, holy smoke, there is a lot of it and it can be enticing. Thank you for giving a behind-the-scenes look at the enshittification of the platforms.
Nice piece, thank you.
From a 70-year-old Arts grad's perspective, it seems crude layouts and a conglomeration of quick headlines, like, oh, The Drudge Report, is rewarded by the algo.
But even @fintwitter.bsky has a use. (most multiples)
Thanks for performing this era’s version of muckraking!
The mental health costs of the slaughterhouse are now well known…someday creators’ struggles will be too.
I am not a content creator. I purposely do not subscribe to Instagram or tiktok; I do not have the fb app on my phone, as I found that the notification thing made me behave like an addict. I choose when I check fb, but find that its enshittification means I have to hunt for the human friends among the extensive weeds. I have tried to curate the folks I follow on substack, so as to only read solid, serious sources of news and analysis. I try to avoid the click bait, but, holy smoke, there is a lot of it and it can be enticing. Thank you for giving a behind-the-scenes look at the enshittification of the platforms.
Isn't it crazy that it takes more work to be a responsible consumer of information? I liked this essay about "friction maxxing" as a way to think of this phenomenon: https://www.thecut.com/article/brooding-friction-maxxing-new-years-2026-resolution.html