Word of the month: enshitification
Once users are locked in, the platform then shifts its surpluses to suppliers, and once suppliers are locked-in, the platform shifts surpluses to shareholders.
Once the platform is fundamentally focused on shareholders and the users and vendors to the users are locked in, the platform no longer has any incentive to maintain quality.
Enshittified platforms which act as intermediaries can functionally act as both a monopoly on services and a monopsony on customers, as high switching costs prevent either from leaving even when alternatives technically exist.
