But what if I want a faster horse?

Engagement-Driven Design & TikTok-ification

• Many see Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, etc. all converging on the same “infinite feed, auto-play, algorithm-first” UX, regardless of their original purpose.
• Commenters blame A/B testing and metric-obsessed product culture: once “engagement” becomes the main KPI, UX is optimized to keep people scrolling, not to help them find what they want.
• “Engaging” is framed as a euphemism for extracting maximum attention for ads or cross‑promotion, not genuine user satisfaction.

Streaming UX: From Library to Slot Machine

• Older Netflix UI (big searchable catalog, stable rows, clear “continue watching”) is widely remembered as excellent; current Netflix is described as disorienting, repetitive, and tuned to push house content and mask a thinner catalog.
• Similar complaints about Spotify: constant podcast/audiobook promotion, aggressive recommendation loops that drag users back to “old reliables” instead of true discovery, and UI changes that de‑emphasize user-controlled libraries.
• Several argue this is partly economic: rights holders pulled back IP, forcing Netflix/Spotify toward own-content slop and algorithms that steer users away from noticing what’s missing.

Enthusiasts, Marginal Users & Analytics

• A recurring argument: a small group of enthusiasts shapes taste and discourse, but analytics average everyone together, so decisions skew toward the indifferent majority.
• “Tyranny of the marginal user”: to keep growth going, products are reshaped for people who barely care, degrading features that power users loved.
• Others push back that blindly following enthusiasts can also misfire; the real failure is over-trusting crude metrics and short-term A/B tests.

Business Models, Monopolies & Incentives

• Many tie “enshittification” to ad-based or growth-at-all-costs models and weak competition: once a platform is dominant and locked-in (content licenses, network effects), it can prioritize revenue over UX.
• Some note even subscription platforms chase engagement because investors and internal dashboards treat time-in-app as a proxy for future profit.
• The Henry Ford “faster horse” quote is criticized as condescending and often misused to justify ignoring clear user requests.

User Responses & Alternatives

• Coping strategies mentioned: piracy + Plex/Jellyfin, buying DVDs/Blu-rays, using niche services (Bandcamp, Qobuz, McMaster-Carr-style sites), self-hosting, ad-blockers, and browser extensions to strip feeds.
• There’s nostalgia for “catalog” experiences (old Netflix, Google Reader, last.fm, DC++ share hubs) and a sense that truly user-serving products now mostly exist as small, enthusiast-driven niches.