< JMS / GRAPHS

[ THE DATA ]

Enshittification: Value Extraction Over Platform
Lifecycle

A visualization of the enshittification curve showing how digital platforms allocate value across three phases: initially prioritizing users during growth, then serving business customers once locked in, and finally extracting maximum value for shareholders at the expense of both groups.

0 50 100 Launch — Value to Users: 60 Early Growth — Value to Users: 75 Market Entry — Value to Users: 85 Scaling — Value to Users: 90 Monetization — Value to Users: 85 Mid-Scale — Value to Users: 75 Dominance — Value to Users: 60 Lock-in — Value to Users: 45 Monopoly — Value to Users: 30 Extraction — Value to Users: 20 Stagnation — Value to Users: 15 Value to Users Launch — Value to Business Customers: 0 Early Growth — Value to Business Customers: 10 Market Entry — Value to Business Customers: 20 Scaling — Value to Business Customers: 35 Monetization — Value to Business Customers: 50 Mid-Scale — Value to Business Customers: 65 Dominance — Value to Business Customers: 70 Lock-in — Value to Business Customers: 65 Monopoly — Value to Business Customers: 50 Extraction — Value to Business Customers: 35 Stagnation — Value to Business Customers: 30 Value to BusinessCustomers Launch — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 10 Early Growth — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 15 Market Entry — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 20 Scaling — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 25 Monetization — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 35 Mid-Scale — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 45 Dominance — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 60 Lock-in — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 75 Monopoly — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 85 Extraction — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 90 Stagnation — Value to Platform/Shareholders: 90 Value toPlatform/Shareholders LaunchScalingDominanceStagnation

[ THE NUMBERS ]
Value to UsersValue to Business CustomersValue to Platform/Shareholders
Launch60010
Early Growth751015
Market Entry852020
Scaling903525
Monetization855035
Mid-Scale756545
Dominance607060
Lock-in456575
Monopoly305085
Extraction203590
Stagnation153090
[ ON THIS PAGE ]

How this was made: these numbers were researched and drafted by an AI model with web search, from a single topic prompt, then reviewed by a person before publishing. Every figure should trace back to a source the model actually cited — if one looks wrong, it might be. A Sankey's flows are checked to balance before publishing, but that only catches arithmetic, not a bad source. Treat this the way you'd treat any single research pass: a strong starting point, not a peer-reviewed one.

// jeremymsparks.com — generated August 26, 2026