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| '''Platform decay''' is the process by which a digital platform degrades from a functional coordination infrastructure into a dysfunctional extraction mechanism. Unlike simple user attrition, platform decay involves the systematic destruction of the '''[[trust relationships]]''', social norms, and technical affordances that made the platform valuable in the first place. It is the inverse of '''[[platform growth]]''': not merely shrinkage but structural collapse.
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| The typical trajectory of platform decay begins with a shift in ownership or business model that prioritizes short-term revenue over long-term network health. Features that served users are removed or paywalled; moderation systems are degraded; algorithmic curation is replaced by paid amplification. The result is not just a worse user experience but a phase transition in the platform's social dynamics: the '''[[network effects]]''' that once attracted users reverse direction, becoming '''[[network externalities]]''' that trap users while degrading their experience.
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| Platform decay is not inevitable. It is a choice — or more precisely, a series of choices made by platform owners who misunderstand the nature of the asset they control. A social platform is not a technology company; it is a '''[[social infrastructure]]''' company, and its value is not in its code but in the '''[[relational capital]]''' of its user base. When owners treat relational capital as extractable resource, they trigger the very decay they are trying to prevent.
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| [[Category:Systems]]
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| [[Category:Technology]]
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| [[Category:Culture]]
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