Ethics in Interface design
Ethics and the responsibility of interface design is something I think about a lot.
I’m always online. It comes with the job. I’m always using different apps/ products/websites, going through user flows to understand customer pain points and to gain empathy. I’m also a human so I’m always online browsing endlessly through twitter, Instagram, even linkedIn. And after I’ve scrolled mindlessly for anything over 10 minutes- I hate myself. I feel like a sloth. My inner monologue is screaming “dear god why did you just spend all that time scrolling — you have learnt nothing, you are more anxious after the experience and you have nothing to show for that time- stopppp doing it”
Listening to my inner monolag-I have gone through phases of deleting apps- mainly instagram. Currently the app isn’t on my phone, I have it on my ipad because I don’t use my ipad as much and it’s a small self made barrier to stop myself from scrolling. I still want to feel connected to my friends and their lives especially during this 100th lockdown but I also don’t want to feel like a shitty sloth. Instagrams algorims have also put me into a bucket where they push images of ripped cross fit woman and women with babies — I am not ripped and I don’t have a baby.
Instagram is designed to keep me scrolling, it has mastered human behaviour and created an interface that makes it so easy for me to scroll endlessly. It has algorims that work to keep my eyes peeled so they can make money from advertising. It’s like interface design is a new form of hypnotism. And it’s working.
If interface design can be used to keep me focused and engaged with content that eventually makes me feel like shit or leads me to buy something i dont need — surely this power can be used for good. And surely instagram has some part to play in the fact I feel like shit after using their product.
I’m a grown up working in UX — I am aware of the dark patterns being used to get me to buy, stay, melt my day away and it STILL WORKS. What of the people that don’t realise — you’re sad because of that app. Your shitty mood- it stems from instagram. You are being hypnotised to make the rich people richer.
I feel like we’re all going to look back on these apps like shitty ex’s — Ugh why didn’t I see it before, It’s so clear now.
I’m going to publish this rant as a little manifesto starter — I want/need to explore ethics in interface design and I would like to use my powers for good.
