1 Matching Annotations
  1. Apr 2021
    1. unsuspecting childlikeness

      I'd also add [learned helplessness] (https://www.britannica.com/science/learned-helplessness) - the constant need for entertainment is definitely a problem, but if we take a deterministic view of these broader design trends the long-term ramifications are even more disturbing - the rise of Web 2.0 has seen a massive shift towards user-friendly platforms, but in addition to cultural infantilization we are seeing a significant decrease in tech literacy - and sometimes these trends manifest simultaneously. For instance, I'm writing this annotation in Chrome, but if I lose internet access my browser tab would allow me to play the endlessly addictive "Chrome Dino" browser game until my connection was restored - this is a fairly innocuous little easter egg (not coincidentally a term also used by Yelp UI designer Yoni De Beule in one of the articles I linked to above), but it does raise some broader questions about the amount of tech literacy and user autonomy these companies want us to have - features like these suggest that passivity is their preferred state for consumers, which is troubling.