User Experience Design (or UX Design for short) is about about designing experiences. We traditionally frame it positively: how can we design an experience to be the best for the the user. But in the digital world, that sentiment has started to shift. In some cases, UX design has morphed into “how can we design an experience to get the user to do what we want them to?” And this shift isn’t invisible; users are feeling that services and interfaces keep getting worse. So let’s see the effects UX has, how it changes our behaviour, at what we should do about it.
The Power of UX
A purposefully designed user experience is powerful, but in two very different ways.
- A pleasing design creates a great user experience. Designs that make a positive lasting impression have benefits for both sides.
- On the other hand, UX can easily be misused. We see it everywhere: platforms leverage UX to target pain points or use cognitive psychology to alter your decisions. Their goal is to get you to do what they want.
It shouldn’t be controversial to say that only one of these is a responsible choice. But in the modern era, we’re seeing more frequent use of the kind that works against the user.
Impacts of UX: How It Changes Your Behaviour
The industry often refers to deliberate UX decisions to alter behaviour as Dark Patterns or Deceptive Design. Earlier this year, we wrote about these patterns and discussed ways you can identify and combat them. However within the frame of behavioural change, let’s take a look at common patterns and the effects their UX decisions can have on you.
1. Hotel California (The Cancel Subscription Trap)
Maybe the most commonly cited pattern is the Hotel California, but you might know it better as the “how do I cancel my subscription” trap. This is all about leveraging usability to change your decision. by making sign-up extremely easy but making cancelling or leaving extremely difficult, platforms can keep you as a customer for longer.
The cancel option might be buried deep in menus, involve a waiting period or sometimes even require you call a sales representative. This is designed to make you feel that it’s easiest to stay than to leave. It changes your want from I want to cancel my subscription to I don’t want to deal with this.
There have been calls for law reform in order to patterns like these, but in Australia, nothing of note has been introduced. Other jurisdictions have started however, such as with the EU’s Digital Fairness Act. Hopefully, it can be the catalyst for similar action globally.
2. Attention & Addiction
Instead of providing delightful user experiences, some platforms are walking the path of manipulating you into staying. This is an extremely dangerous trend as it can quickly lead to addiction.
It’s the 21st century; attention is the new currency.
Digital addiction has become a serious concern, especially in younger generations who are spend a lot of time in-front of screens. The World Health Organisation has found that digital addiction — and the consequences of it — are on the rise in teenagers. So by leveraging addiction, platforms can sell to your subconscious, which mean it’s far harder for you to break the cycle.
Thankfully, we’re starting see some investigation into this issue. Most notably, in March a US jury found Instagram and YouTube were addictive platforms which failed to warn users about the risks. Touted as a bellwether case, it opens the doors for bringing future action to reduce this tactic.
3. The Power of Defaults
Defaults are something that we don’t really think about until it gets in the way. They are ways for a service provider to control which other platforms or services you use, such as:
- Your operating system chooses a default web browser for you (like Windows with Microsoft Edge)
- Most platforms set subscriptions to auto-renew so you’ll keep paying until you manually cancel (e.g., Netflix or Spotify)
- Sign-up forms auto-check options for collecting data or signing up for marketing emails (often when creating an account)
The effects of this kind of UX boil down to opt-in vs. opt-out. Research has shown that opt-out garners a significantly higher rate of participation. While this can be used positively, it mostly isn’t in the digital space. Instead, your ‘silent agreement’ might be costing you privacy, money or sanity: extra data collection, continuing subscriptions past your usage or having to use sub-part services.
There is some good news, and once again it’s from Europe. The EU’s Digital Markets Act defines ‘gatekeeper’ platforms and introduces requirements for them to offer opt-in choices. For example, these laws required Google to implement user selection for Android’s default web browser and Chrome’s default search engine. The hope is that this is just the beginning.
What Can We Do?
Each of these impacts teach us something about what we can and should do as users and designers.
As users, we must be aware of techniques designed to change our behaviour. We must learn about these and build recognition to avoid falling into their traps. In some cases — like that of addiction — overcoming it can be extremely difficult, but the first step is to reach out.
As UI and UX designers, we must ensure the effects of the UX we create are positive. By following best practices, being deliberate in our choices and listening to users, we can build a better digital space. Our job is to understand the user, so it should be our mission to improve their lives.
At FONSEKA, good UX is part of our service. We listen to you and your customers to design and build an experience that benefits everyone. If you’re looking for software designed and built right, get in touch today!