Press HERE: Navigating Dark Patterns

Have you ever read the childrens’ books

These are joyful books to read with learners. The author invites you to press and mix the various images on the page to see if you can predict the outcome which is revealed on the following page. Much like how we navigate ourselves online, we make predictions and choices, doing what we believe is being asked of us assuming it will lead us with our desired result. Eventually we stop reading the cues, knowing we can make assumptions and it will work out okay.

However, ‘dark patterns’ or nefarious designs may manipulate users. The game User Inyerface reveals, how naive or passive we may be when engaging with the user interfaces. Below is a summary of my experience.

User Inyerface proved to be a frustrating. After much persistence, I threw in the towel when I finally decided I must NOT be human in the last (maybe it wasn’t) part of the game.

I realize how much I take for granted in terms of engaging with the user interface. From tapping on highlighted buttons without reading to clicking on texts that look like links, assuming that a blank field doesn’t require deleting before typing, and to just knowing that months will be listed chronologically.

We are trained to engage with technology and ‘read’ the text of screens in a specific way. We’re coded to click, skim, predict without critical thinking. The final struggle was the ‘checking you are human’ page. (Full transparency), I still have no idea whether it was a bow, as in tie or a bow like an encore, or if glasses referred to those you drink from or the ones you wear on your face… and don’t get me started on the circles! Moreover, were the photos correlated to the boxes above or below?

Not only are we trained with clicks, but with the directionality of how one reads a page and progresses through screens. The age slider is a perfect example because it was disorienting on the bottom left and not to the right of the screen. It was almost invisible until I had to search for it.

One takes from this activity that the way we ‘read’ or ‘decode’ in networked spaces is presumptuous. Predictable behaviour becomes a target for advertisers through ‘manipulated’ experiences. We take for granted that we are in safe digital spaces and that the defaults protect us. When, in fact, strategic and deviously designed interfaces capitalize on how one reads and engages with online texts.

Finally, knowing that one must be mindful of how data allows developers to design spaces leaves me curious about how human behaviour might translate to next-generation text and technologies? How might humans become savvier in navigating digital platforms? And finally, how might we establish safeguards to protect users from designers with ill-intent?

Manual Script: Mechanization of Writing

The task of writing with a pen on paper, in my Dad’s office, about his books, on one of the yellow pads that he always has on hand is unusually calming. I notice I write slower, and more mindfully in cursive. If I make an error I can make it less obvious with the curve of the letters. I remember doing this as a reluctant writer as a kid. I knew if my writing was messy someone wouldn’t see the spelling errors as easily. When typing I can edit and rely on the functionality of the pairing down processes after. This is not a luxury with pen and paper. There’s a permanence that comes with it. I think this lends itself to how we engage with writing (pen and paper). We make decisions about permanence, audience, and intention. I’d say it feels braver writing on paper, even though we know the digital world may be more powerful, making things easier to share. Perhaps there’s a different level of ownership when you physically create letters with a pen. Maybe it’s a kind of vulnerability, as the pen acts as an extension of who we are.

I’ve never thought about this distinction before, but I am becoming more aware of the digital and non-digital spaces that I use and how the intention varies with the genre (not sure if that’s the right word … don’t get me started on my thoughts on words and word choices now…that’s a whole new rabbit hole).

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