The 30-year evolution that changed our lives
I’ve always been taken by the beauty of how we can change the world with design, and since I started learning this profession, I have been thinking about how design can influence people and how design makes the world a better place.
But recently, I started to notice a problem!
Humans as the superior species on this planet started to become weaker, and one of the reasons that I can tell why is the usage of the invisible influence of design.
The origin of the problem
The problem began to rise between 1990 and 2010, when humanity discovered the web, opening up a whole new world and bringing a lot of opportunities.
The web in that phase was not similar to how it is now. It was chaotic, cluttered, and difficult to navigate. Information was scattered, and users often struggled to find what they needed.
However, big companies started to recognize that this problem was costing them money, so they brought the solution.
Companies combined human behavioral science and design into what they called ‘’User Experience Design’’ UX.
UX design revolutionized the way we interact with the web because it was a kind of science where you can study and understand how humans will respond, react, and form knowledge when they interact with digital products that companies make.
Since then, the web has started to become easier to interact with.
As the web evolved, so did the strategies used by companies to keep people engaged with their products. Thousands of research papers and books were published back then only to understand how they could create the best web experience. At the end, the leaders of the design industry agreed that the easier and more enjoyable the experience, the longer people would stay. This conclusion was the cornerstone that shaped our experience with applications nowadays.
At the same time, the web was evolving rapidly, and many solutions were made to make people’s lives better, like social media.
Social media, in concept, is very noble and useful; it allowed me to reach people I couldn’t have accessed otherwise without spending a lot of money. However, social media companies needed to generate profit to survive in a competitive market, so they designed their platforms to keep users engaged longer, thereby increasing their revenue.
In normal cases, we won’t last more than 15 minutes, and sometimes less, until we bounce to another activity. But by design, social media is addictive, and it won’t make it easy for people to bounce, They are using techniques like:
1. Infinite scrolling
2. notifications and the way they are written
3. Sounds for every interaction
4. Content that matches your interests
5. simple design that makes it easier to stay in the app
6.Followers list.
Each of these exploits human behavior in different ways.
For example, notifications exploit the fear of missing out because, deep down in your mind, you know there is something happening.
The follower list exploits the need of human nature to build statues and be accepted; the more you are important and relevant, the more people will follow your account, and the list of behaviors goes on.
These products, in the long term, cause addiction for the users, and they will end up in bad mental conditions because of this addiction.
So, what can we do?
From my personal experience, the key lies in reforming our relationship with technology, starting with our own personal identities.
Three years ago, my smart phone died and I was not able to fix it, Instead of buying a new phone, I decided to carry an older phone from the early 2010s, and it was very hard to spend time on social media with that phone. This decision made a significant shift in my behavior; over the next two and a half years, I found myself becoming more aware of the ways in which technology was shaping my habits. I began to value my time differently, feeling guilty for wasting it on mindless scrolling. My focus shifted from passive consumption to meaningful activities.
Eventually, when I upgraded to a modern smartphone, I realized that I no longer felt the same compulsion to spend hours on social media. The change wasn’t by using blockers, but in my identity that I had formed during those years. I had built habits and discipline that allowed me to use technology on my terms rather than being controlled by it.
From my perspective and based on my personal experience, solutions like deleting apps, deactivating accounts, limiting access, and using blockers are only temporary and fragile. They are bound to collapse eventually. The reason why these are temporary fixes is because they will fail to address the root of the problem. Instead, we need to build a stronger identity that resists the temptations of modern technology.
At the end,
As designers, we should aim to create interactions that enhance the user experience while avoiding the nurturing of addiction and distractions. So we can contribute with design to create a better future for humanity.
Thank you
for giving me your time to let me explain to you what you were searching for. Until next time we meet, be safe.
Hello👋
My name is Jose Ahmad. Strategic designer with a mission to help businesses turn into brands, if you are a business owner and you are looking for turning your business into a brand don’t hesitate to connect with me on Linkedin
Designing for control was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
