Ethical Boundaries for Designers of Habit-Forming Products: Insights from Don Norman
I had the chance to speak with Mr. Don Norman a few months ago during an online live session hosted by Userhub. I have decided to share some of the things I learned here, as they may be of interest to you. With the assistance of ChatGPT, I simplified the dialogue and made some modifications to make it clearer for the audience.
Me: Many people are addicted to social media, and it often becomes their life, causing conflicts with their families as they prioritize using the product over spending time with loved ones. Designers who create habit-forming products have the power to manipulate user behavior unethically, which is a cause for concern. Therefore, in your opinion, what ethical boundaries should designers maintain when creating a habit-forming persuasive design?
Don Norman: It is interesting to note that not long ago, in business schools, students were taught how important and valuable it was to make products addictive, encouraging people to buy more and spend more time using the product. This was done with the aim of making it difficult for users to switch to a competitor’s product. While these rules may be good for business, they are bad for humanity.
The problem with addiction and creating things that are too much fun is that when we are working on a difficult task, we can easily turn to these addictive products to clear our minds. But, we can’t stop. we say we will take a break for five minutes but two hours go by.
Is this ethical? No.
But how do we stop it? Because we cannot say to people, it’s not ethical. Because one of the answers is,
It’s not my fault that you keep playing, it’s your fault. Why don’t you stop?
Well, it was so cleverly designed as you cannot stop.
An author is told in writing a book, “When you have chapters, you should never end the story at a chapter. At the end of a chapter, there should always have something that’s going and it sounds really interesting.” And then it stops. So you must read the next chapter to find out what’s happening.
People make television shows the same way that at the end of the show, everything is fine, and then suddenly some new problem arises. There’s danger and then the show ends. That’s the addiction to make you watch the next one.
Is that ethical or not? It’s very difficult to decide.
The techniques taught to people in games make them easy to use, and social media platforms are always creating new content to keep users engaged. Short content can be particularly dangerous, as it only takes a few seconds to consume, and users can quickly become addicted to scrolling.
It’s a problem that has worried many of us and I’ve been worried about it. And I do not know the answer to it.
Me: If I may add that, I came across something interesting when reading a book on my PDF Reader application. After a certain amount of time, the app displayed a message saying, “You are keeping pressure on your eyes. So take a one-minute break.” It then started a timer and prevented me from using the app during that time. This feature was incredibly helpful to me because it informed me when I was using the app for longer than normal. I believe that all similar products should adopt this feature, as it is a great way of not manipulating people’s behavior and reminding them to take breaks for their own health.
Don Norman: It is true that there are many such applications and they are not usually in the games or social media. But you’re right. Maybe they should put it there, maybe it should be required that every 15 minutes or half hour you must take a 10-minute pause. But more importantly, maybe you have a regime that after one hour you’re not allowed to play anymore today, you must wait till tomorrow.
Interestingly, modern cars are becoming more automated, with technology that can take over driving tasks. However, this can lead to drivers becoming complacent and not paying attention to the road. To prevent this, some cars now have cameras that monitor the driver’s attention, and if they are not paying attention, the car will stop.
This is similar to a timer that stops users from overusing an application. While this method may seem punishing, it could be an effective way to encourage better behavior.
Thank you for giving it a read. Let me know your thoughts on this topic. For more, here is the video clip of the conversation along with others. Good day!
