Design Frictions: Balancing Efficiency and User Friction - Essay Sample

Introduction

Design frictions infer to points of strain that happen during the use of technology. It is a concept used in most media articles on consumer experience mechanisms, which often dispute that such types of frictions should be eliminated so as to minimize the menace of consumer obstruction and disconnection. However, even though design frictions are commonly associated with slowed interactions and decreased efficiency during human interactions with technology, some researchers actually propose that design frictions have some positives to some extent. Cox et al. discuss that known disruptions or friction in users' contact with technology can generate positive reflections, therefore, resulting to further careful interactions (Cox, Gould, Cecchinato, Iacovides & Renfree, 2016, May).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Although most people aim at a frictionless design since friction is associated with reduced conversions, slowed interactions and restrained progress, friction is still appropriate in the ethical context. In fact, researchers propose that design friction is advantageous as it directs the interaction and does not hinder any of the interaction's performance (Dourish, 2006, April). It is depicted that design friction in technology allows the user to employ critical thinking mechanisms, hence reducing the problem of mistakes. The stop points allow individuals to take breaks and analyze their work. For instance, design friction allows a person to analyze their actions before confirming a delete action through the system dialogue. Friction is also known to add to the skill-building abilities in education and gaming through trials and errors. It would be extremely boring and pointless if the learning process in education and gaming would have zero design frictions.

It would be appropriate to generalize that design friction follows the utilitarian ethical approach, which examines an action in relation to the results. As in this case, the advantages that accompany design friction have a greater hold over the negatives. Design frictions result in better outcomes as compared to harms. They aid in the enhancement of quality whereby the understanding and user interactions translate to a great experience. Careful interactions that are generated by design friction aid in the enhancement of a more precise engagement with the user's technology hence resulting in more user involvement. Design friction is useful to businesses and to the individuals as it has several positives and meets the expectations of most people in society.

Designing Rightful Media

It is possible to curate media that supports democracy right from the beginning, and one that supports harmony and civil progressions, instead of treachery theories and divisiveness. This type of media will be the kind that respects the privacy and data of users and one that takes measures to ensure that their users are protected. Design media companies will have to ensure that the users interact only with people, businesses, and people that they consent to. Even though this will not be lucrative to the companies, they can come up with other measures to ensure that the user's privacy and data are respected and protected. For instance, by designing devices and apps that help individuals to oversee information and participants in their respective social media networks.

It will be appropriate to design media with algorithms that do not support the amplification of biases and stereotypes about some concepts. A solution to algorithms that suggest content to users would be the use of slow media (Newitz, 2019). In the current world where innumerable items are uploaded on social media, most media companies do not have measures to check the billions of content that are posted onto their platforms, hence failure to find out whether it is appropriate or not. Media companies could input constraints on the speed of media circulation, such that all content has to be checked and scrutinized before its upload. This measure will allow careful reviewing of information and could counter the harmful conspiracy theories. The users will most likely have control over the type of content they share and their privacy and data will be protected upon the employment of the slow media control mechanism.

Total termination of algorithms in the running of social networks will be a good way of preventing conspiracy theories and disruptiveness in media. It is depicted that algorithms in media will most likely result in failure and hence humans should replace algorithms in the maintenance and regulation of social media networks (Newitz, 2019). People have a keener eye on the content to be uploaded as compared to algorithms that are often biased hence providing stereotyped results to users, or allowing inappropriate content which causes divisiveness.

Remodeling the purposes and the methods of sharing information on social media will also be an appropriate way towards ensuring that there is relevance in the existence of media companies. Media companies will have to ensure that individuals are not purported as artificial things that are monitored by secreted people or companies. In the current social media, it is extremely hard to comprehend the sources and recipients of the information. It will be appropriate to design media that reflect on real-life experiences and one that encourages a safe space for all. Media companies need to design platforms where people can interact anonymously upon their wish without having to provide loads of personal data. This will allow people to have control of whom they can invite in their personal lives. The input of mechanisms that allow detection of fake accounts belonging to trolls will ensure that the troublemakers are ignored or expelled from the social media spaces. Media companies should aim at ensuring that they provide genuinely reserved platforms that are monitored by actual people.

To implement the type of media as described above at the company level, I will ensure the input of legislation and rules that govern the design of media. These legislations will have to be followed by all the employees within the company. The company will have to ensure that human beings are used in the place of algorithms so that they can handle the public platform and regulate the kind of content being circulated. The company policies and code of ethics will act as a guide to ensuring that the privacy and data of users are well-protected and that the platform is a safe-haven for all. At the state level, I will push for countrywide legislation that governs the use of social media at the state level. This will include a directive to social media companies to redesign their platforms by ensuring that the kind of media being circulated is appropriate and being monitored. By so doing, the media companies found to be in violation of the laws and regulations will not be allowed to operate within the state. This will ensure the end of an era of unregulated circulation of content meant to cause havoc, harm or divisiveness among people.

References

Cox, A. L., Gould, S. J., Cecchinato, M. E., Iacovides, I., & Renfree, I. (2016, May). Design frictions for mindful interactions: The case for micro-boundaries. In Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1389-1397).

Dourish, P. (2006, April). Implications for design. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in computing systems (pp. 541-550).

Newitz, A. (2019). A Better Internet Is Waiting for Us. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/30/opinion/social-media-future.html