Dark Patterns: The Dark Side of UX.
Picture this:
You find an interesting article to read on Twitter. You click the link to the site and a pop-up greets you asking you to sign up for their newsletter. Your options are to input your email and sign up -OR- click the “No, I’m a loner who does not want helpful tips and discounts.”
Thank you for confirmshaming me with the manipulink* that I did not ask for.
Welcome to the Dark Side of UX: Dark Patterns. There’s no Darth Vader and they still track you with cookies. Go figure.
Well, what is a Dark Pattern? A Dark Pattern is “any design feature intended to deceive, manipulate, or trick the user into taking an action that they didn’t desire or intend.”
You see the link calling you a loner and think, “What? I’m not a loner! And I like tips and discounts!” and you sign up. And that’s how the company psychologically played you into signing up for their newsletter.
Manipulinks are a type of needy pattern that shames users for going against the behavioral goal set by the company.
Here are some examples:
From the pop-up, it says the user can unlock 14 simple dinner recipes and all they need to do is to enter their email. Right? NOPE! Entering an email here signs you up for their ‘exclusive recipes newsletter,’ which is their real motive and is not clearly stated. But if you don’t sign up, you’ll only be eating microwave dinner and we don’t want that now do we?
Here’s one of my personal favorites.
Women’s Health magazine covers many topics, not just fitness. If fitness is not the users intent when browsing the site, this pop-up has already failed. Second, it is disguised as a free offer when in reality, it’s another newsletter sign up form! The kicker? Definitely the “No thanks, I don’t need to work out” manipulink. Don’t tell me how to live my life Women’s Health!
Last, but not least!
At a UX course site? Where you learn about Dark Patterns? As a prospective UX student, ‘No, I hate UX’ is not true AND they can enroll elsewhere for a free 7-day course.
With the rise of confirmshaming and manipulinks, companies need to know that it doesn’t really work.
Psychologically, people feel shameful when their behavior is disapproved by others and it is an emotion that people will try to avoid. While shaming can be used as a way to deter behavior, it is not effective.
Websites and apps are a way for companies to communicate with their users. When companies use Dark Patterns, it disrespects customers, leads to negative brand perception, and they lose trust from their customers. RUDE!
And it might also mean they have this guy working for them (kidding!):
*Thank you Steve Costello for the term!
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/longing-nostalgia/201705/why-shaming-doesnt-work
