Where’s the forbidden line?
Hello👋
If you’ve landed here then I’m assuming that you like stories, well that’s great! In this didactic story, I’ve used fictional character, college and company names to be on the safe side. I’ve used this story to bring up a concern that had been eating me up for sometime now. So buckle up and have a good read, maybe you’ll have the answer to my question!
Let’s Begin
Raj was a Product Manager at DX enterprises and was content with his job. Well why wouldn’t he be, he had shed blood and sweat to get placed on his own without any help from his college or family and after much struggle he found a suitable role that aligned with his career goals😎. He was a handsome lad who kept competing with others and used to feel envious whenever someone went ahead of him in any aspect of life.
During his last year of college he met a girl named Aisha, a bubbly, carefree girl who made his heart skip a beat at the very first sight😍. They dated throughout his last year of college but had to move out to different cities due to their job postings. Aisha belonged to a well to do family and was educated in a tier 1 college and hence opportunities came to her much faster than they came to Raj. At times, this used to bother Raj to some extent, for he had always been somewhat envious of others’ progress. But off course he couldn’t speak out his feelings out of the fear of being viewed as a puny boyfriend. Anyway, life went on and they found a way to make the long distance relationship work. They used to spend time with each other whenever they got time. Things were going pretty well and in 2 years time, Raj got himself transferred to the same city and they tied the knot…..
Alas, destiny can’t withstand someone’s happiness & blessings for long! Aisha’s parents died one night in a car accident 😱as they were traveling to meet Aisha. Aisha had no words………………….. she was dumbstruck when she got a call saying that her parents were being rushed to the City Hospital as they were met with a severe accident. By the time she reached the hospital, they had succumbed to their injuries! Aisha was devastated!!! She sat on the floor as tears rolled down her eyes. She had no-one else in the world and she loved her parents dearly. This event shattered her mentally …. 😔
Raj was now her only constant source of strength!😖😖😖 The bubbly, confident girl had now become a weeping, comfort seeking lady who always needed attention & care. Raj felt for her condition but it also started taking a toll on his mental health. He started returning late due to parties with friends to escape the situation at home. Aisha had left her job after depression and performance issues and was a total mess. This went on for quite some time until, an old friend of Aisha offered her a new job having heard of her predicament and convinced her to take up the job and move on. Here’s the catch, the job was in a different city- Mumbai and Raj’s company didn’t have an office there.
Aisha could have another start but it came at the cost of having Raj find a new job in a different city. The couple got into a fight as Raj had got himself transferred once and was looked over for a promotion! He didn’t want to make another such move. But after days of fights and subsequent consolation, he agreed to leave his job and shift to Mumbai.
A New Chapter✌
In Mumbai, Aisha did get a fresh start, a well paying job, a good office and much more. But Raj struggled to find his desired job as he didn’t want to work at the junior level again. The job search went on and things worsened. Now the tables had turned, Raj was the one struggling and anxious and needed attention😢😢😢. Off course he had always been envious of Aisha’s fortunes to some extent, and now that she got to enjoy her work while he struggled. His jealousy kept growing each day and even though Aisha was quite supportive and sympathetic, Raj saw her as the reason for his suffering!!! He was passed over his promotion, he had to leave his job all for her and well his heart didn’t pound for her the same way it used to during college!
One day Raj was too pissed off with his rejections! He got drunk and had to be carried home as he was in condition to walk by himself. Aisha felt sorry for him and tried to take care of him but he pushed her away😡😡😡…. He was drunk and couldn’t hide his feelings. He lashed out at her for everything that had gone wrong in his life…starting from the day he met her! Every suppressed thought sprung out of his mouth and kept piercing her heart little by little. She couldn’t believe any of it….. She was in such a vulnerable position and needed support after her parents death and the fact that she belonged to a good family also troubled him all these years! It felt like she had been living with a stranger all these years….. she stormed out of their apartment and just kept walking, though she had no idea where she was going. Off course she wasn’t mindful enough and tried crossing the road. Destiny was back, doing something that it does best- Aisha was hit by a speeding car and the driver fled the scene out of fear. Just like her parents, she was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to the injury in her brain. Raj was still drunk while all this happened and slept soundly on his sofa, undisturbed by all the phone calls.
The next morning we was awakened as one of her friends burst into their apartment and started yelling at him🤯! He couldn’t understand anything at first but then got the hang of the situation. He dropped to his knees and started crying…. just one mistake and everything fell apart…is that all it takes for life to snatch everything from you? Just one mistake…he shouted😭😭😭! He couldn’t even look at her condition in the hospital, he was shattered by this loss and couldn’t stop blaming himself😣.
A Ray of Hope🥺
After a month of struggle, luckily for him, a new product was recruiting users for Beta Testing and as soon as he became aware of this product he approached the company. Well, his situation fit the ideal scenario for which the product was being designed. He got to use a Virtual Reality based device that created a version of the person that the user thought of for 5 minutes at a stretch, and could also equip the creation with that person’s voice and usual actions as stored in the user’s memory. Well then what!!!😁 This got Raj over the moon! He couldn’t believe that Aisha stood before him in her customary black top again…. he went ahead and hugged her. But she vanished immediately as the technology of the device wasn’t sound enough to create an intense physical action yet and Raj’s focus also wavered to some extent.
Over the next six months, the company improved the device by constant iterations and improved the overall experience of using it so that maintaining focus was easier. Raj could hardly wait for the time at the office to get over as right after that he used to try on this product and interact with Aisha little by little. He apologized to her for everything and heard exactly what he wanted to hear since it was after all an illusion created using his mind. But who wouldn’t want a world where they could relive the beautiful moments from the past and be with someone who they couldn’t be with, no matter what they did😕. Who wouldn’t want to escape from this perfect world and enjoy sometime where things happened the way they wanted….
Friend or Foe?
In a year’s time, the Product was ready to launch it’s first version and Raj couldn’t just put it on every evening for free! Now there were hefty membership fees to be paid, after it helped him get back his queen for some time. But he was involved in the testing so they gave him a discount for the first year as he was called the company’s “Family”. In a year’s time, the product had been sophisticated to a large extent and the membership fees shot up and the discount period was over too. There were no external controls applicable as well, so Raj could put it on and spend time with Aisha whenever he wanted, in any location that he could imagine. All their unfulfilled dreams could now be lived!! Due to unregulated usage, Raj couldn’t leave the device and kept at it for hours at a stretch as the real world just lacked the magic by then! He was fired due to performance issues and after sometime couldn’t afford the subscription fees and was cut-off. This drove him to the verge of insanity! He needed the subscription back at any cost so he sold his car and kept going for another three months. But the more time he spent with it, the more he started to feel insecure without the device😰. He eventually met a dead end financially and couldn’t afford it anymore. By this point, he couldn’t live without the experience of being with Aisha for even a couple of hours. His health had degraded, his bones started to show, he had no means to keep himself going and he couldn’t take the anxiety of a job hunt again. It was all too much for him to bear….. so one afternoon, he jumped off his terrace, tired of not getting what he wanted and not being able to go on anymore😞. That was the end for Raj, but the company that he helped develop this device went on, growing its revenue exponentially every quarter, after all the world didn’t have just one Raj……..
*The End*
My Question…
From what I’ve seen, good designers understand human behavior and great designers find ways to design a product/feature that solves a critical pain point making use of human psychology and user behavior. But where’s the line that we shouldn’t cross? Solving user’s pain points will go on for an eternity and the types of pain points will keep changing. But are there any problems that shouldn’t be solved or meddled with? Even if the technology required can be developed and it could be a highly profitable business? Does there exist such an ethical line (howsoever blurry) that shouldn’t be crossed, and if it does then how is it decided? I have been wondering this for quite some time now but couldn’t arrive at a conclusion😐.
So if you have something that you’d like to say in this context then feel free to reach out at saism.design9@gmail.com or via Twitter .This is an original story written by me, so it shouldn’t be used for any purposes without prior permission.
This was my 1st story in over 5 years, so pardon me for my rusty storytelling. But if you feel that I should write more often and you want to appreciate my efforts then you can give 50 claps to this story🙌. Thanks a ton for your time!
