Does user-centered design fuel narcissism?
By Claudia Gorelick and John Jones
What if we go too far?
As children, we are taught a painful lesson — that the world does not revolve around us — and we are introduced to simple societal rules for getting along: don’t interrupt, take turns, be patient.
However, is modern technology undermining these principles?
Children’s experiences with the Amazon Echo, for example, often have unintended consequences, and in many cases, we’ve seen kids commanding other children and parents the way they bark orders at Alexa. Meanwhile, adults are ordering products to be delivered the same day whether they need that book or baby-shower gift immediately or not, and huff and puff if it can’t be on their doorstep by dusk. Simply put, this technology has changed expectations, and now people insist on getting what they want, when they want it.
This begs the question: When it comes to design, should we be setting the same limits for users that we would for children?
Achieving a balance
If we are designing for the narcissistic center point — “I want it now!” — we should remember to add balance through the “what is actually good for you” that is often missing from the processes and experiences that enable the ultimate in convenience and speed.
In other words, just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.
An alternative, in one case, is “sustainable delivery,” or scheduling the delivery of packages to a customer when there are a lot of packages already coming to their area (within reason of course). This demonstrates our interest in living in the world and creating experiences that not only satisfy our needs, but also work within the context of what the world can actually support.
This extends to consumption of culture as well. Instead of giving people more of what they ask for, we could look to curation of expertise as a way to encourage a more communal approach. And when it comes to making everyday decisions, we can look for ways to make trade-offs more transparent. For example, while the convenience of taking a taxi versus the subway should be obvious, by identifying the trade-offs on the environment, economy, and infrastructure, we offer information that may make the decision more difficult and even change the user’s mind. We should always be thinking about what we can do to educate users and empower them to choose thoughtfully.
In this way, we can combine the needs of people with the needs of the rest of the world, and possibly build more understanding, improving design and experiences as a whole, rather than one person at a time.
