Voices of UX
Temptation Island: UXD meets reality TV
Temptation Island is a strange place to find the embodiment of user experience design… but stranger things have happened.
While binging my latest TV obsession, Temptation island, my entertainment is often interrupted by the different UXD principles present in the show.
Hosted by Mark L. Walberg (not to be confused with Marky Mark Wahlberg), Temptation Island follows four couples who journey to Hawaii in the hopes of mending, strengthening, or proving the steadfastness of their romantic relationship. During their month-long stay, the couples live in separate villas and have no way of communicating with one another. Additionally, the contestants are joined by 20+ attractive single men and women who are looking to find love themselves. The contestants are sent on lavish and romantic dates with the singles, attend tumultuous, alcohol-fueled parties, and inevitably build connections with individuals who aren’t their partners. The only insight contestants are given about their partner’s experiences are shown through fifteen second clips at a ‘Bonfire Ceremony.’
It should be noted that the producers choose only the most incriminating videos to share at said ceremonies.
When the journey comes to an end, contestants are prompted to decide the fate of their relationships: do they want to stay together, become single, or choose to start a new relationship with one of the hot singles they met on Temptation Island?
How it connects to UX
Now, at this point you’re probably wondering “How does this fix their relationships, and what does this have to do with UXD?”
To answer the first question: It doesn’t.
Most contestants walk away from the show with either a new relationship, or a newfound sense of self confidence and worth (AKA single). Not to mention severe and irreparable trust issues.
However, as far as how the show pertains to UXD, let me explain:
UXD meets Temptation Island through the host, Mark L. Walberg.
The correlation between Temptation Island and UXD presents itself through the role of the host.
Good reality television hosts keep the show’s contestants at the forefront of their mind. This job is not for the meek (or the non-confrontational), and Temptation Island’s host, Mark L. Walberg is the perfect example. Some may even say he’s the perfect villain, or that he’d make a great (albeit controversial) marriage counselor. I’d like to argue that he’s made for UX design.
Mark’s approach to the contestant’s experience on the show mirrors that of a UX designer’s approach to user experience. He curates an adaptable system founded on inquiry, communication, and empathy that is used to ensure a certain experience for each individual. In UX design, we strive for a positive experience. On Temptation Island, Walberg strives for an experience that is both entertaining for the audience, and cultivates emotional growth for contestants.
While certain elements of the show change from season to season (themes, parties, the methods of couple-pairings, eliminations, etc), Mark’s approach to user experience (or rather, contestant experience) never waivers. In many ways, the contestants’ personal growth, self reflection, and achievements begin and end with Mark.
Inquiry and communication are important pillars of Walberg’s formula for his contestants’ positive experience.
On Temptation Island, Mark is known for asking the contestants uncomfortable and critical questions.
While these hard-hitting questions make the show more entertaining for viewers, it is through answering these questions and acknowledging the emotional responses they elicit, that the contestants achieve a deeper understanding of themselves, their partners, and their core values.
In fact, upon their arrival the couples have a dinner party with Mark in which he asks them to tell him about their relationships. Most couples either 1) report having trust issues stemming from previous instances of infidelity, or 2) are looking for an answer to the cardinal question, “Is my significant other the one for me?” Mark empathizes with the contestant’s grievances, concerns, and personal experiences. He then uses this initial conversation as a baseline understanding of what each individual needs to work on in order to stimulate growth and to become a better partner. With this information, Mark then becomes the facilitator of their journeys.
For the remainder of their journey the contestants don’t interact with Mark outside of the Bonfire Ceremonies. As previously mentioned, these weekly ceremonies allow the contestants to see a portion of their partner’s experience through a fifteen second video clip. The ceremonies are typically highly emotional and vulnerable, as the clips are rarely positive.
Mark primarily uses this time to assess the contestants reaction to the ‘bonfire clips.’ He then asks many probing questions regarding their reactions. For example, if a contestant cries in response to a clip that shows their significant other cheating, he’ll ask, “what about this video makes you upset?”
Which is then usually followed by the other contestants staring at him like this:
It’s safe to say the answer is obvious to everyone. I’d even argue Mark knows the answer to these questions… So, why ask it?
Well, these questions aren’t as nonsensical as they may seem. Mark uses inquisition to guide the contestants towards healthier communication habits for all relationships, and prepare them for the impending reconciliation with their significant others. The questions encourage the contestants to analyze and then voice their feelings. This then prepares each contestant for the final Bonfire Ceremony, where they are reunited with their partners.
This final ceremony allows each contestant to recount their individual experience, share how they’ve grown, and discuss their feelings about their partner’s actions. During this time, Mark enforces that each contestant listens to the entirety of their partner’s speech by not allowing the other to interrupt. Mark’s role in the final bonfire is to provide mediation and support when needed, but nothing more.
Comparatively, inquiry and communication are imperative to producing successful designs and cultivating positive user experiences. UX researchers will often sit back and allow a study participant to pursue a UI. Participants are sometimes given a goal to accomplish, but the feedback they provide is all their own. By asking open-ended questions and encouraging them to walk the researcher through their thought process, they often find answers to questions that they didn’t know they had. The UI element in question isn’t always the problem area, and sometimes there isn’t a problem at all.
This mirrors the contestants’ experiences on Temptation Island. Some couples arrive on the island with confidence in their relationship, and end up immediately making irreparable mistakes. Others enter with doubts, and leave together with a stronger bond than ever before. The process of asking vague questions, then sitting back and letting the user or contestant mull it over themselves, reveals more than leading questions ever will.
As Mark demonstrates on Temptation Island, communication, inquiry, and empathy are tools that, when used effectively, are imperative to the success of a product and customers’ overall experience.
Communication enables designers to produce quality designs, while cultivating long term relationships with stakeholders and clients. Practicing empathy allows designers to recognize their customer’s frustrations, while gaining additional insight on their goals, abilities, and fears. It goes beyond solving a singular problem; it is a preventative measure that is used to avoid similar grievances, and thus promote positive interaction with the product in the future. Utilizing these tools will promote open and honest dialogue between designers and customers, foster collaboration, trust, and education; and will result in the production of reliable, successful products.
So, while you may not take your clients or colleagues on a romantic getaway to a Hawaiian island full of temptation… All UXers could learn something from the experience that Mark L. Walberg crafted on Temptation Island.
And, if nothing else, I guarantee that you’ll have fun watching it.
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