UX design used to be a trial and error scenario, but advances in technology have led to a mass collection of data about how we use digital devices. This data can then be aggregated to give an average user experience, enabling businesses to optimise their services.
However, no individual user is the same. As technology continues to advance, and as we continue to allow our devices more and more access to our data, each user experience can become personalised. This blog, for example, is shown the same way to you as it is to everyone else. But, in the future, it could be personalised – shown to you in the way that your devices know you like to read things.
‘Convenience makes hypocrites of us all’
Yes, I know what you’re thinking, it’s a little unsettling to think about all the personal data that your devices have collected about you. Your smartphone knows who your friends are, what stuff you wanna buy and, most likely, your favourite brunch spot. The thing is, this data is being used to make your life easier. It may seem like an invasion of privacy, but in the words of journalist, Bobbie Johnson:
“We have our beliefs, our morals, our instincts. We have our dislike of douche bags, our mistrust of bad behavior. We have all that. But in the end it turns out that if something’s 10% cheaper and 5% faster, we’ll give it all up quicker than we can order a sandwich. Convenience, in other words, makes hypocrites of us all.”
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