The dark side of UX writing

The dark side of User Experience (UX) shows the potentially damaging consequences that can occur from the practice of UX, whether you’re a writer or designer.

Writing for UX is all about signposting – helping people easily get from A-B

While UX design is primarily focused on creating positive user experiences and enhancing usability, there are certain ethical concerns and challenges that can emerge….

“Dark UX” is the unethical practice of manipulating people to go in a direction they didn’t choose.

But what are some examples?

1. Dark Patterns: Dark patterns are deceptive design techniques used to manipulate users into performing actions they might not want to do or making choices that benefit the business rather than the user. These can include misleading wording, hidden options, or confusing interfaces. For example:

   • Making it difficult for people to exit a check-out process.

   • Pushing people to sign up to something they never intended to.

   • Writing in a confusing way or using double negatives to purposefully make people miss important information or get confused and click without fully understanding.

   • Notifications that pop up just as you’re contemplating purchasing a flight or hotel room, say, or looking at a pair of shoes — which urge you to “hurry!” as there’s only X number of seats or pairs left. This plays on people’s FOMO, trying to rush a transaction by making a potential customer feel like they don’t have time to think about it or do more research.

1. Addiction and Manipulation: In some cases, UX writing can be employed to create addictive experiences or exploit psychological vulnerabilities. This can lead to excessive use of products or services, negatively impacting users' wellbeing and mental health.

2. Privacy Concerns: UX writing may involve collecting and utilizing user data to improve products or personalise experiences. However, if this data is mishandled or used without the user's consent, it can raise significant privacy concerns and result in a breach of trust.

3. Unintended Consequences: Even with good intentions, UX writing decisions can have unintended consequences. For example, simplifying a process may lead to a loss of important user control or removing certain features may alienate a particular user group. These unintended consequences can create frustration or dissatisfaction among users.

4. Exclusionary Practices: If UX writing does not consider the needs and diversity of all users, it can lead to exclusion and marginalization. Language choices that are biased or fail to accommodate individuals with disabilities or varying cultural backgrounds can perpetuate inequality and discrimination.

5. Ethical Dilemmas: UX writers often face ethical dilemmas when balancing the needs of users, businesses, and stakeholders. Conflicts can arise between user-centered design and business goals, and designers may be pressured to compromise ethical principles for short-term gains or profits.

6. Emotional Shaming. Ever opted out of something or clicked to leave a web page and you get, ‘Are you sure you want to miss out on all this EPIC stuff?’ Feels a little bit like emotional blackmail.

The Bottom line

How to avoid bad habits like shaming? Use microconversions and microinteractions. Micro conversions are the small actions your users perform to achieve the important goal. This could be a purchase or any other high value action for your business.

Microconversions help people accomplish tasks, communicate the flow or process a user can expect after an action, and strengthen the brand’s tone and voice consistency through the customer journey. It’s all about managing user expectations.

By failing to accurately signpost options and actions, brands are failing people. It is important for UX writers and designers to be aware of these dark aspects and try to make ethical, inclusive, and responsible decisions that prioritise the rights of users.

If you’re writing for an interface, you are responsible for making sure you’re not developing bad habits. One tip to help you get going right away? Make sure your writing is clear and easily understandable to a six-year old.

This will help mitigate any possibly confusion in your language, which is the best way to ensure your writing is accessible and inclusive.

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