Okay… please stay with us for a minute. This one sounds a bit strange, but it’s interesting – I promise! If you’re thinking what the heck is this about?, don’t worry… I did too.
But it’s real, and it’s quite disturbing.
The Hotel California technique refers to those things that make it easy to subscribe to a service, but frustrating and difficult to unsubscribe.
Think Netflix. Or Amazon Prime. Even unsubscribing from an email. The buttons are always cleverly hidden or designed to make you confused. And you’re not alone here. According to the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC), 83% of Australians have experienced negative consequences because of this.
Consumers aged between 18 to 28 were found to be more likely to suffer negative impacts from manipulative design: 12% have accidentally purchased something, 33% spent more than intended, and 27% disclosed more information than they wanted to.
Some designs breach Australian consumer law. Even worse, not all designs that have negative consequences are able to be captured under the law. This can be infuriating. However, the most constructive thing we can all do is to educate ourselves and those around us.
Both CPRC and The Conversation have called for Australian consumer law to include an unfair practices prohibition, as is the case in the EU and the UK. This is a great step forward, but what can we do until that eventuates?
Here are some tips:
- Some designs are crafted to take advantage of recognised biases. The default bias is where a consumer will favour leaving the default choices in place to avoid having to make a complex decision. Think of pre-ticked boxes that you skim over, or that streaming service automatically selecting 4 screens when you only need one.
- Watch out for hidden costs. The CPRC and this article from The Conversation points out a number of issues, including a 3 Year Care Plan that is automatically added on to your new washing machine. Things like this are designed specifically so that we are unlikely to notice them, or they imply to the consumer that you need the care plan to purchase the machine.
- Don’t feel ashamed for cancelling a product. You’re not alone. It’s called “confirmshaming,” and it’s designed to make you feel bad.
Designs that make consumers feel stupid, embarrassed, and/or ashamed while tricking them into buying things they don’t want continues to exacerbate the digital divide. It’s important to acknowledge that most of us have been tricked or felt attacked by shady practices at some time. Knowing that you’re not alone, that you’re not stupid, and that you are not bad at technology, is the first step to reclaiming your power.
We’re right there with you.