Dark pattern is a really interesting concept which I had also perceived in the field of UX before but not assigned a specific term to. I call it the design ethics, responsible for a healthy balance between immersive user experience and non-addictiveness. A designer’s job is to provide optimal experience but it is also a citizen’s responsibility to do good for the general social well-being. In my opinion, developing a highly immersive product or experience, which even leads it to become addictive or toxic, such as TikTok, is not an ethical designerly behavior or a responsible one for the society because it threatens the general public’s mental health and negatively impacts their behavior patterns to some degree. In my practice, I would try to put more focus on the utility, efficiency, and effectiveness to complete a task in need for users rather than creating an immersive user experience.
One example of dark pattern in one of my daily used apps is the misdirection in TodayTix, a theatre ticket provider. When I need to get updates on the discounts of a certain show, I am asked to share a post on my social media to “unlock the deal.” There are three eye-catching buttons corresponding to three major social platforms, but beneath them is an understated line of text saying “unlock without sharing,” and it is actually a button to directly unlock the deal without posting anything annoying. I only noticed this text button after several uses, which I think is quite misdirecting.
