Ethical Design: Obligations of a UX designer that are never talked about enough

UX/UI short for user experience / user interface is a relatively new term that’s being coined for a profession that studies and designs how users interact with a product. Designers typically hold a great deal of influential power with how certain applications / website interfaces look in terms of aesthetics and function. Essentially, any interaction you have with your electronic devices have been carefully designed and catered specifically to you, as the user.

Now let’s dive in a little bit deeper…

You’ve probably used or currently use some of these social media apps (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, Youtube, VSCO, LinkedIn, Be.Real).

As consumers of digital content, our attention is the universal currency being traded on all the social media platforms. In this day and age, data protection is something that’s always been an issue with large tech companies that profit off of advertisements. And yet, we as users continue to use these platforms knowing the risks involved.

To an extent, human psychology is often exploited.

At a high level, the companies profit off of your attention and your participation…