I’ve seen the digital age unfold, from the monolithic hum of mainframes to the incessant notifications of the device in your pocket. And I’m here to tell you, we’ve taken a wrong turn.
We, the architects of this new world, have created a hellscape of digital tinnitus! A constant avalanche of notifications and updates from software that should serve us, but in reality, treats us like the enemy.
I’m an older techie. My journey in this industry began in the era of COBOL and mainframes, where every line of code was a considered, deliberate act (yeah, I was there for the year 2000 problems). We moved on from the wild west of developing in Production and waterfall approaches. I still remember the early applications in Visual Basic and C++, wrestling with Windows NT. I’ve started with SQL Server 6.0, written my share of Java and C#, and even dabbled in the forgotten art of Uniface 4GL. I’ve seen the relentless march of so called progress, and I can tell you this: what we have now is not progress.
It’s a cacophony.
We live in an age where our digital tools are no longer our servants, but attention demanding toddlers. The very software designed to make our lives easier has become my primary source of frustration.
Simpsons once again were oh so right
This isnt just the grumbling of an old man yelling at a cloud. It’s the considered verdict of someone who has witnessed the foundational principles of good software development be eroded by a move fast and break things mentality that has broken more than it has fixed.
Digital tinnitus
This constant barrage of notifications, is called digital tinnitus (shout out to Edward Zitron!). Every application, every service screams for attention, convinced of its own importance.
The noise floor is ever rising!
The result is a fractured attention span and a constant state of low-grade anxiety. Together with the other enemy the endless scrool it is the erosion of our ability to focus on anything meaningful. We’ve allowed our digital spaces to be polluted by relentless noise that provides little value and extracts a significant cognitive toll. Example: Reading an article about the promised AI revolution and you get popups wanting to summarize or even rewrite the article.
And for what?
To drive engagement? To drive the metrics that product managers hold sacred? This has led to the rise of dark patterns in user interfaces. We are being tricked into doing things we dont intend.
This isn’t user-centric design. It’s user-hostile design. The irony is that we, the users, are not just the victims! We are also its enablers. We all want and use the freemium model, where we pay with our data and our attention rather than our wallets. This has created a perverse incentive structure. The goal is no longer to create a robust, reliable product, but to capture and hold our attention by any means necessary. Bzzzzzt, Ping!
So where does the fight back begin?
It starts with a simple, brutal act of digital self defence. Slaughtering the notification! That constant, pinging, vibrating demand for your attention is the frontline of this war. Go into your settings with the cold resolve of an exterminator. Uncheck every box. Silence every alert. I am convinced that my devices should serve me in silence, awaiting my command, not yapping for your attention like a needy Chihuahua. Let the engagement metrics scream into the void!
Leave a Reply