“10. The interface uses metaphors that create illusions: I am free, I can go back, I have unlimited memory, I am anonymous, I am popular, I am creative, it’s free, it’s neutral, it is simple, it is universal. Beware of illusions!
Did you know that the first photographic camera, the first washing machine, the first transistor radio, the first Mac and the first windows had the same slogan? “YOU JUST CLICK, WE DO THE REST”.
Don’t delete your bookmarks history after watching porn. It’s useless, Google always remembers.”
This proposition interested me because it reminded me of something I read from a CS textbook about “abstractions” in computer systems. For example, thinking that a single CPU can run multiple programs at once is an abstraction – in reality, the processor switches among the programs. This proposition also interests me because the interface gives us the illusion that using technology is safe and that we have privacy and control over our digital footprint/identity. Like mentioned in one of the propositions, internet history is an abstraction that makes us think that we have control over the information collected on how we access the internet (same with incognito). General lack of knowledge about illusions is detrimental, but most interfaces do not try to make its users more aware of these illusions. For example, the illusion of safety makes some people think that bringing your phone to a protest, taking photos of others at a protest and posting those photos is safe.