Week 10: Reading Reflection
Read & reflect assignment for ‘Designing for Usability’ class at Parsons School of Design, Spring 2021.
On Building Consentful Tech
Our lives have a very close relationship with the digital bodies, which are no longer inseparable. As the opening sentence of this zine, the importance of consent today is no longer limited to medical or sexual activities. Many consent problems are being pointed out today due to our digital existence is not being adequately protected.
When we download the smartphone application we use every day, we receive many instructions and terms and conditions. Most people do not read the terms and conditions listed before downloading the application in detail. However, we all download the application and unconditionally press accept and use the application for consent or disagreement to be informed before using the application. However, when these problems arise, there are cases where the terms of use are actually written so that the general public, i.e., users, cannot understand. It causes the user to accept the terms without knowing what they agree to. This is an abuse of the user’s rights, not a decision to consent directly from the user. Consent is an action that occurs when both parties fully understand what an offer to each other is about and agree to the applicable terms. These are examples of things that cannot be part of the terms and conditions we consent to. There are many texts filled with legal jargon that the public cannot understand, misleading explanations, and text sizes that are difficult to read by users.
Today, everyone said that at least users who use smartphones accept cookies, consent to provide unconditional personal information for applications, consent to use the album for camera use, etc., that consumers’ personal information can be exposed and abused. We all have to be fully aware of it. Also, this is an important issue that designers should consider even from the ethical point of view of UX.