The introduction of new tools will always create an era of experimentation and change followed by an era of development of social norms that might closely follow the systems that previously exist in the country of origin- the element of capitalism brought in by the US, and traditionally western standards of design- grids and clear layouts. It could be argued to be a position that has been created through a movement towards user ease (a natural development) but can also be seen as unethical design practices that fight for user engagement at the expense of the users freedoms (fighting against sleep isn't the most ethical design practice)(The Social Dilemma, 2020)

This week I had an interesting conversation surrounding ease vs accessibility and if the advantages of ease in everyday life on the web is worth the cost of the exploitation of its users. The metaverse is an interesting example to view these arguments in terms of a bit of technology that we are not directly involved in, and can objectively look at the systems we are currently being subjected to. The level of immersion that VR allows seems to make us look at how companies use our data and attention with a bit more of a serious standpoint. VR seems to be viewed in the same way a casino is. Interestingly the internet and content on our phones aren’t viewed with the same level of intensity.

I think the issue most people have with the internet is that there has been a shift away from people based design, and towards the web being another everyday tool that reflects the issues we already experience in the world. These issues are only really seen by the people that have been on the outside of it, which means most young people that have grown as the internet has don’t necessarily see the issues with it, because its just a tool that they use in all aspects of their lives. However they do have this outside perspective of any new technology like the application of VR in the metaverse, which is why there is such a tentative approach towards it, especially because it’s already run by large corporations like Meta. This does seem like optional blindness though. No-one will see the need to change a system if they don’t know how else it could function. There are other options.

What would ethical design that isn't centered around capitalism function look like on the web? The argument is that the internet wouldn't be as developed- which it wouldn't be. There would be no competitive market to fight against, competition that would spur development within many sectors. During this discussion this specific example of Apple Pay and the advantages of having that in relation to its ease was brought up a lot. Personally I don't think it’s that important, but it is worth looking at it as a symbol of the technological developments we have made as a direct response to money and capitalism in the most straightforward way. It's also worth mentioning the difference between the commercialisation of online spaces, and online shopping. I refer more to commercialisation as the movement away from open source because of its lack of commercial viability. Yahoo Pipes and similar programs encapsulates the point in which the internet was being used primarily as a sharing of resources and tools. Again, more tools creates more creativity. You could argue that that was the original point of the internet, and it’s changed, which might be why I'm so interested in the topic. What would happen if the web and tools related to it had stayed based around individual creation and knowledge sharing.

The annoying thing is that like the conversation suggests, there is no big bad wolf. The same way you could blame Apple for the removal of flash player from online spaces, but there were many other reasons it eventually had to be phased out. The issue with flash is more an issue of nostalgia for the early internet as well as the accessibility that it offered for individual creators. Technically HTML5 is a better alternative if we are thinking about software development of large systems like IOS and the larger area of mobile applications, but not for individual creatives within tech spaces. This brings in more of an argument about who the internet is really built for. Is it the individual user, or the larger tech industry? Also, can you ever truly follow ethical ideas of design in the current form of the web. Is it possible? At this point I think it probably isn’t, so is the solution to create a new platform, a new set of tools to accomplish it.