Why less engagement is a good thing
People weigh up effort vs. reward when making choices, typically opting for low effort / high reward options.
Effort-reward decision-making is where individuals weigh the value of a reward against the mental or physical effort required to obtain it. This often leads to a choice for the best "utility". The brain uses specific areas and signals, like dopamine, to guide these choices, with higher rewards and lower efforts being particularly favoured. This complex process, which can involve different stages of choice and action execution, influences everything from daily tasks to complex motor behaviorOur world is saturated with technology. So much so that we spend the majority of our time looking and poking at visual representations of it on a screen, This is not what we wanted technology to do; we wanted it to free us of tasks so that we could enjoy living.
Apps reward engagement, which requires effort. If a new competitor offers the same reward for less effort, people will start using the new app.
Apps that get this are the ones that succeed. They recognise that 1. they are a tool to help people achieve a goal and that 2. the tool of choice is the one that does the job most efficiently. Take a water slide for example; It should offer a frictionless ride into a pool of water. Any slide adding friction into the mix is not going to be a very popular option. Now think about the process of posting an image to social media; if you could choose between Facebook and Instagram to upload a picture, which would you use? The easiest one, of course! Just like the water slide, you picked the one with the least friction.
Sticky UX is dead. Long live slippy UX!
“Friction” in terms of app design is any screen content that doesn’t contribute towards the user’s goal. A popup banner, for example, is friction. An unnecessary question in a signup form is friction. A notification is friction. Anything on the screen that distracts attention away from the task - is friction. This is why we have the concept of “Slippy” user experience design*.
*Entertaining side note, the US military prefers to describe Slippy design as KITFA - “Keep it the F@#k Away”
Minimise screen time & offer more benefits
Currently, the aim of most designers is to create immersive, engaging experiences that keep us interested. We refer to this as “Sticky” UX. The problem with this is that it requires a large proportion of our attention, which limits our ability to interact with anything else (For more information relating to our capacity for attention, read ’Thinking, Fast and Slow’ by Daniel Kahneman). To get around the problem, we often find ourselves rapidly switching focus between our device and reality, resulting in a poor overall experience of everything. Slippy UX is the opposite of this: Design that requires minimal attention so that the user can focus on whatever else it is that they’re doing.
Slippy design is empathetic
Slippy UX is effortless to interact with, runs almost entirely in the background and requires minimal mental effort. It is the key to integrating technology further into our everyday lives. Today’s applications include attention-critical situations such as driving, flying and combat* as well as disturbance-free situations such as managing the temperature of your home. Tomorrow’s applications could include enhancements to live performance, law enforcement and even simple conversation.
Slippy Experiences are Effortless
Real-world examples of Slippy UX are everywhere but are most frequently found on the road where attention is most scarce. Traffic signals are Slippy: Red for stop, amber for caution and green for go. Ask yourself: When was the last time you had to put some serious mental effort into decoding the meaning of a green light?
Be Slippy: Offer more utility for less attention
Design for brief moments of attention
Don’t distract unless absolutely necessary
Only display the most distilled, essential content
Express context in a clear and understandable way
Simplify interactions e.g. Just use left, right, yes, no with big tap areas
These principles could immediately translate to lighter design, less but more concise copy and simpler, more automated user journeys. Looking deeper, however, we must empathise with our customers, give them exactly and only what they need and ask for no effort in return. This thinking must not only apply to our marketing material, but also to the products/services we offer.
Long Term Gains
Although consumers will be paying less attention, there will be more opportunities to get your product, and therefore your brand, in front of them. This is because the reduced cognitive effort required of a Slippy experience means it can be interacted with in a wider range of environments.