Ethical Design of Social Technology: User Engagement and Attentional Demands

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Author(s): Fernando L. Montalvo (University of Central Florida, USA), Michael Miuccio (University of Central Florida, USA)and Grace E. Waldfogle (University of Central Florida, USA)
Copyright: 2021
Pages: 28
Source title: Human Factors Issues and the Impact of Technology on Society
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Heather Lum (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6453-0.ch002

Keywords: Human Aspects of Technology / Information Science Reference / Social Sciences & Humanities

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Abstract

Social technology has become ubiquitous in everyday life. Developers of social technologies seek design elements and new technologies, such as machine learning algorithms, aimed at increasing user engagement. Increased user engagement with products or services is sought after by both companies, which benefit from increased sales and customers who desire technology which they are motivated to use. However, increased user engagement also results in increased demand on user attention. High demand on user attention results in problems for social technology users, including decreased task performance, decrements in working memory, increased anxiety, and more. Developers of social technology should take these negative effects on users into account when implementing new features into their products or services. This chapter proposes a framework for the ethical design of social technology, with a specific emphasis on the balance between user engagement and attentional demands on the user.

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Ethical Design of Social Technology: User Engagement and Attentional Demands

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