BETA
Chapter 1
The birth of the bottomless feed
Chapter 2
Your brain on dopamine
Chapter 3
The dark patterns of design
Chapter 4
Reclaiming your digital attention
YOUR GOAL
Master of The infinite scroll
Ch 3 · The dark patterns of design
futura The dark patterns of design
Just keep on scrollin', Never stoppin'. It's a design trick, keepin' your eyes locked in.
futura Automatically playing the next video removes natural decision points, keeping viewers watching longer.
futura Tiny visual cues like bouncing icons and loading spinners are engineered to capture attention.
Fun Fact
The refresh lever: The 'pull-to-refresh' gesture, invented by Loren Brichter in 2009, was deliberately designed to mimic pulling a slot machine lever.
Glossary
dark pattern (noun)
A user interface designed to trick users into making choices that benefit a business over themselves. Harry Brignull coined the term in 2010, which now includes addictive features like endless scrolling.
A user interface designed to trick users into making choices that benefit a business over themselves. Harry Brignull coined the term in 2010, which now includes addictive features like endless scrolling.
Quiz
What is the purpose of a 'skeleton screen' (a blank layout placeholder) while a feed loads?
Quiz
What is the design term for user interfaces designed to trick users into doing things they might not want to do?
Quiz
What physical action does the 'pull-to-refresh' gesture mimic to trigger anticipation?