Nick Colley says “… in the analytics somewhere, there’s a dashboard, and it says when they released shorts, I really started to enjoy Instagram. But actually, if you came in, saw what the impact is, it’s like me miserably hooked to this dopamine loop of it is like, is really not enjoyable.”
Thanks to Fable for sponsoring the transcript for this episode.
Transcript
Nic
Hi, I’m Nic Steenhout. And you’re listening to the accessibility rules soundbite, a series of short podcasts where disabled people explain their impairments and what barriers they encounter on the web. Just a reminder that transcripts are available for all episodes at the time of publication from the website at https://a11yrules.com. Thanks to Fable for sponsoring this episode. Fable is a leading accessibility platform powered by disabled people. Fable moves organizations from worrying about compliance to building incredible and accessible user experiences through product testing, and custom courses. Learn more about how Fable can work for your team at https://makeitfable.com/nic. Today I’m talking with Nick Colley Hey, Nick, how are you?
Nick
Hello. Yeah, I’m Nick with a k.
Nic
Yes! One Nic without K talking to another Nick with a K. So, my first question to you like everybody else is, what’s your disability or your impairment?
Nick
So, I have ADHD. So I guess the, for me, disability side of things is like if, if I am struggling, it tends to be more outside the web too. And it’s like in my work life and things like that. And I can end up with depression or anxiety, depending on different situations. So that’s kind of like, yeah, how things can manifest. I’m not necessarily disabled, specifically from ADHD. Its often I feel disabled from specific environments. I mean, if it’s a Yeah, people aren’t like, not used to working with people with ADHD and stuff like that.
Nic
So it’s not the ADHD itself that is disabling for you. It’s all the surrounding conditions that derive from it.
Nick
Yeah, it’s not cut and dry. So sometimes, there has been a few things in my personal life where I was, like, if I could just concentrate now, I’d be great. Yeah, a lot of like, the worst things that tend to be being in spaces where I’m not really being supported in the way I’d hoped. And then, yeah, it can lead to feeling really bad about yourself if you can’t get stuff done and things like that. Which, yeah, leads to like, longer term issues and stuff like that.
Nic
Right! So how, how does that translate onto the web? So, you know, my, my typical web question is, what’s your greatest barrier, or your greatest pet peeve related to your disability on the web?
Nick
So, I was thinking about that, because a lot of like, a lot of the stuff that impacts me is not necessarily directly related to the web. But the main, the main thing I’ve been thinking about is, like, a lot of the high engagement stuff I find, like, I imagine for a lot of people that quite like, it keeps them hooked, but for me, it’s like, I can lose like, four hours consuming something, I don’t enjoy it. And like it can ruin my day kind of thing. So I think the My biggest like pet peeve in that in that respect is like yeah, a lot of engagement patterns that aren’t really thinking about what happens if you’re quite suspect susceptible to more like addictive things. So it’s a bit like, like an extreme example would be like online gambling and you’ve got examples of like loot box stuff where you’ve got this concept of whales kind of people who are relying on people to like spend a lot of money on things. I think that’s the main thing that I find bad on the web is like, yeah, I a lot of the like YouTube and Instagram app I delete them. I tried Tic Tok and I was like scrolling for hours and hours. I imagine a lot of people like that. But like, for me, it’s like, I can be there for like six hours like yeah, and then YouTube’s added it and then I’m not that I’m not there to watch like a Tic Tok on YouTube. I’m there to watch longer form videos and stuff, but I’m still like falling into these design patterns that are designed to engage, but I think they’re too engaging.
Nic
Yeah. So obviously a platform wants to get their audience engaged. But it becomes almost like a dark, dark pattern where you just, you’re hooked and you can’t get off.
Nick
Yeah, I just have to delete the whole thing. Yeah, to get rid of Instagram. I like Instagram, because it’s take like taking pictures and stuff. But again, I’m not there for the shorts, but then I ended up. So in the analytics somewhere, there’s a dashboard, and it says my account like, Oh, um, when they released shorts, I really started to enjoy Instagram. But actually, if you came in, saw what the impact is, it’s like me miserably hooked to this dopamine loop of it is like, is really not enjoyable.
Nic
It hink that’s a brilliant point that the analytics data may not actually reflect the reality of your audience. Because, yeah, what you describe is, okay, so just this user is spending four hours, they really must like it. But in fact, it’s No, I hate it. Let me off here.
Nick
Yeah. I don’t know how we could get better at I guess it is making sure that you don’t focus too much on just quantitative data and have more like quality stuff? So like conversations with people, interviewing people? Yeah, it’s the fact that I’ve got fireworks going off in the background, because it’s Halloween. So if that’s a problem..
Nic
No problem. No problem. We are all dealing with real life. I know some podcasters that, you know, they freak out if a dog is scratching a colar, and there’s a jingle in the background, of fireworks, but it’s not really interfering at all. So let’s let’s not worry about it. We are all living in real life.
Nick
Yeah, if I if I struggled to keep on track, cuz there’s currently like bangers going off in the background.
Nic
So obviously, a message you could have for developers was… Don’t use these patterns to keep audiences engaged. But would you have something else to let developers or designers think about accessibility?
Nick
I think. Yeah. And on that pattern, specifically, I think it’s, it’s, we do have a responsibility, I guess, as designers to consider like, is that is there such thing as too much engagement? And I think the answer is definitely yes. And you can only really get to that conclusion, if you focus on the people that will be the most impacted. So I think it’s about like inviting people that are more susceptible to Addictive patterns and things like that into the design process. Yeah, so trying to do more user research of neurodivergent people and cognitive accessibility is something that people are starting to get into. And I think, if people invest more in that, it’s going to make a big impact on how you think about engagement. It’s not just like, Oh, someone’s really enjoying themselves. Like, it could be someone is ruined out there all day. And now they’ve had to delete your app. It’s like, it’s not. It’s not like, yeah, trying to get the why behind some of this data and not just assume,
Nic
Is this something that could be solved through a user preference interface? So you know, hey, I want to see all these shorts or No, please hide them from me?
Nick
Yeah. Even just like, I think I always talk about is that the difference between Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing? They’re, they’re not exactly the same game. But if you think about that, for anyone, I don’t know if you played them, but
Nic
I am afraid I have not played them.
Nick
They essentially the game loop. In Stardew Valley, you’re a farmer. And each day you farm crops, and then you sell the crops. And there’s nothing really stopping you from playing that forever, right? So when I played it, I played it for three days straight. Whereas Animal Crossing is similar kind of vibe, you you kind of do things in the day, but it’s based on real time. So when it when it gets to 6pm in your real in real life, the shops close in the game and encourages you to take a break just by the nature of design. So I think I think we can learn a lot from just just that kind of design practice where you’re thinking about like, how do you you can still do engagement, but I played Animal Crossing for like many months, maybe like six months, but I was only playing maybe like an hour a day. And that to me, that to me is like healthy engagement. I’m enjoying myself. I’m not burning out. Where Stardew I played for four days straight. I still think it’s an excellent game. But I, I cannot go back to it because I just it makes me feel like a burn out for you. So I think trying to, it’s not about necessarily straying away from patterns that keep people coming back to whatever you’re building. It’s more about thinking about how do you do that in a sustainable way. Ultimately, like that is like if you want a catalyst take on it. That is the way to keep your thing successful for the long term because then you’ve got people, if someone’s consuming your thing for an hour, over five years, that’s much more impact than four days of straight. Yeah. Four days.
Nic
Absolutely. Hey, Nick, thank you so much for your insight that was really good and powerful. And I’ll see you around on the web.
Nick
Yeah, look forward to talking to you