In Netflix’s The Social Dilemma we learn how closely data and web design work together to shape our decision-making. The film presents a fictional account of an American family whose kids are ruined by their social media addiction. The design of the social media accounts play a big role in their addiction, with functions such as the “like” button, red notification signs, and infinity scrolls keeping them starving for more digital junk.

在Netflix的《社会困境》中，我们了解了数据和Web设计如何紧密协作以塑造我们的决策。 这部电影虚构了一个美国家庭的故事，该家庭的孩子被社交媒体上瘾所毁。 社交媒体帐户的设计在其成瘾性中起着重要作用，其功能包括“赞”按钮，红色通知标志和无限滚动功能，使他们渴望更多的数字垃圾。

These types of addictive designs are often referred to as dark patterns. If you work with UX you might already have heard about dark patterns, in which the goal is to trigger the user to take action for the benefit of the company, rather than the user. Such work is often seen as evil and sinister, and most designers want to stay away from it. However, few designers ever reflect upon gray patterns in design.

这些上瘾的设计类型通常称为深色图案。 如果使用UX，您可能已经听说过暗模式，其目的是触发用户为公司而不是用户的利益采取行动。 这样的作品通常被认为是邪恶和险恶的，大多数设计师都希望远离它。 但是，很少有设计师会反思设计中的灰色图案。

它并不总是黑白的。 (It’s not always black and white.)

A gray pattern (defined in my own words) is when a design can create a good, helpful experience for one user, while simultaneously manipulating another user to take action against his/her own will. The balance between helpfulness and harmfulness is blurry as hell here. Adding to that, many designers are not aware of their contribution to the gray pattern, and many users have no idea that they are partaking in it either.

灰色图案(用我自己的话定义)是指设计可以为一个用户创造良好的，有用的体验，同时又使另一位用户违背自己的意愿采取行动。 乐于助人与有害之间的平衡在这里变得很模糊。 除此之外，许多设计师都不知道他们对灰色图案的贡献，并且许多用户也不知道他们也参与其中。

Confusing right?

对吧？

Think about “recommended for you” sections on the bottom of an article for example. This type of design can be helpful for users but it can also make them stay longer on the site than they intended to. Some users might see this design as dark, but those who find these sections helpful, might see it as light.

例如，考虑一下文章底部的“为您推荐”部分。 这种设计对用户可能会有帮助，但也可能使他们在网站上停留的时间比预期的更长。 某些用户可能会认为该设计是深色的，但是对这些部分有用的人可能会认为它是浅色的。

Therefore, where do we draw the line between helpful design vs. harmful design?

因此，我们应该在有益的设计与有害的设计之间划清界限吗？

In the following sections, I will present four common gray patterns that most of us have encountered, all of them in the blurry intersection between helpfulness and harmfulness. The purpose is to take the discussion beyond light vs. dark patterns, and create an awareness of the often complex user experience we encounter everyday, one that is neither black or white.

在以下各节中，我将介绍我们大多数人都遇到过的四种常见的灰色模式，它们都是在帮助和有害之间的模糊交集中。 目的是使讨论超出明暗模式，并使人们意识到我们每天都会遇到的通常复杂的用户体验，这既不是黑色也不是白色。

Without further ado, welcome to the world of…gray.

事不宜迟，欢迎来到...灰色世界。

1. Netflix自动播放 (1. Netflix Autoplay)

Yes, the same company that brought you The Social Dilemma, is also using triggers to keep you hooked to their platform. With Netflix autoplay, the word “Binge-watching” has taken on another level.

是的，为您带来“社交困境”的同一家公司也正在使用触发器使您着迷于他们的平台。 借助Netflix的自动播放功能，“ Binge-watching”一词在另一个层面上已经普及。

By default, the autoplay setting is already chosen for you when you set up your account, so you have to make an effort to uncheck it if you want it out of your life. But..is that what you want?

默认情况下，设置帐户时已经为您选择了自动播放设置，因此，如果您不想使用它，则必须努力取消选中它。 但是..那是您想要的吗？

Personally, autoplay makes my life easier. After a long day at work, I just want to unplug, sit back and relax while watching my favorite shows. When one episode finishes, I actually don’t want to make an effort to click on the next one. I want to preserve time and energy and let Netflix do the job for me.

就个人而言，自动播放使我的生活更轻松。 经过一整天的工作后，我只想拔下电源，坐下来放松一下，一边观看我最喜欢的节目。 当一个情节结束时，我实际上不希望尝试单击下一个情节。 我想节省时间和精力，让Netflix为我完成工作。

At the same time, I’m aware of the precious hours I’m giving away to the platform, hours I could have spent productively elsewhere. I’m also aware of the manipulative moves being used to keep me staying “just one more episode,” while the dopamine in my brain keeps me high with pleasure.

同时，我知道我为平台付出的宝贵时间，以及本可以在其他地方高效地度过的时间。 我也意识到操纵性动作被用来使我保持“仅多一集”的状态，而大脑中的多巴胺使我保持高高兴兴。

Studies have found correlations between binge-watching and depression. So, while the autoplay is making my life a bit easier, it might also be a source of harm to other users, and maybe even to me.

研究发现狂饮与抑郁之间存在相关性。 因此，尽管自动播放使我的生活更轻松，但它也可能成为伤害其他用户甚至我的伤害源。

Is the autoplay design helpful or harmful?

自动播放设计对您有帮助还是有害？

2. 《福布斯》杂志“另请参见”部分 (2. Forbes Magazine’s “See also” section)

Similar to Netflix's autoplay, the “read more” sections of daily newspapers and magazines encourage users to stay on their platform as long as possible — and Forbes is no stranger to using this method.

与Netflix的自动播放类似，日报和杂志的“”部分鼓励用户尽可能长时间地停留在平台上-福布斯对使用这种方法并不陌生。

While the company’s click-through rate increases with this design, one could argue that it’s also helpful to its readers. If I click on an article about “investment in startups” for example, I will most likely also be interested to read more about stocks, dividends, and savings (as seen on the image). Thus, when I’m in the mood to gain more knowledge in this field, instead of having to dig through a bunch of irrelevant articles to find what I want, Forbes just hands it over to me.

尽管该设计可提高公司的点击率，但人们可能会认为它对读者也有帮助。 例如，如果我单击有关“对初创企业的投资”的文章，那么我很可能也有兴趣阅读有关股票，股息和储蓄的更多信息(如图所示)。 因此，当我有意在该领域获得更多知识时，《福布斯》便不必将大量无关的文章挖掘出来以找到我想要的东西，而只是将其交给我。

Forbes gets their clicks, and I get the articles I’m interested in so all should be happy and well then.

福布斯获得了点击，我也得到了我感兴趣的文章，因此所有人都应该感到高兴和幸福。

But wait a minute. I also recall all the crazy amount of hours I totally wasted when drifting through articles that I don’t remember a word of anymore. Honestly, after clicking through my 18th article in a day on “savings”, am I still reading for knowledge? or am I just entertaining myself with another platform, binge reading while fooling myself into thinking I’m doing something productive?

等一下我还记得在浏览那些我已经不记得一句话的文章时，我完全浪费的所有疯狂时间。 老实说，在一天中浏览我的第18篇关于“储蓄”的文章后，我还在阅读知识吗？ 还是我只是在另一个平台上娱乐自己，在疯狂阅读的同时自欺欺人地认为自己正在做些有生产力的事情？

Probably the latter.

可能是后者。

3.这些来自Kohl's和Linkedin的推送通知 (3. These push notifications from Kohl’s and Linkedin)

Push notifications are mainly used by companies to attract traffic to their content so they can gain more visibility. I have a love-hate relationship to them. On one hand, they sometimes provide helpful information, and on the other hand they’re extremely annoying and only distract me in my daily work.

推送通知主要由公司用来吸引其内容的流量，以便他们获得更多可见性。 我对他们有爱恨交加的关系。 一方面，它们有时会提供有用的信息，另一方面，它们非常烦人，只会分散我的日常工作注意力。

So how should we interpret these notifications from Kohl’s and Linkedin?

那么，我们应该如何解释来自Kohl's和Linkedin的这些通知？

The first notification by Kohl’s could be helpful because who doesn’t want a discount? Furthermore, if I have an intention to buy something specific and I find it on discount at Kohl’s, then it’s an even bigger win for me. However, if my intention is not to buy anything but I end up doing it anyway, then this design is only harmful to my well-being.

Kohl's的第一个通知可能会有所帮助，因为谁不想打折？ 此外，如果我有意购买特定商品，并且在Kohl's可以找到折扣，那么对我来说，这是一个更大的胜利。 但是，如果我的目的不是购买任何东西，而是无论如何我最终都会去做，那么这种设计只会对我的健康有害。

The second notification from Linkedin Jobs is a bit trickier. I want to know if someone has viewed my job application, so this is arguably helpful information. But the purpose of this innocent-looking design is to encourage me back to the platform, where I will probably get distracted by checking my feed, messages, contact requests, etc.

Linkedin Jobs发出的第二条通知有些棘手。 我想知道是否有人查看了我的工作申请，因此这可以说是有用的信息。 但是，这种看起来很单纯的设计的目的是鼓励我回到平台上，在那里我可能会因检查供稿，消息，联系请求等而分心。

Keep in mind that I do have the choice to just ignore and even disable notifications altogether, but then I might miss out on information I do want to partake in. Information overload thus becomes the price I choose to pay for getting the information I want.

请记住，我有选择地忽略，甚至禁用通知干脆，但后来我可能会错过信息我确实想参加的。信息过载因此成为我选择付出代价，得到我想要的信息。

Still, are these designs helpful or harmful?

这些设计仍然有用还是有害？

4.亚马逊推荐区 (4. Amazon’s recommendation section)

The cousin of “Read more”, though this one is heavily data-driven. From Amazon to Instagram to news articles to online fashion stores…the personal recommendation section knows no limits.

“读更多”的表弟，尽管这个是很大程度上由数据驱动的。 从亚马逊到Instagram，再到新闻报道，再到在线时尚商店……个人推荐部分不受限制。

When searching for a good book to purchase, Amazon is quick to give me recommendations of similar books that might also interest me. I often use this section of their page to compare and research books in the same category, before deciding on my final purchase.

在寻找要购买的好书时，亚马逊会很快给我推荐类似的书，这些书也可能会让我感兴趣。 在决定最终购买之前，我经常使用其页面的这一部分来比较和研究同一类别的图书。

Of course, the reason behind Amazon’s recommendation section is not for me to compare different books, but to buy more. I confess I have fallen for this trick one or two times, but overall it hasn’t been a problem.

当然，Amazon推荐部分背后的原因不是让我比较不同的书籍，而是购买更多书籍。 我承认我已经一两次失败了，但是总的来说这不是问题。

However, I also have friends who are serious shopaholics, and always end up buying several items, when all they wanted was a nice pair of jeans.

但是，我也有一些朋友是认真的购物狂，总是想买一条好牛仔裤的时候总是买几件。

Is this type of design helpful or harmful?

这种设计有帮助还是有害？

结论 (Conclusion)

By categorizing everything into “dark” vs. “light” patterns, we oversimplify the user experience as evil vs. moral. The reality of user experience is not always this simple. As the examples above presented, we often move around in a gray zone, not being completely sure if a design is for us or against us.

通过将所有内容分类为“暗”与“亮”模式，我们将用户体验简化为邪恶与道德。 用户体验的现实并不总是那么简单。 如上述示例所示，我们经常在灰色区域四处走动，不确定是否设计对我们有利还是不利于我们。

Perhaps, instead of asking for what is right or wrong, we should ask if the outcome of the individual matches what he/she wants to achieve. But, since everyone have their own intentions and definitions of achievement, not all user experience can be interpreted the same way.

也许，我们应该询问个人的结果是否与他/她想要达到的目标相匹配，而不是询问对与错。 但是，由于每个人都有自己的成就意图和定义，因此并非所有用户体验都可以用相同的方式解释。

When creating a good design we need to be as friendly as possible to the users and keep their best interests in mind. Sometimes this means going against company business goals, but sometimes it means company business goals and user experience can go together, creating a win-win situation for both.

在创建良好的设计时，我们需要对用户尽可能友好，并牢记他们的最大利益。 有时这意味着违背公司的业务目标，但有时又意味着公司的业务目标和用户体验可以并驾齐驱，为双方创造双赢的局面。

In situations where the border between helpful vs. harmful design is impossible to draw, we might need to accept that not all user experience can be clustered into the same black and white categories.

在无法画出有益设计与有害设计之间的界限的情况下，我们可能需要接受的是，并非所有用户体验都可以归纳为相同的黑白类别。

With the rise of machine learning and algorithms, gray patterns should be something of the past in the future, as no single individual will have the same user experience when entering a site. For now though we have to do our best to serve users, testing and tiptoeing around gray patterns, hoping we can make it all light and bright one day.

随着机器学习和算法的兴起，灰色模式应该成为未来的时代，因为没有一个人在进入站点时会有相同的用户体验。 目前，尽管我们必须竭尽全力为用户提供服务，围绕灰色图案进行测试和脚步训练，但愿我们有一天能变得光明和明亮。

This article was originally published on my blog. For more reading check out my blog page https://tashina.se/blog/

本文最初发布在我的博客上。 欲了解更多信息，请查看我的博客页面https://tashina.se/blog/