Captcha fields and the exclusive use of Facebook Connect for Web and app data submission purposes are two of my biggest digital phobias, oh if there were ever a UX faux pas avoidance manual.
When I encounter captcha fields I feel like I’m being asked to complete a rudimentary segment of a primitive voight-kampff test.
Prove to us you’re human and we’ll allow you to sign-up for our service, receive our newsletter, or bestow unto you the ability to leave a comment on our really important blog, assuming of course our moderators like what you have to say.
The Administrator’s disclaimer could read: Our desire to eliminate spam is so compellingly strong we’re willing to completely undermine the UX on our Web site and insult your intelligence by asking you to decipher this tediously convoluted visual abstraction. Our captcha fields will ensure you’re a real, live human being, and not some conniving spam bot looking to mercilessly scrape our site’s content. We appreciate your cooperation.
The equally irritating Facebook Connect is, by some accounts, contributing to the erosion of online privacy. “Please log-in to our service with Facebook Connect”, many digital services brazenly ask. Who doesn’t cringe when they see this nauseatingly austere message. A brilliantly designed personal data tracking system or the easiest way to bounce 30% of your audience. What ever happened to simply asking people to provide generic username/password credentials? When choice is limited the experience suffers. Chalk another one up for the UX faux pas avoidance manual.
But the latest phobia entering our popular tech nomenclature: nomophobia is both a fascinating phenomenon and a testament to how inextricably connected we’ve become with our phones. People who fear being out of mobile phone contact (no–mobile-phone-phobia). Think that’s a strange phobia? Consider a recent study by UK based SecurEnvoy concluded 66% of mobile phone users are afflicted by this problem.