Roaming South America

Dark Patterns - the Modern Internet Part 7

February 11, 2026

Have you ever wondered, Why can't websites be built in a way that actually works properly, makes sense, and are truly useful? For example: Facebook (full of problems - I'm logged in, of course, and looking at my profile page and I used the search to find, for example, all posts with "Marx" - searching for Groucho Marx quote-memes. There are 5 of them. There they are, fully visible, in all their glory, and a 3-button hamburger menu. Oh, but what is that? A menu with only one option? Does that qualify as a menu? Not in my opinion. That one option is to save the post. So, if I want to delete the post I'm looking at, I have to click the post to look at the same post in another view, then I get a menu with many options. Why can't they just put that menu on the previous view of the post? Seriously, building a working website is not rocket science.

Ha! Welcome to the modern web, where billion-dollar companies somehow still can't design a menu that behaves like...you know...a menu.

The thing is, these sites could be built sensibly. They just aren't. And it's not because the engineers don't know how, it's because the entire product philosophy of Big Web is, well, dumb by design.

PART 6 - Summary of the Whole Series (So Far)

Below is a wrap-up of the previous 6 parts of this series:

1. Big Tech manipulates your time

   Each platform has its own tricks:

   • Facebook = slow-drip dopamine
   • Instagram = micro-hit hypnosis
   • Twitter/X = urgency addiction
   • YouTube = rabbit-hole engineering
   • TikTok = neurological warfare
   • LinkedIn = productivity guilt traps
   • Google = subtle misdirection loops

   The common theme: They’re all designed to keep you longer than you intended to stay.

2. Dark patterns are everywhere

   From fake menus to infinite loops to emotional guilt buttons, these designs:

   • create friction where YOU want convenience
   • create convenience where THEY profit
   • quietly nudge you into actions you didn’t plan

   All the while pretending to be “helpful.”

3. The extreme dark patterns push ethical boundaries

   The worst offenders:

   • hide exit routes
   • obscure privacy controls
   • trick users into sharing more data
   • manipulate emotions
   • disguise ads as content
   • override user settings
   • bury essential features
   • create endless distraction cycles

   These aren’t mistakes - they’re engineered behaviors.

4. Users aren't failing - the platforms are manipulating

   When you feel drained, confused, or stuck, it’s not a personal flaw.

   It’s by design. You’re fighting:

   • thousands of engineers
   • behavioral psychologists
   • algorithmic modeling
   • engagement-driven design decisions

   And you’re doing it with nothing but your thumb and your sanity.

Come back next week for the last part of this series: Part 8 of Dark Patterns - the Modern Internet