the internet is now so embedded within the human developmental process.

it's not merely a collection of servers and clients.

its evolutions shape us with each passing generation.

in turn, we shape its evolution, feeding into what it has fed us.

it follows from 4E cogsci that app/site interfaces will drastically affect our cognitive development. at least, in comparison to those who did not grow up in such an environment.

here, environment is to mean the world at large. the affordance landscape is richly decorated. this is to say, the space of possible decisions is ineffably large. it is only that, through using our higher-order cognitive processes (in part, bestowed unto our mind by the prefrontal cortex), we can realize what is relevant in life.

however; this is the mechanism by which the serpent comes to eat its own tail.

modern design interface is so well thought out, that it has eroded the explorative nature of our being in the world. a well-thought-out interface, in terms of UI/UX design, is one that has undergone countless iterations informed by research that optimizes the speed at which a user gets to point A from point B.

why is this even worth mentioning? getting lost is a part of the exploration process. for sufficient evidence, try to find the one person who has truly, not even once, found themselves lost in life.

by eliminating all the noisy signals prevalent in decision-making, user interfaces have taught us to seek what we are told to seek. there is no way to pick up the CTA button like you would a rock, in the early summers of childhood, only to reveal a wriggling mass of worms as you scream and laugh with a childhood friend.

tbc