Persuasive Technology

With that in mind, when is it appropriate to make the social quality of the

product more explicit? In general, I believe it’s appropriate to enhance social

cues in leisure, entertainment, and educational products (smart toys, video

games, kids’ learning applications). Users of such applications are more likely

to indulge, accept, and perhaps even embrace an explicit cyber social actor—

either embodied or not. The Actimates toys are a good example. In the case of

Actimates, one purpose of the toys is to teach social dynamics, so designers can

rightly focus on maximizing the use of social cues.

When is it not appropriate to enhance social cues? When the sole purpose of

the technology product is to improve efficiency.

When I buy gas for my car, I choose ...