The loading spinner on your favorite app completes its rotation in exactly 1.2 seconds. The confirmation message after you place an order reads "You're all set!" with a period that was debated for three meetings. The feed you scroll through each morning has been scrubbed of graphic violence by someone earning four dollars an hour in Nairobi.
We call these experiences "seamless." The word itself is instructive — it asks us not to look for the seams. But the seams are where the interesting stories live.
The Craft of Invisible Writing
UX writing is the discipline of writing words that people use but rarely read. Every button label, error message, tooltip, and confirmation screen in a digital product was written by someone who spent considerable time thinking about it.
Consider the difference between "Your password is wrong" and "That password doesn't match our records. Try again?" The first assigns blame. The second preserves dignity. The gap between those two sentences represents an entire philosophy of design.
The Moderators
On the other side of seamlessness is a labor force that most technology companies would prefer you not think about. Content moderators — the people who review flagged posts, images, and videos to keep platforms within community guidelines — represent one of the largest hidden workforces in technology.
Estimates suggest there are more than 100,000 content moderators working globally, many employed through outsourcing firms in the Philippines, Kenya, and India. They earn a fraction of what their Silicon Valley counterparts make, and they carry the psychological burden of viewing humanity's worst output eight hours a day.
The Cost of Seamlessness
There is a recurring pattern in technology: the smoother the user experience, the rougher the conditions for the people maintaining it. This is not a coincidence. Seamlessness is expensive, and the cost has to go somewhere.
Originally published in The Atlantic, March 2024.