Technology exists as a way to make life easier. But as more innovations emerge, some tech trends have become annoying. The internet has made it easier than ever to access everything. But this ease comes at a cost.
Most issues that users find can be resolved by basic troubleshooting. However, some tech annoyances make life that much more difficult.
1. Geo-blocking
You often wish to access videos on a global platform like Twitter. However, when you click the video, it says the content is unavailable in your location. This happens more so for viewers in the global south. International news companies that do this confound you because why publish global news on the platform if it can’t be accessed worldwide?
Streaming services also block content in various countries. You can search for the movie or TV show, and it appears on your feed, but it’s not available to view in your country. This forces you to purchase a VPN to watch a show.
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2. Ads
YouTube has recently gotten into a habit of boosting multiple unskippable ads before you start watching a video. It’s a mild tech annoyance because these ads last a few seconds. However, there are times when you are watching a 20-minute video that’s interrupted by a three-hour ad. Ads as long as a James Cameron feature film don’t make sense. Nobody watches these to the end. Why do they exist?
Popup ads are so annoying that the inventor issued an apology. In 2014, these were the worst form of digital advertising until someone invented the ad that launches a new tab.
3. Password verification
It’s annoying when you lose your password and have to set a new password. It’s also just a mild tech issue when you learn that a website you’re subscribed to was hacked, and you need to change your password, including in other websites where you’ve used the same password. What’s hard to cotton on to is why your new password has to be rejected. When you try to log in again with your new password, it’s also rejected. And when you’re emailed a link to change your password again, you must confirm your identity. Then your new new password isn’t strong enough. On and on, it goes until eventually, you have to use the password recommended by your browser, which you can’t remember, and you have to remain signed in or save your password on your browser. A few days later, you receive an article on your feed telling you you shouldn’t save passwords on your browser because it’s not secure.
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4. Subscription models
Content sides need to generate more revenue, and thus they put their content behind a paywall. Why don’t they offer an option to pay for that one article? Why does it have to be a subscription? But when a pay model does not block it, you wonder why you must create an email subscription. You then receive a flurry of emails that you didn’t consent to. When you try to unsubscribe, you receive a popup asking why you want to unsubscribe.
When you pay for access from a website and its usefulness has run its course, you then decide to delete your account. Some need you to send a formal application to get your account data removed. Sometimes, the service refuses because of the online privacy laws in your country. The only course left is to remove your payment info and hope you don’t receive an email that the website was hacked and data was stolen.
It’s also hard to justify some tech services that would be more convenient as a one-time purchase. But the product creates a monthly payment scheme forcing you to pay monthly at a fee that costs way more than a one-time purchase.
5. Mandatory updates
Many tech software systems require updates. However, some launch their updates without permission from the user, wasting valuable time. Some updates also make the device incompatible with others, like printers. They can also affect how well other apps perform and can take up disk space.
It’s unfortunate, but these tech annoyances are the new normal. They’re unavoidable, and the companies behind them don’t want to fix them.
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