I'm sure that's the way they think of it, but honestly, I think that's a bit naive -- an engineer's way of looking at a memetic question.
Social networks are creatures of convention and habit, and tend to certain kinds of conformity. I would actually be surprised if we don't start seeing subtle social pressure to turn on the button. (That is, I expect the folks who want the lazy way out to whine at the people who turn the button off.)
Adding a feature creates social expectations among the population as a whole, and that can have gradual cultural effects. Simply saying "you can choose not to use it" doesn't do much to alleviate that, if the overall culture shifts under you.
Again, I'm not *certain* that this would happen, and I'm personally on the fence about whether this change is a good idea or not. But their poll signals a disinterest in having the conversation, and I do think that's unwise...
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2014-05-29 07:42 pm (UTC)Social networks are creatures of convention and habit, and tend to certain kinds of conformity. I would actually be surprised if we don't start seeing subtle social pressure to turn on the button. (That is, I expect the folks who want the lazy way out to whine at the people who turn the button off.)
Adding a feature creates social expectations among the population as a whole, and that can have gradual cultural effects. Simply saying "you can choose not to use it" doesn't do much to alleviate that, if the overall culture shifts under you.
Again, I'm not *certain* that this would happen, and I'm personally on the fence about whether this change is a good idea or not. But their poll signals a disinterest in having the conversation, and I do think that's unwise...