The Dark Pattern of Digital Freedom: How Screens Bypass Our Social Wisdom

I explore an unsettling discovery at McDonald's - men order dramatically more food when facing a screen instead of a person. This kicks off a deeper examination of how digital interfaces strip away the social guardrails that evolved to protect us from our worst impulses.

Key Points:

• What McDonald's learned about male ordering patterns through self-service kiosks
• How digital interfaces bypass thousands of years of evolved social wisdom
• Why that moment of hesitation before ordering a second burger matters
• The hidden costs in dating apps, social media, and digital shopping
• When friction might actually help us make better choices

Notable Quote: "The screen knows what we want in the moment because it doesn't ask us to consider the future."