22/4/2024

Text messages, the universal UI?

I’ve been thinking about how text messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and iMessage, have become the dominant UI/UX to solve problems, organize events, deal with companies and other social interactions.

There are many merits in the messaging paradigm; the biggest of them, I guess, is accessibility. On the other hand, wouldn’t we be better off dealing with more interfaces, each adapted to specific demands?

Phone calls, for example, are a more humane and more efficient way to fix misunderstandings. E-mail, board discussions, well-made e-commerce sites… all this fell into disuse or lost ground for text balloons and groups on WhatsApp (or iMessage if you’re in the US).