During this talk, Bethany Sonefeld will discuss the ways technology is controlling our time, emotions, and attention. She will outline the tools and techniques companies use to keep us hooked and engaged. Then, she’ll discuss the ways in which we can commit to and build healthier technology—for ourselves and our end users.
“Dark patterns, bottomless feeds, and manipulative software—we are surrounded by addictive and toxic technology. As creators, we have a tremendous responsibility to build tech that respects our users time, mental space, and well-being. As consumers, we must begin to build balance with the technology in our own lives. It’s time we create with conscience.”
Bethany is a designer that specializes in systems thinking, detail oriented design, and scalable enterprise solutions. Bethany has spent her career leading grass-roots efforts, consistently innovating and changing the way product organizations build products. She co-led the Carbon Design System team at IBM, who built and maintained the design system for IBM Cloud. At Cloudflare, she was the first designer on Cloudflare for Teams, building that product from the ground up before hiring a team of four.
Currently, Bethany is working as a Senior Product Designer at Duo Security while also building Create with Conscience, a space dedicated to educating and committing to designing healthier technology.
She’s passionately curious, a cross-stitching queen, and is pretty much obsessed with her dog. You can learn more about Bethany and see her current projects at bethanysonefeld.com or give her a shout on Twitter @bsonefeld.