Get the latest tech news

The meanest app: Duolingo subjects its users to "emotional blackmail"

Duolingo's owl mascot constantly rags on users. It's a risky marketing strategy, but Gen Z loves it.

Across the internet, nearly a decade's worth of posts, comments, and blogs lament Duolingo's brusque bedside manner, which one Redditor half-jokingly described as an attempt at emotional blackmail to spur reengagement. The nagging goes beyond email subject lines and push notifications; inactive users might look down at their phones to find that the Duolingo app icon suddenly depicts a sadder and older version of the owl's face — or one that's melting into a carnivalesque nightmare. Research suggests it's especially risky to deploy marketing campaigns that make people feel bad about themselves; a 2010 study found that the use of guilt and shame in anti-drinking ads triggered a defensive response that actually made their target viewers likelier to drink more.

Get the Android app