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It's really not gamified. It doesn't "nudge" you. There are no dark UX patterns that I've seen. They do not let you "go from training wheels to driving motorcyc
by keepshoutingsir 6y ago
It's really not gamified. It doesn't "nudge" you. There are no dark UX patterns that I've seen. They do not let you "go from training wheels to driving motorcycles" any more than the actual American driving test does (which, by the way, was less than three minutes long when I took it).
This whole article suggests one thing: Adults can't be trusted with their own money. That's more than a little insulting, and while it's tragic that gamblers have clearly used Robinhood as a substitute for other forms of their addiction, it's no different to the many documentaries I've seen of people doing the same thing at Poker tables or slot machines. It's just "bad" because it's in an app.
Meanwhile, I've been very happy with the things I learned using Robinhood. Not all of my investments have been successful. I've lost money on some. I've made money on others. I'm not particularly interested in shorting, and I follow the best advice: Don't invest what you can't afford to lose. Maybe they should make that their slogan, since that's really all anyone can complain about.
- hellomyguys 6y agoIt definitely nudges you more than any other financial app. You get push notifications for stocks making big moves up or down. They show you popular lists which curates stocks in various ways (100 Most Popular, Upcoming Earnings, Top Movers), which makes it find stocks you might want to trade. They show you what analysts are staying about a stock (X% say Buy, Y% say Sell). They integrate news articles and autoplaying playing videos with finance news. The graph of you investing performance is animated the same as a game's high score screen. They also give you a free stock when you sign up or for inviting friends. These are all mechanics pulled from social media and games to drive engagement. Vanguard is definitely not doing any of these things. If I'm more engaged with the app, I feel like I have a better understanding of the market. If I have a better understanding of the market, I feel more confident day trading. At first glance its easy to view Robinhood as just a better UX for a finance app, but it's clear they've gone beyond just making it easy to buy stocks/options and are actively seeking to drive engagement. This combined with the rise of things like r/WallStreetBets has definitely inspired a new type of investor/trader.
- kjksf 6y agoNone of that is unique to Robinhood. All brokerage website provide you with similar information, notifications about hot stocks etc. Most of that stuff is something I want to know. I don't want to make blind investments so research into stocks is a thing. And sentiment of others is additional information that has effect on stock price, just like wall street's analysts price target. Really the only "sin" of Robinhood is that their app and website are fast and well designed.
- hellomyguys 6y agoAll brokerage websites have auto-playing videos, give you a free stock (and more for inviting friends?), and animated return charts?