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I'm sure all these things are factors, but the text messages reduced rates of failure to appear, so...clearly ignorance and apathy are part of the equation.

by darawk 6y ago

kbos87 6y ago
Having someone in my life who I could easily see falling into the bucket we are labeling “ignorant and/or apathetic”, I’d say there could also be less cynical reasons why people fall into this trap. Might it be fair to also assume that anxiety, depression, and a general sense of hopelessness against a system you’ve maybe been treated unfairly by in the past might have something to do with why people miss court dates? I doubt that most of them just don’t care. We 100% need to fix the larger dark patterns at play in the criminal justice system. We also need to not pretend that text message nudges are all we need here. But it’s possible some help from the system rather than feeling like it’s engineered for you to fail is a small step. And it isn’t fair to assume the worst of people who likely have pretty difficult life circumstances weighing them down.
- darawk 6y ago
  Sure, but I don't think anyone is pretending that it's all we need. There is a subset of the population who isn't showing up because they forget. For them, text messages are helpful, and for everyone else they're non-harmful, so it's a net win. It doesn't mean that we stop looking for ways to improve things for everyone else.
- BurningFrog 6y ago
  > anxiety, depression, and a general sense of hopelessness against a system you’ve maybe been treated unfairly by in the past That all counts as "apathetic" as I'd use the word.
  - whearyou 6y ago
    That’s not a very discerning application of that word.
bigdubs 6y ago
Or people that live busy lives benefit from nudges in the same way calendar notifications are a feature for almost any calendar app for otherwise perspicacious people.

I'm sure all these things are factors, but the text messages reduced rates of failure to appear, so...clearly ignorance and apathy are part of the equation.

by darawk 6y ago

I'm sure all these things are factors, but the text messages reduced rates of failure to appear, so...clearly ignorance and apathy are part of the equation.

kbos87 6y ago

Having someone in my life who I could easily see falling into the bucket we are labeling “ignorant and/or apathetic”, I’d say there could also be less cynical reasons why people fall into this trap. Might it be fair to also assume that anxiety, depression, and a general sense of hopelessness against a system you’ve maybe been treated unfairly by in the past might have something to do with why people miss court dates? I doubt that most of them just don’t care. We 100% need to fix the larger dark patterns at play in the criminal justice system. We also need to not pretend that text message nudges are all we need here. But it’s possible some help from the system rather than feeling like it’s engineered for you to fail is a small step. And it isn’t fair to assume the worst of people who likely have pretty difficult life circumstances weighing them down.

darawk 6y ago
Sure, but I don't think anyone is pretending that it's all we need. There is a subset of the population who isn't showing up because they forget. For them, text messages are helpful, and for everyone else they're non-harmful, so it's a net win. It doesn't mean that we stop looking for ways to improve things for everyone else.
BurningFrog 6y ago
> anxiety, depression, and a general sense of hopelessness against a system you’ve maybe been treated unfairly by in the past That all counts as "apathetic" as I'd use the word.
- whearyou 6y ago
  That’s not a very discerning application of that word.

bigdubs 6y ago

Or people that live busy lives benefit from nudges in the same way calendar notifications are a feature for almost any calendar app for otherwise perspicacious people.