It's about the relationship between humans and technology, about the design of technology. It's about how we can get our lives back by dropping technology addiction. Technology has two big problems: it's difficult to access and it's addicting. I want to make my listeners' lives better by opening their eyes to the design and use of technology. My goal is to change the way you look at the world and make it a better place.
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It's about the relationship between humans and technology, about the design of technology. It's about how we can get our lives back by dropping technology addiction. Technology has two big problems: it's difficult to access and it's addicting. I want to make my listeners' lives better by opening their eyes to the design and use of technology. My goal is to change the way you look at the world and make it a better place.
The Rebound Effect: When Progress Turns Against Itself
The Human-Technology Podcast
34 minutes
1 month ago
The Rebound Effect: When Progress Turns Against Itself
It’s one of the great paradoxes of our time: the more we optimize, the less we truly gain. We invent efficient machines and use them more. We save time, only to fill it with more work. We consume smarter, yet end up consuming more.
In this episode of The Human-Technology Podcast I explore the rebound effect, the hidden mechanism that quietly undermines our progress. From fuel-efficient cars that became heavy SUVs, to digital tools that promised freedom but delivered overload, this phenomenon reveals a deep truth about human behavior and technology.
Together, we’ll unpack:
- What the rebound effect really is – and why it occurs in every domain, from mobility to work.
- How psychological, economic, and technological forces feed it.
- What UX and HMI designers can do to turn efficiency into genuine relief, not just new complexity.
This is an episode about responsibility, awareness, and design ethics, about seeing efficiency not as an invitation to do more, but as a chance to do better. Because not every improvement is progress. Sometimes, true progress lies in what we choose to leave out.
The Human-Technology Podcast
It's about the relationship between humans and technology, about the design of technology. It's about how we can get our lives back by dropping technology addiction. Technology has two big problems: it's difficult to access and it's addicting. I want to make my listeners' lives better by opening their eyes to the design and use of technology. My goal is to change the way you look at the world and make it a better place.
