“I’m getting tired of these passive-aggressive reminders,” says one Reddit user. And they’re not the only one to have complained about Duoling

‘We haven’t seen you in a while’: Duolingo’s passive-aggressive strategy for keeping users hooked

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2024-12-25 16:00:05

“I’m getting tired of these passive-aggressive reminders,” says one Reddit user. And they’re not the only one to have complained about Duolingo’s messages. These range from texts criticizing users for not using the language-learning app, to images of the iconic owl looking sad, or even near-moribund when users haven’t logged in for a few days.

“He’s just really tired of having to remind everyone to do their lessons, obviously,” said Duolingo’s head of social media on TikTok in reference to the owl’s sad-looking appearance, making it clear that the popular learning platform is using passive aggression to keep users engaged.

More than a few parents have complained that Duolingo is making their children cry by making them feel guilty for not using the app. And many internet users criticize the platform’s marketing strategy as far from friendly. Yet despite the criticism, this aggressive approach is working. Every day, 24.2 million people log in to learn one of the 42 languages offered by the world’s most downloaded educational app, which has over 80 million users.

“Its behavior is undoubtedly passive-aggressive. It’s an application that bets, like so many others, on gamification. What it creates is anxiety, because no matter what you have to do, when you receive a notification with a sad owl, you feel guilty,” says Mauro Entrialgo, author of the Spanish-language book Malismo. “Still, like so many other games, by offering a limited environment in which one can control what happens, the app provides a certain peace, giving the user a sense of control. If it’s addictive, it’s because it has a way of making the user feel good by completing a very simple task.”

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