The language learning app has science behind its mascot, but cajoling doesn’t always make us more productive
The owl: symbol of wisdom, knowledge, transformation and good fortune. What better herald of the New Year could I hope for, winging its silent way into my inbox? Sadly, however, the owl in question is not Athena’s companion, swooping low over my personal battlefield to signal imminent victory in ongoing fights, as it was said to do for the Ancient Greeks. No, this creature is a Kermit-green animation, only too vocal and emotionally volatile in alarming ways. I refer, of course, to Duo.
Clearly the company’s systems have felt my own froideur in response, because the follow up messages contain a melting face and take a new tack: “Am I coming on too strong?” Yes, Duo, you most definitely are. When I was a teenager this sort of behaviour used to earn the term “hassle merchant”. But the team at company HQ insist on calling him “our friendly mascot”. With the awful January self-improvement pressure upon us, I wondered if we can understand a bit more about motivation from all this.
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