Duolingo - The straw that broke the owl's back (I am DONE!)
Today I decided to return to language learning and knowledge revision/refreshment, as I simply wanted to be more active in this area again. In the past, I used Duolingo to do this, so I downloaded the app again after not having used it in a long time. I opened it up and made a new account, wanting to start from scratch because it had simply been so long. Everything went fine. Until I came to a harrowing realization. I could not set a profile picture. And even worse - it kept pestering me to create one of those ugly "Avatars". I did not want that, of course, so I logged into my old account, the one that used to have a normal profile picture. And then it hit me. The cute stylized cat playing a keyboard was GONE. REMOVED by Duolingo so they just save just another few dollars. This was the last straw. I had many gripes with the app beforehand, the reason for my hiatus in the first place. First, they took the bios, then they took the classic lesson trees and replaced them with a strict, static path, taking away user choice, then they took the forums (that often contained important exchange about grammar and word usage, by the way, you know, things that are integral to learning a language??) and replaced them with an AI (that you have to PAY a comical amount of currency for) and now the profile pictures. And I didn't even mention all of the other changes made to entice people to shove thick bundles of cash up that verdant owl's scrotum. Duolingo seems hellbent on destroying user autonomy as a whole. They seek to control everything, human expression is not allowed on their app. You know, the place that teaches you languages, that are MADE for communication? It used to be alright, but nowadays it's all just soulless, corporate sludge that is continuously forced down desperate user's throats.
The profile pictures were one of the things that made it interesting. I loved following people with cats and funny meme pics. And I do not believe the excuse that it was done because of "inappropriate" pictures. I and many others have never seen such. I'm sure they existed somewhere, but it's not that hard to ban a handful of users. It's a language learning app, not Reddit or 4chan. It can't be that hard to moderate. They did it because of money and everyone knows it.
Greed is what drives them. Greed and the insatiable lust for control. Their goal - eliminating individuality on their platform and remaking their user's public accounts to their liking. It's not optional, profile pics were forcibly deleted and replaced by simple letters. And the lettered accounts are the ones with dignity, because they did not bow down to the owl's demands despite constant pressure. Because once you make an avatar, there is no going back. They are forcing an irreversible change of appearance on the users without telling them it will be irreversible, effectively deceiving them. I guess we can be glad they didn't force a premade avatar, but that will just be the next step. They will probably auto-assign usernames soon too. Duolingo has turned from a fun language learning app to a husk salivating at shiny dollar bills like a rabid dog. And they want to do the same to the users, removing their human expressions and coercing them into adopting a limited, corporate persona decided and crafted according to their own vision: Bland mute paypigs without any semblance of autonomy to blindly finance their increasingly unusable trash can of an application. Of course, once I realized this, I deleted my accounts immediately. I cannot and will not accelt or stand for such a transgression against my own identity, expression and integrity.
Another criticism I have is the increasing manipulation coming from Duolingo. They really leaned into the whole "Duo knows where you live" and ramped up the emotional manipulation by 100% percent. Constant notifications, some of which can't be turned off. And if you somehow manage to, more notifications begging you to turn them on again like a clingy obsessive partner. I've heard that leagues have been shrunk to make competition even more stressful. And don't even get me started on the app icon changing and melting over time when noticing user inactivity. While personally, the bizarre appearance of the cronenowl doesn't scare me, I can understand why it might be off-putting for some, especially younger users.
My tip: If you have other options, use the other option.
Bottom line: Duolingo is a deeply inadequate app that does not respect user autonomy and expects you to cough up coin for basic usability and also manipulates you emotionally if you take a break from it because of its innate dysfunction.
