After a dominant phase for touchscreens, buttons are experiencing a revival. Apple's announcement of new buttons, European car safety regulations favoring buttons, and the Nintendo Switch 2's redesign are examples of this 'touchscreen backlash.' This trend echoes historical debates surrounding technology and buttons. In Rachel Plotnick's book, Power Button, the historical significance of buttons is explored, highlighting concerns over their impact on labor dynamics and social hierarchies. As touchscreens have replaced buttons, they have introduced ambiguities that can hinder usability in various contexts, especially in gaming and driving.
These days, touchscreens have replaced many of the buttons in our daily lives and their ambiguity is what's at issue.
The book dives deep into the earliest years of this technology, when there were worries about the technology's ability to hide labor and reinforce existing social hierarchies.
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