According to the company behind the popular language-learning app, this is simply a way of encouraging people to keep up their lessons, because it is possible for users with a streak to choose another icon. The idea is that users will start a streak to get rid of the ugly icon. But if shocking people into learning a new language is seemingly benign, this tactic is more nefarious than it might seem.
It's all a marketing technique: when Duo gets ill, people will talk about it. When the icon first changed in August, there were many surprised and concerned posts about it on X – which gives Duolingo airtime. Even by writing about it right now I am helping them out. But it also entices people who may not have used it in a while to open the app, out of horror or curiosity, turning them into a potential customer again. All this to grab people’s attention and increase app engagement.
It’s not the first time Duolingo has tried this; in October 2023 it was melting, whilst in April this year his face was dry and shrivelled. In fact, the company has put effort and money into a successful ad campaign revolving entirely around the green owl; the internet is filled with jokes and memes, some from the company but many from the public, about the comically threatening and absurd bird. It has formed a whole personality based on guilt-tripping its users.
This is problematic because it is another example of the way big companies are subtly influencing our everyday decisions and behaviours, on how we spend our time and eventually our money. It keeps us on our phones we when otherwise wouldn’t be. Granted, there are worse apps and companies to do this than Duolingo, which seems reasonably practical and ethical. But if Duo can do it, others can (Facebook’s icon also went from blue to black around a month ago). Apps use sneaky tricks to keep us coming back – now try saying that in Spanish.
