In this way, cuteness becomes another cloak for tech companies: a shiny object that deflects criticism. Because the more we focus on the balloons and streamers, the clever videos and animated icons and punny humor, the less we’ll question why companies are asking us for so much information. The less we’ll notice just how much of our identities Facebook is making assumptions about, and who’s using those assumptions for their own purposes. The less we’ll care that almost every app we use is investing thousands of hours into figuring out new ways to squeeze information out of our usage patterns.
