Ethical Responsibilities of Product Manager

Netflix's Social Dilemma made me think about the ethical responsibility Product Managers have when building solutions (beyond social networks).

SaaS products generally are more utilitarian in nature. They certainly don't create as much an influence as Facebook or Instagram but even then, PMs do obsess about engagement rates, retention & interactions.

Businesses require them to unconditionally grow these metrics to keep the product on top of mind, but there needs to be a threshold.

For example, Uber would want users to use them when they need to move.

But consuming tons of attention during idle times would seem needless. (barring a few campaigns/offers/CSR)

By building bulky notification layers & retention loops, we might be vying for time these individuals could have given to their families, friends, religion and passions.

Establishing limits and focusing more on value delivered than time spent may help free users from digital shackles we all find ourselves in.

What other things can PMs do to help in this cause?