Finding Heroes In A Messy Digital World

Drexel teaching professor Tim Gorichanaz argues that today's digital platforms are designed around frictionless consumption — and that this is precisely what makes them feel hollow. Drawing on the structure of the classical hero's journey, he proposes a different design ethic: platforms that respect users as protagonists on a meaningful arc, with thresholds, trials, and growth, rather than as endlessly scrollable attention units.