Most people don't care about quality
How People Care About Quality (and When They Don’t)
- Many argue people do care about quality, but only in certain domains (e.g., cars, tools, house construction) and at certain times; the same person may be picky 1% of the time and indifferent 99%.
- Others say people mostly seek value: an internal tradeoff of quality, price, convenience, and risk, not pure “best possible” quality.
- Several note that different people care about different dimensions of quality (e.g., reliability vs performance in cars, story vs effects in movies), so “most people don’t care” hides this variation.
Price, Poverty, and Information Gaps
- Many comments focus on cash‑flow constraints: even if a pricier product lasts longer, many can’t afford the higher upfront cost.
- Others stress information asymmetry: it’s hard or impossible to know quality a priori, and brands often cash in past reputations while cutting corners.
- Result: people buy cheap, “good‑enough” items or DIY because they can’t reliably identify truly better products or service providers.
Media, Tech, and the Netflix / Apple Debates
- Netflix “casual viewing” is seen as optimizing for background watching, not deep engagement; some call this a race to the bottom, others say it’s a legitimate niche.
- Apple is cited both as evidence that people will pay for a quality floor and as counter‑evidence (limited market share, high prices, hardware failures).
- Ongoing Android vs iPhone debate: some see Apple as dominant in “premium quality,” others emphasize Android flexibility and lower price.
Enshittification and the Hollowed‑Out Middle
- Multiple comments tie low quality to capitalism’s incentives: race to the bottom, planned obsolescence, adware, stratification into ultra‑cheap mass products vs luxury status goods, with a shrinking mid‑quality tier.
- Durable, repairable products (old Volvos, appliances, tools) are contrasted with modern goods that fail quickly and are hard to repair.
Expertise, Taste, and “Pedantry”
- Quality in art and design is seen as partly subjective and partly grounded in expert standards; laypeople may feel differences without naming them.
- Some warn that becoming highly discerning (audiophiles, wine, hi‑fi, typography) can reduce everyday enjoyment; others see this as growth in taste.
- Designers and engineers are split between “don’t over‑optimize things users don’t notice” and “invisible craft and details build trust and usability.”
Accessibility and UX
- Several highlight that some “details” (contrast, keyboard navigation, non‑janky layouts) are not pedantry but accessibility, making the difference between usable and unusable for some users.