why is duolingo crying

The Duolingo owl mascot, Duo, is shown crying as a deliberate design and marketing strategy. The crying icon is used to create a sense of urgency and emotional connection, encouraging users to keep up with their lessons. It symbolizes the risk of losing one's language skills identity if users skip lessons, tapping into the psychology of identity protection rather than just guilt. The sad or crying Duo is meant to motivate and engage users more by making them feel like their language learning progress is at stake. It is not a reflection of the user's actual progress but rather a way to prompt more frequent app use. Some users find this effective, while others find it off- putting or annoying. The icon changes also serve to keep the app's experience dynamic and emotionally engaging for users.