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It’s bad because it takes a very long time for a language learner to assess their own progress. Duolingo relies on its userbase making an uninformed choice. If Duolingo warned a user “it will take a you 30 years of daily ‘Casual Level’ use to learn the basics here” he or she would likely choose a different website or strategy.

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Product market fit does not lie. There is a reason they have user base and activate users who keeps coming back.

Yes, the reason is that it takes around two years before a user realizes how ineffective the site is. That’s about the maximum amount of time a user can fool themselves into thinking “I’ll start to see some progress any day now!”

If Duolingo were as effective as sites that require the user to make actual effort, its popularity would be more than justified.

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