ARIA Paradox
Constat documented annually by WebAIM in the Million report: pages with ARIA attributes show on average ~40% more accessibility errors than pages without ARIA. Counter-intuitive paradox: ARIA is designed to improve accessibility but its misuse actively degrades screen reader experience. Cause: devs and AI agents generate `role=button` on divs instead of using `<button>`, forget `aria-expanded`, put `aria-hidden` on visible content, etc.
Strengths
- Measurable quick-win: removing redundant ARIA immediately reduces axe-core / Lighthouse detected errors
- Annual public data (WebAIM Million), chiffred argument usable to convince stakeholders and teams
- Simple concept to apply: 'native HTML first' checklist before any `role=...`
Limitations
- Goes against legacy practices: many legacy components rely on div + ARIA, costly refactor
- Some advanced cases (carousels, comboboxes) still require ARIA, rule not universal
Best for
- Design system manager wanting to prove DS a11y impact with before/after numbers
- Team opening components to AI agents and wanting to avoid div with role=button generations
- Annual a11y audit / certification, differentiator to go beyond surface compliance