When Design Creates Anxiety
Engagement platforms are meant to support our wellbeing. Yet too often, they unsettle us. A scroll that should offer learning becomes endless and addictive. Notifications flash red, sending signals of danger through our nervous system. Scarcity prompts—“Only 2 remaining!”—turn shopping into stress. Even booking a stay can spiral into pressure, where the fear of missing out outweighs calm judgment. It is what Nielsen Norman Group calls the anxiety-ridden vortex.
These experiences are not about personal weakness. They are the product of systems designed to maximize engagement rather than nurture balance. And if design can create this cycle of anxiety, it can also help us break free from it.
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