Dark Patterns and Mental Health: Exposing 6 Deceptive Designs and Their Alarming Impact

TL;DR: Your Quick Guide

• Dark patterns are sneaky website designs that trick you into doing things you might not want to.
• These online tricks often worsen mental health issues like anxiety, impulsivity, and stress.
• Companies use them to boost sales and keep you hooked, sometimes at a serious cost to your well-being.
• Knowing about these tactics is your best defence against their negative effects on dark patterns and mental health.

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The internet should be a tool for connection, information, and ease. However, a growing number of websites use dark patterns – deceptive design choices that manipulate users. These tactics are not just annoying; they can have a significant and negative impact on mental health, particularly for vulnerable individuals.

What Are Dark Patterns?

Dark patterns are features of website or app design that deliberately trick users into actions they didn’t intend. Think of them as online traps. Their goal is often to increase company profits, boost user numbers, or gather more data, but they achieve this by exploiting how we naturally behave online. Worryingly, a 2022 study by the European Council found that a staggering 97% of tested websites used some form of these deceptive patterns.

The Deceitful Six: Common Dark Patterns Uncovered

While there are many types of dark patterns, here are six common examples and how they can affect you:

1. The Roach Motel: Easy In, Impossible OutThis is one of the most frustrating dark patterns. Signing up for a service or newsletter is quick and easy. But when you try to cancel or delete your account, you face a maze of confusing steps, hidden links, or even demands to make a phone call. This directly impacts dark patterns and mental health by causing significant frustration and a feeling of being trapped. It shouldn’t be harder to cancel a service than it was to subscribe to it. For instance, Instagram’s 30-day account deletion period can be problematic for individuals battling social media addiction, as it provides a window to easily reverse the decision, keeping user numbers high but potentially harming mental well-being.
2. Misdirection & False HierarchyWebsites often use visual tricks to guide your choices. For example, the button to “Accept” cookies or sign up for marketing emails might be large, colourful, and prominent. In contrast, the “Reject” or “Decline” option could be tiny, greyed out, or hidden in fine print. This dark pattern nudges you towards the choice the company prefers, not necessarily what’s best for you.
3. The Labyrinth: Complicated User JourneysSome websites make simple tasks incredibly complex. Trying to find privacy settings or understand how your data is used can feel like navigating a maze. This particularly impacts individuals with conditions like schizophrenia, who may have trouble mapping out how pages relate or experience impaired visual-spatial comprehension. Such designs cause information overload and stress.7
4. Pressure Cooker: Forced Urgency and Timers“Only 30 minutes left to claim this offer!” or “Limited time deal!” These messages create a false sense of urgency. This dark pattern pressures you into making quick decisions before you have time to think them through. It preys on the fear of missing out (FOMO).
5. Scarcity Illusions: “Only 2 left!”Similar to forced urgency, scarcity tactics make you believe a product or service is about to run out.8 Sites like Booking.com often show how many people are looking at the same hotel or highlight “limited availability.” Some e-commerce platforms, like those on Shopify using apps like “Heymerch,” even display fake low-stock messages. The app’s description openly states its purpose is to “create a sense of urgency and scarcity.” There’s currently no Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) rule specifically against scarcity. While it might boost sales, it erodes customer trust and happiness.10
6. Confirm shaming: Questioning Your Decision When you try to opt out of something, like a newsletter, you might see messages designed to make you feel guilty or silly. For example, “No thanks, I don’t like great deals.” This dark pattern uses emotional manipulation to make you reconsider. Questioning why you want to leave can also cause anxiety.

Why Dark Patterns Work: Exploiting Human Psychology

These deceptive designs are effective because they exploit common human behavioural tendencies. Online deceit takes advantage of our habits, our desire to complete tasks quickly, and our susceptibility to social pressures. People with existing mental health challenges, such as those related to motivation, impulsivity, and anxiety, can be even more sensitive to this exploitation.

The Toll on Well-being: How Dark Patterns and Mental Health Intersect

The constant exposure to manipulative online environments can take a serious toll:

• Amplifying Anxiety and Stress: Difficult cancellation processes, urgent countdown timers, and the fear of making the “wrong” click can significantly increase anxiety. The act of simply logging in can be stressful if you can’t remember your details or worry about password reset emails going to spam.
• Triggering Impulsivity and Regret: Scarcity and urgency tactics can lead to impulsive purchases, especially for individuals with conditions like Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or Emotional Intensity Disorder, who may feel emotions more intensely and struggle with impulse control. This can result in financial strain and lasting regret.
• Overwhelming Cognitive Abilities: Complicated navigation and information overload are particularly challenging for people with conditions like ADHD or schizophrenia, who may have difficulty concentrating or processing complex visual information. Clear timelines in processes, like checkouts, can help by showing how many steps are involved, making completion more likely.
• Exploiting Social Anxieties: Forcing users to make a phone call to cancel a service is a significant barrier for many. People with social anxiety, panic disorders, or even autism can find phone use extremely distressing, potentially leading to panic attacks.
• Fueling Addiction: Designs that make it hard to disengage, like lengthy account deletion processes on social media, can worsen addictive behaviours. This keeps user engagement high, which benefits stock prices and ad revenue, but at a potential risk to individuals’ mental health.

The widespread use of dark patterns clearly shows a conflict where business goals are prioritized over user well-being, deeply affecting the relationship between dark patterns and mental health.

The Wider Impact: From User Frustration to Hefty Fines

The consequences of using dark patterns are not limited to individual users. Companies can also face repercussions. For instance, Google was fined €150 million for making its cookie consent mechanisms difficult to navigate – a clear example of a dark pattern. This signals a growing awareness and intolerance for such deceptive practices.

Fighting Back: The Push for Ethical Design and User Awareness

The good news is that awareness is growing. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, is among those advocating for tackling the use of dark patterns and mental health protection online.

• Your Best Defence: Awareness: Understanding what dark patterns are and how they work is the most crucial step in protecting yourself. Be critical of website designs that seem to push you too hard or make things unnecessarily difficult.
• What Good Design Looks Like: Ethical design prioritizes the user. This means making it easy to delete accounts, providing clear and simple ways to cancel services, and avoiding manipulative urgency. If any part of a user journey causes users to rush, designers should simplify and keep only the most compelling, honest information.

Conclusion: Prioritising User Well-being to Defend Against Dark Patterns on and Mental Health

The way websites are designed has a direct impact on our digital experiences and, importantly, our mental health. While dark patterns might offer short-term gains for businesses, they erode user trust and can cause significant distress. Moving towards more transparent, ethical, and user-centric design is not just good practice; it’s essential for fostering a healthier online environment for everyone. The conversation around dark patterns and mental health must continue, pushing for a web that respects users rather than exploits them.

All our website aim to be not only beautifully designed but as accessible to as many people possible as well as morally upright. It is our belief that websites should enhance people’s lives not just be a tool for business. The more we focus on user’s wellbeing and ease of use the better it will be in turn for business. Want help identifying how we can improve your website accessiblity? Get your £150 website accessibility audit today.