Dark Patterns and User Mental Health: Identifying Theoretical Impacts of Deceptive Design on Vulnerable Demographics

Abstract

Deceptive Design, or “Dark Patterns” in UI/UX are becoming increasingly prevalent and sophisticated in nature. As a result, users frequently encounter them in contexts such as e-commerce and social media whether it’s unbeknownst to the user or not. While previous research has explored user perception and attitudes towards “Dark Patterns”, little research has been conducted to investigate its potential impacts on a user’s mental health. The purpose of this paper is to identify vulnerable demographics of users who may face harmful outcomes as a result of interacting with deceptive design. From this, we generate a set of research questions that are intended to generate discourse and further investigation into the possible impacts of Dark Patterns on these users.