Do persuasive designs make smartphones more addictive? - A mixed-methods study on Chinese university students

Persuasive designs have become prevalent for smartphones, and an increasing number of users report problematic smartphone use behaviours. Persuasive designs in smartphones might be accountable for the development and reinforcement of such problematic use. This paper uses a mixed-methods approach to study the relationship between persuasive designs and problematic smartphone use: (1) questionnaires (N=183) to investigate the proportion of participants with multiple problematic smartphone use behaviours and smartphone designs and applications (apps) that they perceived affecting their attitudes and behaviours, and (2) interviews (N=10) to deepen our understanding of users’ observations and evaluations of persuasive designs. 25% of the participants self-reported having multiple problematic smartphone use behaviours, with short video, social networking, game and learning apps perceived as the most attitude- and behaviour-affecting. Interviewees identified multiple persuasive designs in most of these apps and stated that persuasive designs prolonged their screen time, reinforced phone-checking habits, and caused distractions. Overall, this study provides evidence to argue that persuasive designs contribute to problematic smartphone use, potentially making smartphones more addictive. We end our study by discussing the ethical implications of persuasive designs that became salient in our study. •Popular apps are found applying multiple persuasive designs and occupying much of participants' screen time•Persuasive designs prolong participants’ screen time, reinforce phone checking habits and cause distractions.•Some apps use emotional triggers and gambling-like designs to persuade users.•Persuasive designs might contribute to problematic and addiction-related smartphone use behaviours.•We provide insights into the long-term impact of persuasive designs.