We are in dire need of strict overreaching regulations about what apps and notifications can and cannot do. For example, it should be imposed by law that notifications can’t be used for advertising. I NEED to have my airline app’s notifications on, but no, I don’t need to know once a day about the “incredible” Cancun weekend getaway deals.

In the same way, it’s clear and established that social media apps’ UX-features such as infinite scroll are devastating for our mental and somewhat physical health. They leverage a fundamental brain pattern, just like nicotine in cigarettes creates addiction. We need mandatory splash screens with advice on all this when we open Instagram or TikTok. And we should impose legal limits on features like infinite scroll or pull to refresh.

I would like that Europe’s penchant for hyper regulation would lead the way in this field, instead of just pushing for more blatant favoritism towards shitty companies like Spotify just because they’re European.