Authors
Tessa Eagle, Aman Mehrotra, Aayush Sharma, Alex Zuniga, Steve Whittaker
Publication date
2022/11/11
Journal
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Volume
6
Issue
CSCW2
Pages
1-38
Publisher
ACM
Description
As global rates of anxiety and depression increase, we observe millions of downloads of mobile apps addressing mental health that adopt 'freemium' charging models offering complex combinations of free and paid features. We explore potentially negative outcomes of deploying such freemium designs to vulnerable MH populations. We assess outcomes for 41 frequently downloaded mental health apps, by combining thematic analysis of 41K user reviews with audits to validate app descriptions and reviews. We propose a new analytic framework identifying three types of negative outcomes for freemium deployments: first vulnerable users currently experiencing crises may feel pressure to download unhelpful or costly apps. Second unintuitive descriptions of complex apps can lead to inappropriate treatments and expensive subscriptions. Third, limited duration offers may result in incomplete treatments or …
Total citations
2023202421
Scholar articles
T Eagle, A Mehrotra, A Sharma, A Zuniga, S Whittaker - Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer …, 2022