An Empirical Study on the Impact of Moral Interventions on Addictive Behavior and Psychological States in Mobile Applications

INTRODUCTION: With the widespread use of intelligent mobile devices, addictive design in mobile applications has increasingly influenced users' behavioral patterns and psychological well-being. OBJECTIVES: This study examines the effects of addictive interface design and the feasibility of ethical intervention through a three-stage conceptual pathway of “addictive mechanisms–moral intervention–user response.” METHODS: A five-day controlled experiment with 72 participants compared a standard interface containing addictive mechanisms with an otherwise equivalent interface incorporating duration reminders, excessive-reading prompts, and exit guidance. Behavioral logs, GAD-7 and short-form SAS scores, a post-experiment acceptance questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews with three domain experts were used for triangulation. RESULTS: After Holm–Bonferroni correction, the intervention group showed significantly shorter usage duration, lower scrolling frequency, and lower anxiety and dependency scores than the control group; the corresponding effects were moderate to large. The intervention received a mean acceptance rating of 4.2 out of 5. CONCLUSION: Mild, non-coercive interventions can reduce immersive use while preserving user acceptance, providing empirical and practical guidance for ethically responsible mobile interface design.