Speedbump

Similar to their namesake on the road, online "speedbumps" are intentional disruptions or designed obstacles strategically placed in a user's online journey to create a pause. Their purpose is to redirect attention and break the user's frame of mind. These speedbumps aim to guide users away from impulsive behavior and encourage decision-making in a less agitated mindset. They can appear as pop-ups, blurs, or mandatory redirects, all intended to interrupt the user's flow and promote more considered actions.

For instance, imagine a feature that restricts users from responding to a negative comment ten minutes after the negative comment was posted. This forces the user to reflect on what they want their response to look like and only engage if they still find it important after the waiting period. While this feature may cause temporary frustration, it contributes to a space with fewer conflict brawls and, ultimately, a more positive platform atmosphere.

This category of intervention is also sometimes called "Friction" - a term that invokes the same idea: slowing a user down without redirecting them explicitly. The Integrity Institute has an awesome guide on best practices in the design of friction, which I highly recommend.

Although speedbumps are well intentioned and can be effective, their weaknesses prevent them from being usful most of the time. Overuse of speedbumps can lead to user frustration, controversy, and even adaptation where they learn to navigate around the interruptions without genuine reconsideration. This mirrors findings about speedbumps in the real world - when overused they result in more reckless driving, not less. Thus, speedbumps should be used judiciously and only in situations where users are likely to voluntarily alter their behavior if given a moment and a compelling reason to reflect.