World's Most Anxiety-Inducing Applications

In the digital age, our smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives, with a significant portion of our time spent on various apps. A recent study, using the tool TensiStrength, has shed light on the stress levels associated with some of the most popular apps.

The social media giant Reddit has been found to be the most stressful app among those surveyed, with an astonishing 80% of reviews expressing stress. Users have been unhappy about recent updates and have reported inappropriate posts, contributing to a tense environment.

TikTok, known for its light-hearted and entertaining content, surprisingly has 40% stressed reviews on the AppStore. However, it is also recognised as a source of relaxation for some users during stressful times.

The average phone screen time in 2021 was a hefty 7 hours and 11 minutes, raising concerns about the impact of these apps on our mental health.

Just Eat, a popular food delivery app, has also garnered 80% angry reviews among its competitors. Meanwhile, Pinterest, the number one social media app for relaxation, has only 22.22% of reviews being stressed and a whopping 55.55% being relaxed.

Instagram, known for its impact on body image and mental health, has 81.3% of stressed reviews. Twitter, on the other hand, is the third least stressful app, with 29.6% of users being calculated as relaxed in the reviews.

Communication apps have not been spared from the stress epidemic. Messenger is ranked as the most stress-inducing, with 79.5% of users leaving negative reviews. Skype, however, is the least problematic app in this category, with only 20% of reviews ranking as stressed.

Streaming apps have also been under scrutiny. Hulu ranks as the most stress-inducing streaming app, with 70.6% of the reviews on the AppStore being detected as stressed. Disney+, on the other hand, has 29.4% of reviews on the AppStore being detected as stressed.

Furthermore, apps like "Shadow Fight 4: Arena" and dating apps like Parship have received numerous negative reviews due to unfair gameplay balance, pay-to-win mechanics, poor user activity, unresponsive customer service, and high costs.

Postmates, another food delivery app, has 93% of the reviews having a level of stress in their tone. This highlights the need for app developers to consider the mental health impact of their platforms and strive to create a more positive user experience.