Focuses user attention on critical elements.
May distract users from other important aspects.
The Attentional Spotlight Effect describes the belief that others pay more attention to our appearance and actions than they actually do. Gilovich et al. (2000) demonstrated this effect by asking participants to wear an embarrassing t-shirt and later estimate how many people noticed it. The results indicated that participants significantly overestimated the level of attention they received, highlighting a misjudgment in social awareness.
The findings showed that people assume others notice them more than they do. This social bias influences behaviour in public or social interfaces, such as profile editing and content sharing.
1.
Clarify visibility settings for privacy-conscious users.
2.
Reassure users with cues on content visibility.
3.
Differentiate private vs public info clearly.
