From Dark Patterns to Counter-autonomy Installations: Understanding Users' Loss of Autonomy on Live Streaming Platforms

Live streaming platforms are rapidly emerging as popular forms of online entertainment. Yet many users report challenges, most notably a loss of autonomy in managing their spending and consumption. This erosion of autonomy is often reinforced by deceptive patterns embedded in platform design. In this paper, we examine how users experience and perceive autonomy on live streaming platforms. Through a systematic analysis of Douyin, a popular live streaming platform, we identified 27 deceptive patterns, complemented by 15 semi-structured interviews with platform users. Our findings reveal that users experience significant loss of autonomy, including compulsive overspending, disrupted daily routines, forced labor patterns, and increased anxiety, and expressed strong desires for autonomy-supportive alternatives. We provide insights into the design of future live streaming as autonomy-supportive installations, introducing an installation theory–derived framing that helps identify where autonomy breaks down and envision user-centered layered alternatives within entrenched platform infrastructures.