For much of my career in UX, landing a role at a big-name social media company has been seen as the ultimate achievement—the mountaintop of success. Among peers, it’s often viewed as proof that you’ve “made it,” that you’re among the best in the field.

Despite their prestige amongst my peers, I’ve never wanted to pursue a job at one of these companies. Not because I doubt my abilities, but because I don’t align with the incentives that often drive UX work in those environments—optimizing for engagement, increasing screen time, keeping users addicted to rake in the ad dollars.

These social media companies only make money when users spend as much time as possible of their precious lives scrolling endless feeds. I don’t think it is ethical, good for the human psyche, or good for society. I could opine on this topic for thousands of words, but I will focus on what type of UX incentives I prefer to drive my own career.

Instead, I’ve chosen to focus on platforms where success means helping people find the information they need as quickly and effortlessly as possible—so they can move on with their lives. From designing IT service experiences at a university to now working on cancer information at one of the world’s leading treatment hospitals, my passion has always been about reducing friction, not increasing time spent.

I believe screen time is already consuming too much of our attention—our lives. My goal is to create seamless, intuitive experiences that let users get in, get what they need, and get out.

This mindset has shaped how I approach UX and led me to challenge industry norms. Should success always be measured by time spent on a platform? Should engagement be the north star, even at the expense of user well-being?

Social media companies employ brilliant designers solving complex problems, and I respect their craft. But for me, impact looks different. It’s the cancer patient who quickly finds the right treatment option or a means to set up an appointment with a specialist without frustration. The student who effortlessly resolves an IT issue so they can focus on their studies. The countless users who don’t even realize they’ve had a great UX experience—because it was so seamless, they never had to think about it.

UX should serve users, not the other way around. And for me, that means designing to help people reclaim their time—not spend more of it on a screen.