From Fear to Care: Designing Supportive and Privacy-Conscious Health Advertising

Digital health advertising is increasingly pervasive,yet its psychological and ethical implications are often overlooked.While existing research underscores these risks,little evidence explores how the combination of positive,supportive messaging and privacy-conscious personalization might enhance user experience and mitigate adverse effects.This study investigates whether reframing health-related ads with positive,supportive language can reduce anxiety and improve perceived comfort,support,and psychological safety,while meeting privacy expectations.Using a mixed-methods design,I conducted a baseline survey(N=118),a randomized controlled experiment(N=150)comparing fear-based versus supportive ads.Results show that supportive ads significantly reduced post-exposure anxiety and increased comfort,perceived support,and psychological safety compared to fear-based appeals.These findings suggest that well-being-oriented,privacy-preserving advertising can not only reduce anxiety but also enhance user engagement without sacrificing relevance,providing actionable guidance for the ethical design of digital health communication.