One of the most popular design applications at this moment is Figma. The proposed $20 billion acquisition by Adobe highlights the value of this software service for designers. Yet, The most appealing aspect of Figma is not its advanced design tools or browser-based hosting. Many design applications exist with similar capabilities, such as InVision, Sketch, and Adobe XD, to name a few.

The characteristic that separates Figma from other design software is its unique brand position and robust collaborative culture. However, this perceived value is also the reason it can impair designers.

Having a design community aimed at helping one another and a platform designers love may not seem like a recipe for dysfunction. However, if human nature has taught us anything it’s that digital communities and social media like platforms can become toxic, and too much love for an object of affection can transform into an unhealthy addiction.

Toxic Digital Communities

In many ways, the Figma community is beginning to develop the characteristics of an obsessive social media platform. After all, it enables users to create and share content or participate in networking to some degree. It may not be identical to traditional social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, but the essence of social media behavior is evident.

Digital communities have transformed not only how we interact with each other but how we perceive ourselves. Many will argue these communities have benefits, such as inclusive sharing of ideas and connecting with like-minded people. However, social media and similar online communities can become unhealthy and even hurt our personal and professional lives if we aren’t careful.

For example, community platforms can contribute to narcissistic personality disorder by encouraging people to focus on their image and popularity. Younger people are particularly susceptible to this problem because they are more likely to use social media regularly and even obsessively.

People often post content and feel the need to receive validation from others through likes and comments. One underlying factor that feeds narcissistic personality disorder is the desire to compare ourselves to others, leading to feelings of insecurity or envy.

The Double-Sided Design Community

Design communities are not immune to the toxicity of social media behavior. We often see young designers searching for attention and seeking validation and approval with ambiguous questions such as “What do you guys think of this design?” or “Which design is better.”

LinkedIn groups such as the Figma Product Community are among some of the worst offenders regarding the barrage of immature and attention-seeking design content. Not only are the posts unproductive by the nature of their queries, but it highlights a growing problem in the design community where designers lack self-assurance and professional grit.

Instead of assertively stating the unique design problem they’re trying to solve or asking specific questions regarding their design decisions, we’re witnessing passive posts and shallow popularity contests.

To become great designers, we must not be afraid to fail by making independent decisions to the best of our abilities — it’s the only way to learn from our mistakes and become wise and confident designers.

Asking the opinions of online strangers who are likely not the target user and have no idea why we’re designing something does not make us better designers — it makes us insecure fools.

Just because a design has a bunch of likes does not imply it’s a good design or even worthy of a conversation. This superficial approach to the design process is the core problem with online design communities such as Dribble, where design usability takes a backseat to aesthetic eminence.

Good design is quantifiable by its ability to meet well-defined and measurable objectives, such as reducing user friction, eliciting a qualitative emotional response, or increasing clickthroughs. Either way, good design should be described by how well it solves a problem, not by subjective attractiveness or likes.

The desire for collective approval as a designer is a systemic problem that stems from a social media mentality. It’s also the hook that pulls many designers into the Figma world — the platform emphasizes community as one of its core tenets.

Without understanding how to orient ourselves in such communities, we risk not growing and understanding the fundamental nature of becoming a competent designer.

The Figma Fanatic

Besides being a great design tool and having a robust design community, another critical force driving the popularity of Figma is brand addiction. Figma fanatics are no different from those who become infatuated with musical bands, sports teams, and even celebrities.

For these folks, it’s not about the specific software — it’s about belonging to a tribe. They have a deep emotional loyalty to this object of their identity. This attachment stems from their sense of belonging and purpose when connected to a particular brand or community.

Figma has always positioned itself as “different” from other design software and service companies. And because of this influential brand position, some designers identify with certain qualities of Figma and its community and feel empowered to express their identity through their admiration.

In extreme cases, people cannot distinguish between their own opinions and those of their obsession and may be unable to form any views outside the collective. This behavior can lead to a lack of individual identity, as the person’s life centers around the focus of their admiration.

Evidence of a Figma obsession is obvious in the dramatic reactions in the design community when news broke of Adobe’s acquisition of Figma.

Articles such as Adobe ate Figma, but that’s just the beginning, Adobe Acquires Figma, Is This The End?, and Why everyone hates Adobe buying Figma? are just a few of the reactions.

The disillusion that Figma was different from larger corporate companies was an emotional and traumatic shock for many. The reality is talk is cheap in the business world. That’s why it’s important to be cautious when pledging loyalty to a brand — especially ones that claim to be “different” than the rest. Because at the end of the day, money is a powerful motivator for any company regardless of how they position themselves in the marketplace.

It’s worth noting that as of 4 days ago when this article was written, the U.S. Department of Justice plans to block the software giant’s $20 billion acquisition with an antitrust lawsuit.Maybe the Figma fanatics will get what they want after all.

The Figma platform is known for its vibrant community of users who share and discuss tips, tricks, and best practices. And while this may seem like a wholesome design process, too much collaboration and passiveness regarding individual design decisions can harm our self-assurance and career ambitions.

It’s also important to remember that design communities can become toxic when abused, regardless of the brand behind the platform. And even the best brands should not be praised to the point where they start imitating a cult-like following. Such behavior is unhealthy and generally unprofessional.

Some may see this article’s observations as blasphemy, while others may see it as an opportunity to hold a mirror up. Either way, Figma is one of many design applications that will come and go in our design careers. If anything is worth gushing over, it’s the important work we aim to produce to solve problems as designers and the improvements we can make to ourselves along the way.