Carousels

The issue is movement, not the format itself.

Negative feedback is largely linked to automatic rotation, fast transitions and poor implementation. Frustration stems from carousels moving before users have finished reading or interacting.

Automatic movement creates real access barriers.

For some users, fast or auto-rotating content causes dizziness, headaches, visual distraction or screen reader interruptions. In these cases, the issue is not preference — it directly affects usability and comfort.

Sentiment varies significantly by access need.

Blind or low vision respondents showed the strongest dislike. Neurodivergent and physical disability groups leaned more neutral or mildly negative. This suggests carousel design impacts groups differently and cannot be assumed to work universally.

“I don’t like carousels that rotate automatically — give me a chance to read the one in focus before you move to the next. Or better yet, let me swipe it myself.”

“Auto-scrolling while I was still reading it… I’d much prefer everything laid out vertically that I could scroll through at my leisure.”

“Difficult — I don’t like auto-rotating. I prefer it to stand still and let me read in my own time.”

“Carousels make it difficult for me… they move too fast. My chronic illness means I get dizzy easily and must avoid fast moving screens.”

“The experience can be difficult on a phone… if I have a delay in processing time and I’ve already swiped past the item, it can be daunting to go backwards.”

“Screen movement is too much external stimuli for my brain to process and I’ll generally close out of the page.”

“I like that information is in bite-sized chunks. I find it easy to quickly read each slide.”

“If integrated well they can be more fun.”

“I like it when information is provided over carousels, however they need to be clearly marked and the method of progressing through needs to be visible.”