I'll start by saying that GUIs have gotten a lot better since the 90s. Many people seem to think Windows 95 or 2000 was the pinnacle of the user interface design, but it was clunky and terrible and I much prefer literally any contemporary GUI.
A lot more is understood about how users interact with GUIs and how to best make them, but this is often exploited for monetary gain rather than end user experience.
The current thing that's annoying me is discords new paid for super reactions. Absolutely by design they have been put in the spot the regular reaction button used to occupy in order to trick you into pressing it.