I don't doubt that in many cases developers are actively optimizing for addiction, but I wonder if "User engagement" is also sometimes code for "we made our sit

I don't doubt that in many cases developers are actively optimizing for addiction, but I wonder if "User engagement" is also sometimes code for "we made our site hard to navigate, and it takes twice as long to find what you're looking for". I mean, how do you distinguish between users spending more time on your site because they find it fun or useful or whatever, versus users spending more time on your site because it's just badly designed?