How does the concept of "eventual consistency" in distributed systems affect application performance and user experience?

In distributed computing, eventual consistency is a model used to achieve high availability in environments where partitioning is possible, such as with cloud-based databases. This model guarantees that, given enough time, all updates will propagate throughout the system, ensuring consistency. However, during this period, inconsistencies may temporarily exist. Understanding how eventual consistency influences application performance, data accuracy, and user experience is crucial for developers designing applications that rely on distributed systems. What are the trade-offs involved, and how can developers mitigate potential negative impacts on users while harnessing the benefits of distributed architectures? Understanding this balance can help in making informed decisions about when and how to use eventual consistency in your projects.