You are given a task to optimize a React application that performs image manipulation. Which approach would be most effective in ensuring smooth user interactions while processing images?

To ensure smooth user interactions during image manipulation in a React application, it's most effective to use a non-blocking, asynchronous image processing library. This approach allows image processing to occur in the background without blocking the main thread, resulting in a responsive user experience. Increasing image quality, adding distractions, or limiting functionality do not directly address the performance issue and may not lead to smooth interactions.