Understanding the に in ってくらいに考えておいて

Question

「まあ、あくまでこれは妨害。今までサクサク動いてた検索エンジンがめっっっっっちゃ重くなる、ってくらいに考えておいて」

Does the に work in the same way as in 残念に思う? Namely, the に marks the content of one’s thoughts?

Answer 1

In a broad sense, yes, it belongs to what's described in your link. But in this specific case, ～くらいに + [mental/sensory verb] is more like a set phrase that can be replaced by ～ような（もの／こと）だと. It implies that the previously said content is an approximation or likening, rather than a faithfully manifested impression.