Gamifying "Slash"-ing Screen Time

Georgia Institute of Technology

Team
Paz Rodriguez, Janie Pan
Role
Design Researcher
Duration
12 Weeks
Focus
UX Research, Experience Design, Prototyping

Overview

A studio project seeking to improve the health of a demographic in a certain manner. Our aim is to use human-centered design methods to create a solution encouraging college students to reduce their screen time.
Introduction
Research
Exploration
Design
Outcome

Project Opportunity

An open opportunity to need-find and design a solution around the relationship between college students and phone usage, specifically with the aim to improve their health.

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Project Impact

My team and I focused on supporting college students in reducing unintentional phone usage to regain autonomy over their health. We designed a gamified solution utilizing short competition sprints and communal accountability to encourage students to practice mindfulness and intentionality.

Project Prelude

How does phone addiction disrupt everyday tasks and mental wellbeing?

Our studio prompt was an open-ended question on how we could improve the health of a certain demographic. Our team decided to focus on the relationship between college students and phones. Our first course of action was to needfind and we began by asking the following broad questions:

  • How does phone addiction disrupt everyday tasks and mental wellbeing?

  • How does dopamine addiction develop

  • How is this affecting our attention span?

Focal Points

Identifying core areas of interest

We identified 4 focal questions to help give context to our needfinding.

  1. Are people using technology during these tasks? How many times are people picking up their devices?

  2. How is the involvement of technology impacting (+/-) their ability to complete tasks?

  3. How engaged are people with the tasks at hand?

  4. Does the presence of peers impact the use of a device during a task? (are group settings different?)

Observation

How do students interact with devices in real scenarios?

For this study, our team conducted two 30 minute observations of each the following scenarios in regards to college students. We observed bus stations, coffee shops, and libraries on Georgia Tech’s campus. We compared notes and formed an analysis on our findings.

Ordering Coffee
Public Studying
Transportation

Comparitive Analysis

Initial domain findings

From our initial observations, our team uncovered the following findings.

1

When doing an "active task" such as walking or ordering, the phone was accessible but not used. However, in a "passive" state, students almost always picked it up.

2

The presence of peers or friends reduces phone usage. People in group environments are less likely to use their phones.

3

People always had access to their phone, but were not necessarily trying to be engaged

4

People are less likely to use their phones when they are aware their current action will happen soon (ordering in line, getting on the bus).

5

Spatial affordances impacted how much people would use their phone.
smaller table spaces meant they went on their phone more, more table space meant they used their phone less and ess bus space, less phone usage

Survey

Creating a research baseline

Our team created a survey with 8 questions (a mix of qualitative and quantitative data). We received 61 responses from 30 males, 30 females and 1 nonbinary individual who ranged from 1st years to grad level. We asked questions relating to demographics, screen time metrics, mental health impact, and daily routines. Through our results, we found baseline stats for our research.

We then affinity mapped the qualitative data to uncover common themes from the data.

What's your average daily pick ups?

Do you regulate phone usage?

What’s your average daily screen time?

Affinity Mapping

Research Themes

  • Time-Hole
  • Reduces quality of present experiences
  • Emotional / Mental Health
  • Physical Health
  • Affects Intelligence

Interviews

Validating and understanding our findings

Our team had assumptions and hypotheses from our research baseline, and to test our understanding, we interviewed 6 students ranging from 1st years to grad level, 3 male and 3 female. We established interview goals, wrote a guide to support our goals, and then affinity mapped our data to better understand certain relationships.

Interview Goals

  • Should validate themes
    ‍
  • Should identify motivations in regulating
    phone usage (if any)
  • Identify & validate any
    potential barriers

Interview Guide

  • How has your phone usage affected your daily routines and responsibilities?
  • Have you noticed any changes in your attention span since you started using your phone regularly?
  • Have you ever found yourself distracted by your phone while performing important tasks?
  • Do you feel anxious or restless when you use your phone?
  • Have you noticed any changes in your sleep patterns as a result of your phone usage?
  • Have you experienced any negative consequences of excessive phone use?
  • Have you ever felt the urge to check your phone even if there were no notifications?
  • How often do you feel the urge to check your phone even when you are engaged in other activities?
  • Can you explain what you understand about dopamine addiction and how it relates to phone usage?
  • Do you believe that phone addiction is a significant problem in our society? Why or why not?

Affinity Mapping

Comparative Analysis

Establishing research themes

To finalize the themes of our opportunity area, we compared and synched our data from both the survey and interviews.

Affinity Mapping

Final Research Themes

  • Time-Hole Unintentional Behavior
  • Affects Intelligence Intentional Behavior
  • Emotional / Mental Health
  • Physical Health
  • Reduces quality of present experiences Quality of Life

Research Results

Identifying key insights and design implications

From our research, we uncovered three main insights. Furthermore, we simultaneously established design implications our future solution should account for.

Insights

3

In every environment, phone usage has a positive and negative correlation
If I’m expecting safety in my environment I’ll check my phone but depending on the situation I’ll show more attention to my surroundings. - Female Graduate Student

2

Phones serve as a willing distraction when in an uncomfortable or unfavorable situation
“When I am in an awkward situation or with someone I don’t know, I usually pull my phone out. For example, when I’m in an elevator ride I grab my phone to avoid awkwardness” - Third Year Female

1

Participants do not want to limit phone usage altogether- only unintentional usage.
“I use the calendar feature in my phone a lot and I love that I can stay connected with people from home, but my phone also distracts me a lot as a I tend to gravitate towards certain apps which interrupt my workflow.”- Fourth Year Male
Design Implications
Default App Timers are currently the best digital solution and do not encourage the intended results
Muscle Memory plays a large role in determining actions during undefined situations
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(such as in between classes, waiting in line, or waiting for the bus).
Information on cell phones is vital in planning and structuring activities throughout the day

Opportunity Statement

How might we...?

Through our research, our team was able to better understand our opportunity space. We identified that the common themes in our research were in actuality reasons for phone use and results of said phone use. This allowed us to craft an opportunity statement that specifically targets unintentional phone usage.

How might we limit unintentional phone usage to help college students regain autonomy over their health?

Personas

Designing for students

Our team established our opportunity space with reference to college students. We created 3 personas to better understand our demographic and the challenges they might face, especially in the context of their health.

Tony
Age: 20  
Gender: Male   Race: Chinese

Health Condition: Reduced Attention and Productivity  (limited diagnosable issues)
Rachel
Age: 20  
Gender: Female   Race: Caucasian

Health Condition: Anxiety & Self-Esteem (not conscious in reducing phone usage)
Amy
Age: 21  
Gender: Female   Race: African American

Health Condition: Insomnia (not conscious in reducing phone usage)

Focal Tasks

Activities to consider and design for

In order to understand what activities our solution should encompass, our team identified three focal tasks phone usage typically revolves around. We considered each task in the context of our personas and found positive and negative correlations in regards to phone usage.

Communication

Positive: networking, support from loved ones

Negative: decreased alertness, potential social awkwardness or anxiety

Entertainment

Positive: inspiration for creativity, social engagement and enjoyment

Negative: excessive indulgence, increased stress, fear of missing out

Physical Activity

Positive: use of exercise tracking apps and calendar apps to maintain health

Negative: decreased energy, wasted time, with potential posture issues

Competitive Analysis

What strategies do students currently use?

Our team mapped current product solutions on a quadrant of diversion -> direct control, and non-invasive -> invasive solution to better understand where our solution may lie. In addition, we mapped current strategies on a quadrant of diversion -> direct control and temporary   -> permanent.

Based on our understanding, our team decided to move towards a solution that was non-invasive, yet encouraged more control over their actions.

Strategies

Products

Ideation

Initial design concept

Equipped with our prior research and findings, our team ideated potential solutions that would resolve our opportunity statement. We considered the following directions and landed on a proposed design direction.

  • How might we frame “staying up to date” regarding phone usage to limit screen time?

  • How might we reframe “chill time” regarding phone usage to improve emotional and mental health?

  • How might we link “muscle memory” regarding phone usage to positively charged actions and improve mental + emotional health?

Proposed Design Solution

A digital app solution in tandem with a university sponsored challenge to encourage limited phone usage.
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  • A university such as Georgia Tech has incentive to support the mental and physical wellbeing of its students. The university will be able to monitor the data at a high level to record the success level of the challenge, and will deliver “random rewards” to challenge participants as an added incentive. By employing a challenge and this app, students are motivated to monitor and decrease their phone usage.

Participant Workshop

Co-designing with students

We conducted a 1 hour workshop with 7 college students of varying ages and gender in order the validate our proposed solution and further ideate. The agenda was as follows:

Design Parameters

What does a successful solution entail?

Our co-design workshop allowed us to establish design goals and validate our original design requirements.

Insights


Consider the use of positive reinforcement (rather than negative)

Foster a sense of community among college students through accountability

Since our scope revolves around service-oriented relationships, our team wanted to define what we mean by a service.

Design Requirements
Support mental health
Can help users become more aware of their phone usage patterns
Reduce anxiety levels to improve social health and overall well being
Encourage the user to remain aware of their outside world
Encourage users to reduce phone usage before bedtime
Ensure users can stay up to date with their daily schedule
Keep the ability to quickly access urgent information
Help users more present in their relationships and to communicate more effectively

Final Design Concept

Gamifying screen time understandng and accountability

Based on our research and our findings from the co-creation workshops, our team refined our design direction into one that did not rely on a external ecosystem such as a university but still focused on mindfulness, positive reinforcement, and a sense of communal accountability.

Final Design Direction

Our solution is designed using gamification to help users become more mindful of unintentional phone usage to adopt healthier habits. This app leverages existing features of phone screen time trackers to produce weekly “wrapped” reports, generate social connection, and present challenges and goals. By connecting with their friends and competing against each other, users can stay motivated and accountable for their screen time habits and enjoy the benefits of a more balanced digital lifestyle.
James downloads the “Slash” app to reduce his phone usage. He creates a group for him and invites his friends to compete. They all appreciate James taking the lead on this initiative.
Once connected, the app tracks James’s phone usage across different categories such as pickups, average screen time, social media screen time, or all screen time combined.
The generated wrapped report shows screen time metrics. The shared leaderboard promotes healthy competition, with the reduced screen-time allowing for more activities.

Proposed User Flow

Low-fi Prototype

Cognitive walkthrough with students

In order to test our user flow, we did a cognitive walkthrough with 5 participants and asked them to “complete” the following tasks with the given screens. The 8 tasks were:

  1. Create a new account

  2. Turn on reflection reminders

  3. Add new friends

  4. Create a new group

  5. Start a competition

  6. View your current competitions

  7. Access old wrapped reports

  8. Change your preferences

Initial Screen Walkthrough

Design Language

Establishing a visual identity

Although the end goal of this project was not a high-fidelity mockup, but rather a well-researched concept, our team created a brief visual identity to guide us as we mocked up screens. We took accessibility into consideration during this stage.

Accessibility Concerns

We conducted research on color use and contrast to ensure readability on our darker background screens. We also maintained consistency throughout our design library, including colors, fonts, and icons and made sure to have a straightforward cohesive design, despite the retro style.

This approach allowed us to be considerate of individuals with disabilities while creating a prototype that is useful for all.

Mid-fi Prototype

Testing screens with students

After revising our screens fom the cognitive walkthrough, we conducted two rounds of user testing to finalize our design decisions.

Observed users would think out loud as they walked through screens to complete each task. Our goals for each session were to:

  1. Identify how easily users can understand Slash’s purpose and its key features.

  2. Determine how users interact with the different features and functionalities: creating group, competing, looking at wrapped report and leader board, etc.

  3. Evaluate user satisfaction and obtain feedback on ways to improve usability.

Task 1:

Create a group.
Add friends to Slash
Add members to Roomies
Start competing

Task 2:

Viewing personal wrapped
Look at your average reports.
Look at your leader board
Edit your preferences

Methods

Observational Testing
Think a Loud
Interviews

Results

Session 1: 4% Task Error Rate 22% Task Confusion

Session 2: 0% Task Error Rate 17% Task Confusion

Final Design Solution

Storyboard

A walkthrough example of how one student uses our proposed solution.

Final Prototype

Screen designs

The following 10 key screens are the result of iteration and ideation after the cognitive walkthrough and two rounds of user testing.

Set Preferences + Goals
Login
Home Page
Create Group
Browse + Add Friends
Create Competition + Set Metrics
View Your Screen Report
Manage Invitations
Watch + Share your Weekly Screen-Stats
View Leaderboard

Acknowledgments

Reflection

This project stretched our needfinding skills. Given we did not finalize our opportunity statement till the middle of the project timeline, it initially felt uncomfortable to spend as long as we did researching our problem space before ideating on solutions. However, I believe the results speak for themselves and that our concept is a strong answer to the question we finalized.

I am incredibly grateful to Janie and Paz for the fantastic teamwork. We were guided on this design journey by Dr. Leila Alfatoony. We are thankful for her expertise and guidance.

This project was well received and commended on being a new and innovative solution in a commonly addressed problem space. In addition, this project has been used as an example in the studio classes that followed.

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