An app for teenagers and adults who want to spend less time on their phone. Research-backed methods help break the addictive cycles of social media use.
It was 2021 and I was in college. My 5 roommates and I, taking classes online and sharing a small house, were getting to know each other very well. A few months into this arrangement, we discovered we all had the same problem — we were spending more time on our phones than we wanted to. Our screen time reports made us cringe, and yet we couldn't seem to cut down. So, I did what anyone would do… I delved into a months-long project to imagine a solution.
I asked myself: why are social media platforms so entrancing? And how can I design something that empowers users to build new habits?
I interviewed college students about their tech habits. I asked about how they use their devices and how they feel about various aspects of their digital life.
I designed a survey to reach more participants and gain more insight into my research questions. For example, I asked questions about concerns or reservations regarding phones and social media.
I read scholarly research about habit formation, behavior change, persuasive design, and addiction. This gave me insight into how social media is designed to be addictive, and how to break away from it.
I researched how others have already tried to solve this problem. What's worked and what hasn't? How will my solution be different?
I organized my research finding into an affinity diagram. With all of the most important research findings and design concepts in one place, I could more easily visualize and connect ideas.
This was an iterative process that involved…
User Flows
I created user flows to map out the interaction paths that users could take within the app.
