Major project
Understanding the impact of excessive screen use on the wellbeing of undergraduate students aged 18-14.
Discovery phase
Hunt statement.
I am going to research screen time usage and its impact on wellbeing for young adults aged 18-24 so that I can identify opportunities for a solution that somehow improves wellbeing and reduces negative impacts of over screen usage
Why this topic?
With increasing advances in technology, people have become increasingly dependent on their tech and find themselves constantly using it throughout the day. But what are the drawbacks of constantly being exposed to a screen?
This is an issue that affects us all and technology use has become a very addictive habit for most people. I want to look into the links between screen usage and wellbeing and find the areas where over use of screen time may be an issue and how a product or service can be beneficial to regaining a healthy balanced lifestyle.
Secondary research.
Using the KWHLAQ framework to identify what I needed to discover with secondary research (journals/articles/forums), and what was remaining to explore with primary user research.
Stakeholder mapping.
Understanding the stakeholders who may directly or indirectly be involved in this problem space.
DEFINE PHASE
Primary data collection.
8 users were recruited using convenience sampling. Semi-structured interviews with card sorting activities and diary studies were used.
Affinity mapping.
Using affinity maps was a good way to organise the qualitative data and pull out useful insights.
Problem reframing.
Based on the insights from my first round of research, I realised that the findings did not support my initial project direction.
I used the Iceberg tool and Concept mapping to help me reframe the problem, identifying the core user issue.
I discovered the excessive screen use itself was not the issue, but that impact on wellbeing came from a perception of poor productivity or lack of self control, especially when students had more pressing tasks to complete.
New problem to explore.
How does unproductive or uncontrolled screen use impact well being compared to intentional screen use?
UX problem statement.
When students engage in passive or unproductive screen use they feel more drained, exhausted mentally and physically and unfulfilled. The intention behind their screen use can impact then well being rather than the amount of time.
There is an opportunity to design an intervention to help students become more intentional about their screen use or decrease uncontrolled, passive or unproductive use.
Emotrak with visual analogue scale.
Further user research.
Now that the core problem has been better identified, I carried out further user testing with 3 different participants.
For this process, emotional scaling tools (Emotrak, visual analogue scales) were used along with techniques such as Laddering and Directed Storytelling. This enabled a greater depth of emotional exploration during the interview process.
Another affinity diagram was created with the new data to gather more insights and patterns.
Priority matrix.
Insights were then grouped using this priority matrix, with the key insights being both modifiable factors and were creating a poor sense of wellbeing (poor productivity/passive screen use).
Empathy mapping.
Helped bring user insights into better focus, identified opposing behaviours or thoughts and will help provide emotional context for future design decisions.
Persona building.
Based on insights collected so far, a persona was created focusing on key user pain points and goals.
Ensures that the design process is user centred and will help the prioritisation of concepts at later stages.
User journey mapping.
This helped to visualise the gaps in the current user experience and the ideal journey.
Journey mapping also enabled identification of emotional highs and lows, and therefore opportunities at various points in the user experience.
UX vision statement
I believe there is an opportunity for a product/service for busy, undergraduate students who want to reduce passive screen use, improve productivity and improve general mental and physical wellbeing but are struggling to break existing habits and gain self control.
DEVELOP PHASE
Project in progress…
mirunaalini.alagarajah@gmail.com