Presentation of the paper "The Race Towards Digital Wellbeing: Issues and Opportunities" at the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, held in Glasgow, UK.
Mobile Analytics: Turning unknown downloads into engaged usersJeffrey Steinke
Congrats - you've released your app in the app store! You might've even already hit your first milestone of 1,000 - maybe even 10,000 downloads. But your MAU is a tiny fraction of that. And embarrassingly you don't even know what a MAU is. Time to learn how to use mobile analytics to create engaged users through steps like better on-boarding, lifecycle emails, a/b testing and more.
The data doesn’t lie, the mobile era is upon us. But how do you go beyond the data to make mobile work for your nonprofit? Learn from Ethan Kearns of the Nature Conservancy about many of the real life examples of mobile adoption and understand specific ways to go beyond the surface level statistics to fully grasp the mobile potential.
With 10 billion video views per day Snapchat stole the scene when it comes to engaging with young consumers in 2016. However, Instagram’s launch of its “Stories” functionality—a direct hit to Snapchat—has left many marketers now questioning where to spend their time and budget. This session will address the differences between Snapchat and Instagram Stories and demonstrate how marketers can effectively leverage the unique features of each.
After this session you’ll be able to:
Integrate Snapchat or Instagram Stories into your social strategy to drive business
Determine the best platform for your brand to most effectively share micro-storytelling
Create compelling Snapchat or Instagram Stories content regardless of industry
Launch an effective on-demand geofilter campaign on Snapchat
Geofilters are a fun and powerful way to bring local Snapchatters together to share content. If you’re smart and strategic, you can target certain locations at certain times to promote your brand among demographics who will be most interested.
You’ll learn how to:
Think about different uses for Geofilters
Use existing Geofilters to tell your audience where you are
Design and submit a free Community Geofilter for a public location
Purchase an On-Demand Geofilter to promote your brand in a certain area
Comply with Geofilter submission guidelines
Create Geofilters if you don't have Photoshop expertise or an in-house designer
Estimate pricing and get the most for your budget
Find and understand Geofilter analytics
Mobile Analytics: Turning unknown downloads into engaged usersJeffrey Steinke
Congrats - you've released your app in the app store! You might've even already hit your first milestone of 1,000 - maybe even 10,000 downloads. But your MAU is a tiny fraction of that. And embarrassingly you don't even know what a MAU is. Time to learn how to use mobile analytics to create engaged users through steps like better on-boarding, lifecycle emails, a/b testing and more.
The data doesn’t lie, the mobile era is upon us. But how do you go beyond the data to make mobile work for your nonprofit? Learn from Ethan Kearns of the Nature Conservancy about many of the real life examples of mobile adoption and understand specific ways to go beyond the surface level statistics to fully grasp the mobile potential.
With 10 billion video views per day Snapchat stole the scene when it comes to engaging with young consumers in 2016. However, Instagram’s launch of its “Stories” functionality—a direct hit to Snapchat—has left many marketers now questioning where to spend their time and budget. This session will address the differences between Snapchat and Instagram Stories and demonstrate how marketers can effectively leverage the unique features of each.
After this session you’ll be able to:
Integrate Snapchat or Instagram Stories into your social strategy to drive business
Determine the best platform for your brand to most effectively share micro-storytelling
Create compelling Snapchat or Instagram Stories content regardless of industry
Launch an effective on-demand geofilter campaign on Snapchat
Geofilters are a fun and powerful way to bring local Snapchatters together to share content. If you’re smart and strategic, you can target certain locations at certain times to promote your brand among demographics who will be most interested.
You’ll learn how to:
Think about different uses for Geofilters
Use existing Geofilters to tell your audience where you are
Design and submit a free Community Geofilter for a public location
Purchase an On-Demand Geofilter to promote your brand in a certain area
Comply with Geofilter submission guidelines
Create Geofilters if you don't have Photoshop expertise or an in-house designer
Estimate pricing and get the most for your budget
Find and understand Geofilter analytics
In November 2012 Raising Accessibility conducted a low vision usability study for a new iPhone app with users who experience low vision. Raising Accessibility’s purpose was to test assumptions about usage of Apple devices and identify essential futures that all developers should consider when designing apps.
This presentation outlines five takeaways from our low vision usability study. It details recommendations for mobile developers looking to create barrier free apps.
Mobile App Design and Development Best Practices for Senior Demographics and ...Sean Power
Updating the same presentation made at PodCampTO 2013, this slideshow discusses why your smartphone app needs to be accessible to meet the needs of older demographics and international markets. These markets drive smartphone market growth and will be the segments from which your app's newest users come.
UX Activities for Pet Wearable iOS Mobile AppNicole Warner
Mobile app product development for a pet wearable device. Product tracks fitness and health stats. Also, includes tracking service and remote access to dog door.
Presentation for SMU UX certification class.
AWS August Webinar Series - Analyze Mobile App Data and Build Predictive Appl...Amazon Web Services
Amazon Mobile Analytics helps you track key trends such as active users, revenue, retention, and behavioral insights.
In this webinar, you will learn how to make the most of your mobile analytics, and make better business decisions. The webinar will cover several use cases and business intelligence tracks such as Dashboards, Custom Analytics using queries, Data Visualization, and Machine Learning.
Learning Objectives:
• Make the most of app usage data by going beyond standard metrics such as Active Users, Sessions, Retention, etc. and performing custom analysis
• Leverage app data to build predictive algorithms to influence user engagement and monetization in the app
• Learn how to leverage existing tools to visualize and analyze data, and driven business decisions
Who Should Attend:
• Mobile App and Game Developers, Growth Hackers, Product Managers, Marketing Analysts, Data Analysts, Business Intelligence Engineers
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Human activity recognition plays significant role in medical field and in security system. In this project we have design a model which recognize a person’s activity based on Smartphone.
A 3- dimensional Smartphone sensor named accelerometer and gyroscope is used to collect time series signal, from which 26 features are generated in time and frequency domain. The activities are classified using 2 different dormant learning method i.e. k-nearest neighbor algorithm, decision tree algorithm.
The Evolution of SEO: Insights from a Leading Digital Marketing AgencyDigital Marketing Lab
Explore the latest trends in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and discover how modern practices are transforming business visibility. This document delves into the shift from keyword optimization to user intent, highlighting key trends such as voice search optimization, artificial intelligence, mobile-first indexing, and the importance of E-A-T principles. Enhance your online presence with expert insights from Digital Marketing Lab, your partner in maximizing SEO performance.
In November 2012 Raising Accessibility conducted a low vision usability study for a new iPhone app with users who experience low vision. Raising Accessibility’s purpose was to test assumptions about usage of Apple devices and identify essential futures that all developers should consider when designing apps.
This presentation outlines five takeaways from our low vision usability study. It details recommendations for mobile developers looking to create barrier free apps.
Mobile App Design and Development Best Practices for Senior Demographics and ...Sean Power
Updating the same presentation made at PodCampTO 2013, this slideshow discusses why your smartphone app needs to be accessible to meet the needs of older demographics and international markets. These markets drive smartphone market growth and will be the segments from which your app's newest users come.
UX Activities for Pet Wearable iOS Mobile AppNicole Warner
Mobile app product development for a pet wearable device. Product tracks fitness and health stats. Also, includes tracking service and remote access to dog door.
Presentation for SMU UX certification class.
AWS August Webinar Series - Analyze Mobile App Data and Build Predictive Appl...Amazon Web Services
Amazon Mobile Analytics helps you track key trends such as active users, revenue, retention, and behavioral insights.
In this webinar, you will learn how to make the most of your mobile analytics, and make better business decisions. The webinar will cover several use cases and business intelligence tracks such as Dashboards, Custom Analytics using queries, Data Visualization, and Machine Learning.
Learning Objectives:
• Make the most of app usage data by going beyond standard metrics such as Active Users, Sessions, Retention, etc. and performing custom analysis
• Leverage app data to build predictive algorithms to influence user engagement and monetization in the app
• Learn how to leverage existing tools to visualize and analyze data, and driven business decisions
Who Should Attend:
• Mobile App and Game Developers, Growth Hackers, Product Managers, Marketing Analysts, Data Analysts, Business Intelligence Engineers
Human Activity Recognition using Smartphone's sensor Pankaj Mishra
Human activity recognition plays significant role in medical field and in security system. In this project we have design a model which recognize a person’s activity based on Smartphone.
A 3- dimensional Smartphone sensor named accelerometer and gyroscope is used to collect time series signal, from which 26 features are generated in time and frequency domain. The activities are classified using 2 different dormant learning method i.e. k-nearest neighbor algorithm, decision tree algorithm.
The Evolution of SEO: Insights from a Leading Digital Marketing AgencyDigital Marketing Lab
Explore the latest trends in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and discover how modern practices are transforming business visibility. This document delves into the shift from keyword optimization to user intent, highlighting key trends such as voice search optimization, artificial intelligence, mobile-first indexing, and the importance of E-A-T principles. Enhance your online presence with expert insights from Digital Marketing Lab, your partner in maximizing SEO performance.
This tutorial presentation provides a step-by-step guide on how to use Facebook, the popular social media platform. In simple and easy-to-understand language, this presentation explains how to create a Facebook account, connect with friends and family, post updates, share photos and videos, join groups, and manage privacy settings. Whether you're new to Facebook or just need a refresher, this presentation will help you navigate the features and make the most of your Facebook experience.
Improving Workplace Safety Performance in Malaysian SMEs: The Role of Safety ...AJHSSR Journal
ABSTRACT: In the Malaysian context, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) experience a significant
burden of workplace accidents. A consensus among scholars attributes a substantial portion of these incidents to
human factors, particularly unsafe behaviors. This study, conducted in Malaysia's northern region, specifically
targeted Safety and Health/Human Resource professionals within the manufacturing sector of SMEs. We
gathered a robust dataset comprising 107 responses through a meticulously designed self-administered
questionnaire. Employing advanced partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) techniques
with SmartPLS 3.2.9, we rigorously analyzed the data to scrutinize the intricate relationship between safety
behavior and safety performance. The research findings unequivocally underscore the palpable and
consequential impact of safety behavior variables, namely safety compliance and safety participation, on
improving safety performance indicators such as accidents, injuries, and property damages. These results
strongly validate research hypotheses. Consequently, this study highlights the pivotal significance of cultivating
safety behavior among employees, particularly in resource-constrained SME settings, as an essential step toward
enhancing workplace safety performance.
KEYWORDS :Safety compliance, safety participation, safety performance, SME
Your Path to YouTube Stardom Starts HereSocioCosmos
Skyrocket your YouTube presence with Sociocosmos' proven methods. Gain real engagement and build a loyal audience. Join us now.
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EASY TUTORIAL OF HOW TO USE G-TEAMS BY: FEBLESS HERNANEFebless Hernane
Using Google Teams (G-Teams) is simple. Start by opening the Google Teams app on your phone or visiting the G-Teams website on your computer. Sign in with your Google account. To join a meeting, click on the link shared by the organizer or enter the meeting code in the "Join a Meeting" section. To start a meeting, click on "New Meeting" and share the link with others. You can use the chat feature to send messages and the video button to turn your camera on or off. G-Teams makes it easy to connect and collaborate with others!
Unlock TikTok Success with Sociocosmos..SocioCosmos
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"felt obligation," examining 120 articles published between 1986 and 2024. The aim of the study is to deepen our
understanding of the existing knowledge in the field of "felt obligation" and to provide guidance for further
research. The analysis is centered around the authors, countries, institutions, and keywords of the articles. The
findings highlight prominent researchers in this field, leading universities, and influential journals. Particularly,
it is identified that China plays a leading role in "felt obligation" research. The analysis of keywords emphasizes
the thematic focuses of these studies and provides a roadmap for future research. Finally, various
recommendations are presented to deepen the knowledge in this area and promote applied research. This study
serves as a foundation to expand and advance the understanding of "felt obligation" in the field.
KEYWORDS: Felt Obligation, Bibliometric Analysis, Research Trends
Telegram is a messaging platform that ushers in a new era of communication. Available for Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux, Telegram offers simplicity, privacy, synchronization across devices, speed, and powerful features. It allows users to create their own stickers with a user-friendly editor. With robust encryption, Telegram ensures message security and even offers self-destructing messages. The platform is open, with an API and source code accessible to everyone, making it a secure and social environment where groups can accommodate up to 200,000 members. Customize your messenger experience with Telegram's expressive features.
Buy Pinterest Followers, Reactions & Repins Go Viral on Pinterest with Socio...SocioCosmos
Get more Pinterest followers, reactions, and repins with Sociocosmos, the leading platform to buy all kinds of Pinterest presence. Boost your profile and reach a wider audience.
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This tutorial presentation offers a beginner-friendly guide to using THREADS, Instagram's messaging app. It covers the basics of account setup, privacy settings, and explores the core features such as close friends lists, photo and video sharing, creative tools, and status updates. With practical tips and instructions, this tutorial will empower you to use THREADS effectively and stay connected with your close friends on Instagram in a private and engaging way.
Your LinkedIn Success Starts Here.......SocioCosmos
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Project Serenity is an innovative initiative aimed at transforming urban environments into sustainable, self-sufficient communities. By integrating green architecture, renewable energy, smart technology, sustainable transportation, and urban farming, Project Serenity seeks to minimize the ecological footprint of cities while enhancing residents' quality of life. Key components include energy-efficient buildings, IoT-enabled resource management, electric and autonomous transportation options, green spaces, and robust waste management systems. Emphasizing community engagement and social equity, Project Serenity aspires to serve as a global model for creating eco-friendly, livable urban spaces that harmonize modern conveniences with environmental stewardship.
Surat Digital Marketing School is created to offer a complete course that is specifically designed as per the current industry trends. Years of experience has helped us identify and understand the graduate-employee skills gap in the industry. At our school, we keep up with the pace of the industry and impart a holistic education that encompasses all the latest concepts of the Digital world so that our graduates can effortlessly integrate into the assigned roles.
This is the place where you become a Digital Marketing Expert.
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3. ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR
[BILLIEUX ET AL. 2015, DING ET AL. 2016]
SOCIAL INTERACTION
[TURKLE 2011, LEE ET AL. 2014, KO ET AL. 2016]
DISTRACTION
[DABBISH ET AL. 2011, OULASVIRTA 2010]
4. PEOPLE OFTEN PERCEIVE
THEIR EXCESSIVE
SMARTPHONE USE AS
PROBLEMATIC, AND THEY
ARE WILLING TO ADOPT
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO
MITIGATE SUCH A
BEHAVIOR
6. WE’RE COMMITTED TO
GIVING EVERYONE THE
TOOLS THEY NEED TO
DEVELOP THEIR OWN SENSE
OF DIGITAL WELLBEING. SO
THAT LIFE, NOT THE
TECHNOLOGY IN IT, STAYS
FRONT AND CENTER
GOOGLE- DIGITAL WELLBEING INITIATIVE
7. 1. Which functionality do contemporary
digital weelbeing apps have?
2. Are they effective and appreciated?
3. Do they have a relevant impact on
users’ behavior?
24. 2. REVIEWS’ ANALYSIS
Why Users Like Digital Wellbeing Apps?
useful for different
use cases
helpful for controlling
unhealthy behaviors
25. GREAT TOOL TO FOCUS AND GET DOWN TO
YOUR WORK. MADE ME MORE AWARE OF HOW
I AM REALLY WORKING AND HOW MUCH I
“THINK” I WAS WORKING.
useful for different use cases
26. I USE THIS EVERY DAY TO TRACK MY SLEEP,
ODDLY ENOUGH (SLEEP APPS DON’T
ACCOMPLISH WHAT I NEED). THIS
CONSISTENTLY SHOWS EXACTLY WHAT I NEED
TO BE SURE I WAS ASLEEP.
useful for different use cases
27. 2. REVIEWS’ ANALYSIS
Why Users Like Digital Wellbeing Apps?
useful for different
use cases
helpful for controlling
unhealthy behaviors
28. I LIKED THE POSSIBILITY TO SEE HOW MUCH
TIME I WASTE ON THE SMARPHONE, BUT AT
THE SAME TIME THIS SHOCKED ME. I COULD
NOT IMAGINE SUCH A THING.
helpful for controlling unhealthy behaviors
29. A VERY SIMPLE YET USEFUL APPLICATION. IT
HELPS ME TO TRACK MY TIME USING
SMARTPHONE AND THIS APP ACTUALLY HELPED
ME TO RECONSIDER MY TIME AND SPEND IT ON
OTHER PRODUCTIVITY TASK.
helpful for controlling unhealthy behaviors
30. HAVE FOUND VALUE IN THIS APP SINCE
INSTALLING IT. I AM HOPING THAT AFTER A FEW
MONTHS OF USE, I WILL NO LONGER NEED THE
APP TO REMIND ME TO BE MORE DELIBERATE IN
THE USE OF MY PHONE.
helpful for controlling unhealthy behaviors
32. THE APP IS GOOD BUT IT IS NOT ABLE TO STOP
ME TO OPEN THE APPS I AM ADDICTED TO...I
CAN JUST SIMPLY UNINSTALL THIS APP IF I
WANT TO USE THE RESTRICTED APPS.
Bypassable solutions
33. THE PASSWORD TO THIS APP IS WITH MY WIFE,
EVERY THIRD DAY I’M ASKING HER TO LOCK.
THIS IS LIKE AN ANNOYING EXPERIENCE.
Bypassable solutions
34. I LOVE THIS APP. MAKES BREAKING MY
ADDICTION TO CELL PHONE MUCH EASIER.
ALTHOUGH I STILL NEED STRONG WILL OF MY
OWN.
Bypassable solutions
36. NICE APP BUT I’D LIKE TO SEE SOME
ADDITIONAL FEATURES, FOR EXAMPLE IF LIKE
THE APP TO AUTOMATICALLY DETECT WHEN IN
A MOVING VEHICLE AND ACTIVATE.
missing functionality
37. CAN YOU SHOW AVG STATS OF ALL THE
PEOPLE? TO SEE IF YOU ARE WAY ABOVE THE
NORMAL PEOPLE IN PHONE USAGE.
missing functionality
47. 3. IN-THE-WILD STUDY
39 PARTICIPANTS
22.5 mean age, 14 female
time
Week 1
COLLECTION
PHASE (CP)
silently logging data
48. 3. IN-THE-WILD STUDY
39 PARTICIPANTS
22.5 mean age, 14 female
time
Week 1 Week 2 and 3
COLLECTION
PHASE (CP)
silently logging data
INTERVENTION
PHASE (IP)
visualizing data
and using
interventions
55. 3. IN-THE-WILD STUDY
• SAME TIME SPENT ON MESSAGING APPS
26 min (CP) vs. 25 min (IP)
• LESS TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL NETWORKS
37 min (CP) vs. 33 min (IP)
56. 3. IN-THE-WILD STUDY
• SAME NUMBER OF «COMPULSIVE» SESSIONS
49 (CP) vs 52 (IP)
• SAME TIME SPENT ON MESSAGING APPS
26 min (CP) vs. 25 min (IP)
• LESS TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL NETWORKS
37 min (CP) vs. 33 min (IP)
60. FINDINGS
USEFUL FOR SOME SPECIFIC USE CASE, ONLY
FOCUS ON SELF-MONITORING
DESIGNED FOR BREAKING EXISTING HABITS
61. FINDINGS
USEFUL FOR SOME SPECIFIC USE CASE, ONLY
FOCUS ON SELF-MONITORING
PERCEIVED AS BYPASSABLE
DESIGNED FOR BREAKING EXISTING HABITS
62. FINDINGS
USEFUL FOR SOME SPECIFIC USE CASE, ONLY
FOCUS ON SELF-MONITORING
NOT GROUNDED IN HABIT FORMATION NOR SOCIAL SUPPORT
PERCEIVED AS BYPASSABLE
DESIGNED FOR BREAKING EXISTING HABITS
64. Digital Diet
App Usage Tracker
Phone Usage Tracker
Smartphone Addiction
Avoid Distraction
Screen Time
KEYWORD-BASED
SEARCH
APP
FILTERING
>1000 downloads
>50 reviews
N = 42
digital wellbeing
apps
ANALYZE
FUNCTIONALITY
1. FUNCTIONALITY REVIEW
65. 2. REVIEWS’ ANALYSIS
THEMATIC
ANALYSIS
N = 1128
user reviews
50 reviews for each
of the 42 digital
wellbeing apps
REVIEWS
SCRAPING
REVIEWS
FILTERING
>3 words
>2015
English language
Editor's Notes
Thank you for the introduction. Today, on behalf of my co author I will present you our work on mobile apps for changing users’ behavior with smartphones.
Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives.
As smartphone use increases, however, so do studies about the negative impact of overusing technology. Smartphones have been found to be a source of distraction, and their excessive usage is a problem for mental health and social interaction. As a consequence, the term “smartphone addiction” has gained interest both in the literature and in mainstream media.
Despite using an addiction framing may not seem appropriate for widespread behaviors like mobile devices use, people often perceive their excessive smartphone use as problematic, and they are willing to adopt different strategies to mitigate such a behavior.
So, in response to this need, many diferent mobile apps for changing the own behavior with smartphones can be nowadays downloaded from app stores like the Google Play Store.
Even Google and Apple recently announced their commitment in designing technology truly helpful for everyone. They introduced, in the latest versions of their mobile operating systems new tools for monitoring, understanding, and limiting smartphone use, with the aim of promoting a more conscious use of technology. Google, in particular, called its initiative «Digital Wellbeing»
Despite the growing popularity of the digital wellbeing topic, however, it is yet unclear whether and how contemporary apps for changing smartphone behaviors work. This motivated us in exploring 3 research questions. So, what are the main characteristics of these apps? Are they effective and appreciated by users? Do they have a relevant impact on users’ behavior?
So, answering these questions is fundamental to improve our knowledge of the problem and to design better digital wellbeing solutions.
To answer these questions, we performed 3 different studies. First, we conducted a review of the most common functionality offered by popular digital wellbeing apps.
Second, we conducted a thematic analysis on more than one thousand user reviews on these apps.
And third, we implemented our own digital wellbeing app, by integrating the most common features extracted during our functionality review, and we tested it in-the-wild.
Our final goal was to provide an overall perspective of contemporary mobile apps for changing behavior with smartphones, with the aim of identifying possible issues and opportunities to improve such solutions.
Ok, let’s start with the functionality review, that we conducted on a set of 42 popular digital wellbeing mobile applications extracted from the Google Play Store.
3:00
We divided results into 2 main categories, one related to traking and visualizing user data, and the other related to interventions that users can set up to improve and personalize their smartphone use.
For what concern the first category, these apps typically use charts for visualizing user data, by providing different statistical summaries related to the usage of the phone, in general, or the usage of specific applications.
So, for example, these apps often track and visualze the time spent, in general with the phone, or with specific applications.
They sometimes visualize the number of times the user unlocks the phone, or the number of time the user opens a specific app.
Moreover, a consistent number of applications use some home-screen widgets or daily recaps to draw user attention.
Then, the majority of the analyzed apps provide the users with the possibility of changing their bhavior,through interventions.
Users can therofore set up timers to be notified when they are using the phone or a specific app for too long.
They can set up blockers, to block the usage of the entire phone or of a given app.
And they can also take a break from their devices, by silencing and locking them for a given amount of time to completely avoid distractions.
There are also some other less popular interventions, that range from the possibility of comparing statistics with other users, to the usage of motivational quotes and rewards.
After the functionality study
we perfomed a thematic analysis on more than one thousand user reviews left by users for the 42 apps retrived in the first study.
4:56
In the analysis, we tried understand why users like or dislike applications for changing their behavior with smartphones.
And the first reason why users like these apps is because they are useful for different use cases
Foe example, they are useful for situations requiring constant user attention, like studying and working, because they allow users to avoid distractions like notifications and self interruptions to, for example, check social networks.
Surprisingly, users also adopt such applications for use cases that are not the primary focus of these tools. An example is sleeping: according to some users, monitoring their smartphone usage is a convinient way of understanding their sleeping patterns.
Users also perceive digital wellbeing tools as helpful for controlling unhealthy behaviors
On the one hand, visualizing how much time users spent on smartphones can be shocking
But on the other hand, these information help users to reconsider their actions and to spend more time on other productive tasks such as studying and working.
In the light of these benefits, users hope that the new behaviors they started to adopt will continue even without the help of the tool. In other words, users would like to learn how to behave, thus maintaining a more consciuos use of the smartphone in the long term. Unfortunately, contemporary digital wellbeing tools focus on self-monitoring techniques and are not designed for this purpose: we can reasonably say that this hope cannot be satisfied.
Moreoveor, even the analyzed self-monitoring solutions are perceived as problematic, firstly because they are often not restrictive enough and can be easly bypassed.
Interventions like timers and blockers, for example, can always be ignored, and digital wellbeing apps can be easly unistalled. So even with a constant monitoring process, users may find it difficult to establish new behaviors for using the smartphone more consciously.
Users are therefore forced to use creative solutions to overcome such issues, like usig their wives for setting up secret password.
And so, as a consequece, despite some short-term benefits, users need a lot of willpower to coninue to use these tools.
So, it seems that contemporary digital wellbeing tools cannot be used to effectively change behavior in the long term, and even the same users recognize in their reviews, that the failure of these apps lies in the lack of different functionality.
Users, for example, suggest smarter and automatic interventions that detect the user activity.
Users also suggest the possibility of interacting with other users, for example to compare statistics.
By using social approaches in these tools, people could have better awareness of normative behaviors and could also be better motivated to self-regulate their smartphone use.
So, with the first 2 qualitative studies we explored fuctionality and reviews, and we highlighted potential benefits and drawbacks of digital wellbeing solutions.
8:40
To further understand, in a more quantitatively way, how contemporary digital wellbeing apps work, we devised a third, final study, to be conducted in-the-wild.
Our goal was not to explore new solutions, but to evaluate the existing ones. For this purpose, we designed our own digital wellbeing app, named Socialize, by implementing the most common features identified in our first functionality study.
Socialize allow users to track and visualiuze their smartphone usage data.
So, the upper part of the app shows information related to the usage of the phone, in general: the total time spent with the phone, the number of unlocks, and so on.
Then, in the bottom part there is a list with some specific information for each used app.
The user can click both on phone-level and app level information to access a more detaild view of the data, to visualize different types of charts.
Finally, as a widget recap, Socialize constantly shows a notifcation that displays some basic information.
For what concerns interventions
With Socialize, users can set up different interventions. At phone level, they can set up timers by specifying a duration. They can also restrict the intervention for a given context, only, by specifying an activity and a location.
In a similar way they can set up phone blockers, to block the usage of the phone in a given context.
Users can do the same for each specific app, for example here I set up a timer on yoututube. And now, when I’m using youtube and the timer expires, I am notified with a popup, and I have the possibility of closing the app, or ignoring the intervention.
We tested Socialize in-the-wild by recruiting 39 participants
10:58
And we set up a within-subject experiments.
The experiment lasted three weeks for each participant. In the first week, the collection phase, Socialize ran in the background and silently logged usage data.
Then, in the following 2 weeks, the intervention phase, participants could use all the functionality offered by Socialize: they could analyze statistics, setting up timers, blockers, and so on.
During the study, we measured, day by day, different metrics.
First of all, we measured the daily usage time of the smartphone
And we noticed that, on average, participants spent less time with their smarphones during the intervention phase.
Despite such a positive effect, Socialize didn’t influenced other metrics. Here the chart shows, for each day, the number of time participants unlocked their smarphones.
In this case, on average, participants didn’t change their behavior: they consistently unlocked their phone both in the collection and in the intervention phase.
Also other metrics confirmed that apps like Socialize are useful in some cases, but they fail in other situations. For example, participants who used Socialize reduced the time spent on social networks in the intervention phase
Unfortunately, this is not true for other types of applicatios, such as messaging apps.
Moreover, even with the help of Socialize, participants continued to use their smartphones very frequently, with many phone sessions at a distance of less than a minute. So, participants continued to demonstrate a, let’s say, compulsive checking behavior, even when using Socialize.
So, let’s summarize the findings we retrieved thanks to our 3 studies
12:45
We found that contemporary apps for changing smartphones behavior are useful for some specific use cases, but they fail in other situations. The same users are often aware that such solutions are sometimes not sufficient, and that they need a lot of willpower to coninue to use these tools.
This could be due to the fact that these apps focus, by construction, on self-monitoring techniques. While self-tracking plays an important role in the behavior change process, it doesn’t support the formation of new habits, and it strongly depends on the monitoring behavior. Once the monitoring process stops, however, for example because the user gets bored, the behavior can revert to pre-interventions levels.
So, the digital wellbeing apps we analyzed are designed for breaking existing habits, rather then developing new behaviors. Breaking habits, however, is frustrating, and users need to be continuously motivated to keep on the monitoring process.
Moreover, such tools are often perceived as bypasable and not restictive enough. Even in the in-the-wild study of Socialize,for example, participants ingnored the majority of the intervetions they defined.
So, at the end, we can conclude that contemporary digital wellbeing apps are not grounded in habit formation nor social support literature.
We claim that, besides focusing on self-monitoring, researchers should also take advantage of the habit formation literature. Habit formation could play an important role in digital wellbeing apps, by supporting behavior change and ensuring its long-term effects. One could envision, for example, the usage of goals and trigger events: new behaviors linked with some specific routine are in fact generally easier to remember, and each repetition reinforces that association, so this increases the probability of repeating the behavior in the future.
This concludes my presentation, thank you for your attention, and I’m open to questions
The study was composed of 3 main parts. In a first step, we performed a keyword-based search on the Google Play Store to extract a set of mobile apps explicitly designed for changing behavior with smartphones.
Then we filtered the retrieved applications, by considering only apps with more than one thousand downloads, and with more than 50 user reviews.
At the end, we perfomed our functionality review on a set of 42 digital wellbeing mobile applications.
We started by scraping 50 reviews for each of the 42 apps retrieved in the first study.
Then we filitered the reviews by keeping only the most recent comments in English, and by removing short reviews that provided limited information
At the end, we obtained a dataset of more than one thousand reviews.