Making Connections that Matter: Supportive Social Media for Young Adults
Design for iOS Mobile · User Persona · Prototype
Project Overview
The Team
Individual project
My Contribution
UX Designer
Timeline
Feb - Sep 2022
Supportive Social Media is a mobile application platform that encourages young adults to establish one-time friendships with strangers and motivates them to seek emotional support through meaningful conversations.
What's the context?
Addictive social media use among young adults has been tied to depression and anxiety, with fear of missing out (FoMO) and dependence on social media contributing to dissatisfaction with social support. To address this issue, there is a potential for alternative social media technology to connect young adults with each other and provide meaningful social interaction.
Challenge
To design a bunch of features that connect young adults with one another and examine how to encourage these people to seek emotional support from the 'strangers' as an effective way to satisfy social belongingness.
AIMS
· To investigate "what emotions the young adults are hiding" and "what supports the young adults are seeking for".
· To build effective social interaction among young adults.
Outcome
Design approach
Why is this a problem?
Age, gender, and mental and physical health are the main factors influencing social media use.
individuals at younger ages are more likely to engage in social media and suffer from potentially addictive behavior. Females have a higher social media presence than males do; they tend to engage in social activities and events, maintain their interpersonal relationships, and receive information worldwide. Additionally, Individuals suffering from psychological and/or physical health issues are more likely to use social media to seek social support while sharing health-related information.
Emotional support as one social support is critical to achieving mental well-being.
Human conversation is significantly important for individuals’ psychological health. Despite face-to-face emotional support has been discovered as a mediator of lowing the risks of getting depressive symptoms, emotional support from present social media has not been assessed to achieve the same effect. Instead, social media is putting everyone beyond the digital world. That's not allowing people to get support and empathy.
Research findings
OPPORTUNITY
How might I create a supportive social community with considering privacy and safety concerns and ensuring that the emotional support provided is appropriate and beneficial for all users?
Outcome
Flow chart
