Screens of Good

Leah Brinkman
12 min readDec 11, 2018

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by Leah Brinkman, Draven Pena, Kendall Morgenstein, and Jade Wilson

1. DEFINING THE PROBLEM

When Apple released ios12 on September of 2018 it came with a host of new features, including screen time. This feature allows the user to track the time spent on their iphone per day, which apps they spend the most time on, and how many times they pick up their phone each day. With this feature, the new concerning trend of screen addiction is made even more apparent. While conducting initial research, our group came across an article by Leanna Garfield of Business Insider called “Checking Your Phone First Thing in the Morning Could Make You Unhappy.” In the article, Garfield states that checking your phone right when you wake up “frames the experience of ‘waking up in the morning’ around a menu of ‘all the things I’ve missed since yesterday.’” The article then goes onto list multiple studies that concluded receiving fewer notifications is linked to lower stress and anxiety. This sparked our group’s interest into further researching how phones have altered the morning routines of people. As a result, our group decided to view multiple morning routine videos of various Youtubers and examine our own morning routines. We found that generally people check their phones right when they wake up and while they eat breakfast.

2. RESEARCH

We used a variety of research methods in order to investigate how phones affect morning routines. First, we sent out a survey on various social media platforms in order to get a general understand of the relationship people have with their phones. The age range of the participants was 15–65 and we received a total of 54 responses. Additionally, we conducted personal interviews with our family members and friends.

Next, we conducted evaluative research on apps and products that already exist. We first used MEELS in order to evaluate the app, Space. Space is an app that tracks phone usage and sends notifications to the user when they have been spending too much time on their phone. Next, we used the thinking out loud protocol to evaluate the Moment, an app that tracks your usage.

M.E.E.L.S.

MEMORABILITY: This app is different from many other apps to limit screen time in that it does not actually lock certain apps. It merely offers suggestions about how much time you should spend on your phone and gives you notifications when you have been spending a lot of time on your phone. In addition, the design of the app itself is very cute and lighthearted, as the mascot for the app is a little alien. For these reasons, I feel this app stands out the most from the rest of its competitors.

EFFICIENCY: The app is very simple and efficient. The home screen of the app consists only of the time spent on your phone and the number of unlocks. THe only onther subcategories are the user profile, progress, friends, and acheivments. When I first downloaded the app I was able to set up my profile and learn how to navigate the app in about 5 minutes.

ERRORS: There is not a lot of opportunity to even make an error, but if the user does accidentally put in wrong information, they can easily change it on the “my profile section” and the app will adjust accordingly.

LEARNABILITY: The app is very user-friendly and has a very simple design. As I stated earlier, I was able to set up my account and learn how to navigate the app in about 5 minutes.

SATISFACTION: The app itself is very aesthetically pleasing. It uses a lot of cute and quirky graphics and symbols all in various shades of blue. The fonts are all highly legible but all give off a friendly vibe. The design was carefully considered in order to make the user experience as pleasant and easy as it can be.

Thinking Out Loud

Additional apps to keep you off your phone: Moment, but according to ratings and reviews you can’t shut off specific apps, which is something our solution will address. You also have to pay for a monthly subscription, which a lot of people don’t want to do, so we would have to find a way to make our app free so people will actually use it and become more connected with their mornings again.

Our group then analyzed the research we had gathered so far and created 4 personas.

We had a wide range of survey and interview data and found a pattern of four different personas

After creating the personas and collecting data up to this point, our group knew we did not want to create an app to reduce screen time. We wanted to create a wearable or tangible item so that people would not have to look at their phone much or at all while gettting ready for the day. As a result, we created our affinity diagram with this in mind.

3. THE DESIGN/EVALUATION

Through conducting user research, we came up with the idea of Morning Glory, a sensor that unlocks apps as the user goes about his or hers’ morning routine. The sensor would wirelessly connect to the Morning Glory app, which would allow the user to input their morning routine and set goals. We first decided to prototype a sensor that would attach to the user’s pajamas with a magnet system (one magnet on the outside of a user's pajamas and a piece of metal on the inside of the pouch).

The wearable pouch, with a sensor inside. For this example, we stuffed our pouch with washers and magnets

However, after having people test the pouch our group realized this may be uncomfortable to sleep on for some people. In addition, based on our interviews we realized this may not work, as not everyone even wears clothes to bed. As a result, we decided to apply the pouch design to a pillow. We then had two group members sleep with the pouch for the night before testing it on users. Both felt that it was slightly uncomfortable at first, but were able to move it around their pillow where it was less obtrusive. In order to gain further insight and determine whether we were on the right track, we had 4 other people test both prototypes and report feedback. These are the results:

Interview 1: Jordyn Halt is a 16-year-old junior in high school. She claims she is not addicted to her phone but seems to check for notifications nonstop. We had Jordyn sleep with our Morning Glory PJ pouch and Pillow pouch.

Do you find yourself looking at your phone constantly?

  • Kinda. I like to be in the know with all social media

Do you check your phone when you get up in the morning?

  • Yes, every day I start out by checking all of my social media apps.

Does that ever make you late to get out of the house?

  • Occasionally, if I get distracted.

When you tried the Morning Glory PJ pouch, where did you place it?

  • I magnetized it to the back of my pants.

Was it uncomfortable in any way?

  • At times, if I was laying on my side

When you tried the Morning Glory pillowcase pouch, could you feel it?

  • Not really. Maybe at first but I got used to it.

Is there anything we could improve on design wise?

  • The magnet for the PJ sensor was a little weak. I would make it stronger to accommodate for thicker clothes.

Would you use a product like this in the future?

  • Yes, I think I would if it were tweaked more.

Interview 2: Connie Sanstall is a 40-year-old mother of two teens. She is always running around the house trying to keep things in order. She rarely uses her phone for entertainment. However, her teens are always staring at their phones, and she thinks it might be taking away from family bonding. We had Connie try out some of our wearables, and here is what she thought.

Do you find yourself looking at your phone constantly?

  • Not really. I try not to have my phone close by.

Do you check your phone when you get up in the morning?

  • I do. I use it as an alarm. I like to look at the weather also.

Does that ever make you late to get out of the house?

  • No never. After looking at the weather, I don’t go on my phone until later.

When you tried the Morning Glory PJ pouch, where did you place it?

  • I clipped it by my collarbone.

Was it uncomfortable in any way?

  • No not all. Never felt it.

When you tried the Morning Glory pillowcase pouch, could you feel it?

  • No. I placed it in the middle of my pillow, under the pillowcase and it was like it wasn’t there.

Is there anything we could improve on design wise?

  • Maybe make the pouches different colors for more variation.

Would you use a product like this in the future?

  • I don’t think I would need it for myself, but I would definitely get some for my kids. I can’t stand seeing them constantly staring at their phones.

Interview 3: Jim Richards age 65

What Kind of Phone do you have?

A smartphone with a touchscreen

What do you do first thing in the morning?

I make coffee, black then turn on the tv or go to my computer and check emails. Sometimes I also read the bible or do suduko for a bit.

Do you check your phone in the morning?

Yes, just for text messages, and sometimes the weather

Do you have apps on your phone or any social media?

No I don’t see the point of facebook when I can see all of my friends at church

Explained Morning Glory App to Jim*

Would you use an app like morning glory?

No that seems pointless to have an app that turns off apps I don’t even have. I do think people your age need something like that though.

Interview 4: Hannah Miller age 22

What kind of phone do you have?

I have an iPhone 6 but the screens really cracked and I haven’t cared enough to replace it.

Do you have social media?

I used to but I got so sick of worrying about everyone else’s lives so I deleted the apps, I do have facebook that I look at on my computer sometimes just to make sure my extended family and friends back home are still alive.

What do you do first thing in the morning?

I steep a cup of tea, right now I’ve been really into this cinnamon chai stuff I found at an Indian grocery store, sorry that’s not important. But I guess then I put on a record and read or sketch for at least a half an hour, then I make breakfast and get ready.

Do you check your phone in the morning?

No, not usually since I want to ease into my morning, but sometimes I’ll also play Spotify or check the weather. Maybe respond to a text if it’s urgent. I really don’t like having my phone on me so I try to leave it on the charger while I enjoy my morning.

Explains Morning Glory*

Would you use an app like morning glory?

Well, I really like the premise but since I don’t really have that many apps I don’t think I would need it. Also, I wouldn’t want to have my phone on me or a wearable to activate the app, sorry.

After synthesizing the interviews and our personal takeaways, our group realized that in order for the sensor to be able to progressively unlock apps as the user goes about their morning routine it would have to be a system of sensors all attached to different objects the user interacts with. We realized this especially after Hannah Miller’s interview, as she stated she wouldn’t want to deal with a wearable. By attaching sensors to multiple objects that stay in one place, the user does not have to worry about losing any of the sensors or accidentally misplacing them. For example, the pillow sensor would unlock certain apps once the user gets out of bed and then another sensor attached to the coffee maker would activate more apps once the user turns the coffee maker on.

A sensor that would activate certain apps once the user turns the coffee maker on represented by a washer and magnet

4. REFLECTION

After reflecting on testimonials from our users and our own experiences with the product, our group collectively felt that our Morning Glory Pillow was the most successful attempt at a product that would better help a user lessen screen time in their morning routines. As mentioned above, if this product was brought to market it would be a small sensor that lives in a satin pouch and regulates temperature and pressure sensitivity. This sensor would be connected to other household products in your home (i.e. coffee maker, toaster, fridge, etc..) that coincide with the user’s morning routine. If our prototype were produced maybe ten to fifteen years in the future (once technology had evolved) our product could be produced, but at this time is kind of a far-fetched concept. The lack of technology along with user hesitation to give up control of their phones to an app have been the biggest hurdles in thinking about production and the most common feedback we received. The goal of this product and its corresponding system is that certain applications on your phone would not be “unlocked” until the user had completed certain steps in their customized morning routine. This product aims to not shame the user or scold them for using their phone but helps them become less accustomed to relying on their mobile device first thing in the morning. Our general research combined with a few initial interviews led our group to the realization of just how much people’s morning routines are based around their phone. The mind doesn’t even have time to adjust from sleep before the alarm goes off and you see your notifications from the night before. Being so focused on what happened overnight or the day before first thing in the morning can start your day off in the past and not in the present. We started to further research contemporary morning routines via Youtube and found that over 80% of well-known Youtubers check their phone within the first five to ten minutes of waking up. After talking to a few of our peers we found that most of them also check their phones first thing when waking up. Our survey results also provided further evidence that most people check their phones first when waking up in the morning. Along with research, our group learned from this process that your first idea is not your best idea and ideating takes a lot of work. If we were to do this project again, I think we collectively would have liked to spend more time in the prototyping phase to come up with slightly more viable solutions. We also would have liked to test our prototypes on a more diverse age range of subjects. Even though as a group we didn’t come up with the most perfect solution to the conundrum of the everyday morning routine, we did get very creative and pushed ourselves to think outside a simple app as a solution. We would rate ourselves at a 10/10 for ideation, research, and creativity and a 9/10 for execution, mainly because we could have spent more time in the prototyping phase.

Sources:

Brinkman Leah. “Maddie Bruening personal interview.”

Wilson, Jade. “Jim Richards personal interview.”

Wilson, Jade. “Hannah Miller personal interview.”

Morgenstein, Kendall. “Jordyn Halt personal interview.”

Morgenstein, Kendall. “Connie Sanstall personal interview.”

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