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Protect me from what I want
CONTEXT
University
Lean Design Project – 6th Semester
Supervised by: Prof. Jens Döring, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Buurman
TEAM
Fabienne Vatter
Nyal Hettmer
DATE
02/2024
Description
Protect Me From What I Want is a concept promoting digital literacy and rethinking our relationship with social media. In an era where digital media permeates our daily lives, the question of conscious technology use is more pressing than ever. We help foster sustainable awareness of media consumption and demonstrate ways to create a healthy balance between digital and analog worlds.
Concept
Our approach builds upon existing infrastructure like the "one sec" app and focus mode settings. We aim to inform and provide a compact knowledge base about mental and biological models underlying digital literacy. Rather than promoting self-optimization, we frame the discussion around digital well-being. While completely abandoning social media might be the best long-term solution, we focus on providing low-barrier entry points toward digital literacy that can initiate meaningful change.
„Media addiction therapy teaches mindful engagement with digital media, known as digital literacy. The core concept is creating moments of rest and reflection after significant activities."
Daniel Rose, Neue Land e.V.
Methodological Approach
Throughout all project phases, we employed Design Thinking methods, often creating our own variations. For ideation, we combined modified card sorting with Crazy 8's to quickly explore solution spaces across various problem areas. This helped us uncover commonalities between different problems. The “worst-possible-solution” exercise provided additional valuable insights.
Double Friction Hook-Model
Our Double Friction Hook Model enhances the traditional Hook Model by introducing additional friction points before both the trigger and action phases, effectively interrupting or slowing down habitual cycles of digital consumption. By integrating tools like OneSec and Focus Mode into this process, we create intentional delays that disrupt automatic behavioral patterns. These friction points require minimal effort yet significantly impact usage behavior. While users might initially find these interrupted interactions unfamiliar, they gradually adapt, creating space for deeper reflection on their digital consumption habits. The model works in two key ways:
- Pre-trigger friction: Interrupts the automatic response to notifications and external triggers
- Pre-action friction: Creates a moment of pause before engaging with digital content
The implementation through OneSec and Focus Mode serves as a catalyst for developing a more balanced digital-analog lifestyle. These tools promote rapid behavioral adaptation by encouraging users to consciously question and potentially modify their digital habits. The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity - small moments of friction leading to meaningful changes in digital behavior.
Technical Implementation
As technical lead, I developed 3D scenes using React-Three-Fiber, while we chose React with Tailwind CSS as our framework. The website combines concepts around digital literacy with playful 3D components and scenes to make the topic more accessible and understandable. While Nyal was responsible for content, Fabienne and I handled the technical implementation.
Round up
The project taught us valuable lessons about pivoting and not becoming too attached to our own ideas. We initially started with a design sprint, convinced we would build a low-tech solution using Calm Technology (similar to Google's Little Signals). However, we realized that while users appreciated the visual aesthetics, it didn't effectively address the core issue of digital literacy. Our pivot to information presentation with direct action steps better addressed the actual needs and problems, rather than following our personal preferences. The project strengthened our grasp of Design Thinking and prepared us for selecting and implementing appropriate methods in our subsequent Bachelor's thesis.