The activity in today’s case study is divided into three parts and the overall goal is to come up with ethical design features that replace addictive featurs in modern mobile apps.
Answer privately the following questions:
Which three apps do you use most frequently?
What features keep you returning to them?
How do you feel after extended use (energized, anxious, distracted, neutral)?
Purpose: This part is looking for personal lived experience in order for users to notice how detrimental some of the apps in their phones are.
This is a group activity. Groups of 3 to 5 users are enough.
Each groupd should be assigned one popular app category, such as:
Social media
Short video apps
Mobile games
Messaging apps
Next, groups should identify:
At least three addictive or persuasive features used by apps in that category
Which psychological mechanisms they exploit (e.g., social comparison, variable reward, fear of missing out)
Potential mental health impacts of prolonged exposure
Purpose: This part is to help learners pinpoint what exactly makes their phones addictive and psychological triggers are used to make that happen.
Each group should remain with their assigned app category but switch into a designer perspective.
What to do:
Remove or redesign one addictive feature
Replace it with a health-conscious alternative (e.g., usage reminders, friction-based design, optional stopping points)
Explain how the redesign balances user well-being and app viability
Purpose: This final part is to put learners in the shoes of decision makers who come up with the addictive apps and help them to realize some of the design choices that the designers make everyday.