Closely

Emotional Connection

Team:

Sole Project

Role:

Research, Interviews, UI Design, Animation

Problem Statement

Elderly individuals, despite being scared of the internet, need to prioritize building emotional connections with new friends in order to improve their mental health and foster a stronger sense of community.

In today's fast-paced world, One of the biggest challenges individuals face is finding the time to prioritize strengthening relationships and a sense of community that comes from in-person interactions. Also, individuals often need more knowledge and skills to nurture and sustain relationships.

Lacking emotional connection can significantly impact an individual's overall well-being and satisfaction in life. It can lead to feelings of loneliness, isolation, and even depression. The absence of emotional connection can also make it challenging to form and maintain meaningful relationships, further perpetuating the cycle of loneliness and dissatisfaction.

What design strategies can be implemented to create a phone application for elderly individuals who are hesitant to use the internet, but desire to establish emotional connections with new friends as a means to improve their mental health and strengthen their sense of community?

Design Solution

Implementing user verification to ensure the authenticity of every user, as well as incorporating review and comment features for both events and users!

On-boarding

The onboarding process guides users to input their information, interests, and location in order to accurately identify their potential areas of interest and provide them with personalized recommendations at a later time.

Verification by Application

To obtain a verified check mark and ensure user safety and authenticity, it is necessary to verify their contact information and submit a genuine government-issued ID document.

Verified Group information

Users have the ability to peruse member profiles and browse verified interest groups hosted by authentic individuals. Additionally, all members are encouraged to contribute to a secure and welcoming community by leaving reviews.

As part of the design process, I conducted a thorough literature review and interviewed potential users to gain insight into their unique problems and needs. The resulting design includes features specifically tailored to address their primary concerns.

Preliminary Research

Interview

Gaining insight into the needs and emotions of our intended audience by conducting guerrilla research.

Due to the project's time constraints, I opted to conduct guerrilla research with individuals aged 55 and older, including my friend's parents, in order to gather the maximum amount of insights in the limited time available.

Method:

interview

Participants:

8 target users

Demographic:

age 55+

seeking social needs

living in the U.S

Interview

Finding

How often do you hangout/going out with friends?

87.5% : Once a week
12.5% : 2–4 times / week

Do you have any social media account?

100% : Yes

How often do you check on your social media app?

100% : Everyday

How do you participate in social media?

87.5% : Interacting with people they know
12.5% : Everyone (including people they don't know)

What matters the most to you when meeting new people?

100% : Safety issues

Do you feel safe meeting people online? How would you feel more comfortable? Would you feel more comfortable if it's a group setting? Go with friends? Mutual connections?

100% : No
Feel safe when it is verified group event

The interviews revealed that older adults have social needs, but many are reluctant to join new or unknown groups due to safety concerns. Building trust is identified as the primary challenge in addressing these issues and meeting the social needs of this demographic.

Secondary Research

Literature Review

Emotional Connection Improve Well-being

The meta-analysis conducted on subjective well-being reveals that individuals lacking emotional connections experience lower levels of life satisfaction and happiness compared to those with stronger social ties. The study underscores the significance of emotional support and social connections in promoting well-being and adaptation to life events. Furthermore, engaging in social activities with friends and family, such as spending time together and participating in leisure activities, can improve mental health and well-being, while fostering emotional connections and support can help in promoting healthy behaviors and reducing adverse health outcomes.

Social Networking Features Effect Elder Health

Several studies have investigated the potential of mobile social networking services to enhance social capital and reduce loneliness. To increase users' sense of community and social connectedness, social networking services should be designed with features that facilitateoffline gatherings and shared activities, as well asintegrating user-generated content, such asuser-generated events or reviews. Additionally, research has shown that social networking sites can be an effective tool for improving the well-being of elderly individuals and reducing feelings of loneliness by providing a sense of connectedness and support, allowing them tomaintain relationships with friends and family, and even form new connections. These studies also suggest that phone applications that allow seniors to join interest groups or meet new people online can be beneficial in reducing loneliness and improving well-being, such as through video calling, messaging, and joining online communities focused on their hobbies or interests.

Older adult’s internet trust issues

The study examined older adults' attitudes toward sharing personal information with governmental agencies online. The findings were that older adults were likelier to express concerns aboutonline privacy and security and less likely to trust online information. This reflects the unique challenges that older adults face in navigating the online environment and suggest that efforts to address these challenges should focus on improving digital literacy and promoting trust in online information

Persona

Identifying specific use cases through personas helps me better scope application features

Card Sorting

After conducting interviews, I engaged in a brainstorming session with the participants to identify the features that they trusted and those they did not. Through this process, I gained a deeper understanding of their needs and preferences, particularly as they related to concerts.

Competitor Analysis

As part of my research, I collected data on existing applications that offered social connection features to users. I conducted a thorough analysis of these applications, including their strengths and limitations, as well as their unique features that distinguished them from their competitors. This analysis provided valuable insights into potential areas of improvement for the application I was working on.

Storyboarding

I conducted a forecast analysis that identified two scenarios in which users would need the application and explored strategies for building trust with them. This analysis enabled me to develop a more nuanced understanding of how the application could effectively serve its users.

Low - fidelity Prototypes

This low-fidelity prototype represents a practical and early visual representation of the key features and services of the application based on insights gathered from user interviews. It serves as an initial concept that can be used to gather feedback and refine the design before moving on to more complex and refined prototypes.

Mid - fidelity Prototypes

This Mid-Fidelity prototype is that showcases the various interactions and navigation options within the Closely. It features clickable areas that allow users to seamlessly move from the sign-up page to completing the verification process and booking an event. My aim is to provide a clear and intuitive user experience that meets the needs of our target audience.

Style Guide

Reflection

During this project, I acquired valuable skills such as defining the target user and crafting interview questions to better understand their needs. The most enjoyable and useful aspect of the project was engaging in a card-sorting brainstorming activity with my interviewees, which helped me gain accurate feedback on their trust-related features and preferences, enabling me to create a better user experience for them. However, I realized that improving the animation in the mobile application is a crucial step that can significantly impact the user's experience, and I intend to work on enhancing this aspect in the future.