I-Corps: Interactive Technology for Social Media Use Awareness and Intervention

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种诊断工具，该工具使用自我报告的情绪状态、内容参与和在社交媒体网站上花费的时间进行分析，为用户创建个性化的社交媒体干预。拟议中的技术还可以收集总体水平数据，以了解社交媒体参与和情感健康的阈值是什么。目前，超过90%的青少年和年轻人是社交媒体用户，近一半的人几乎经常上网。研究表明，花在智能手机上的时间与高度的孤独、焦虑和抑郁有关。这项拟议中的技术旨在减轻“永远在线”的社交媒体文化的影响。目前解决这个问题的产品包括一些应用程序，这些应用程序允许用户短暂地将自己锁在手机外，以限制屏幕时间。这些应用程序为一个更深层次的问题提供了短期解决方案——社交媒体文化要求高度警惕和持续参与。社交媒体被设计成一个沉浸式的环境，用户在这里“浪费时间”，连续几个小时无意识地滚动屏幕。这项拟议中的技术旨在为社交媒体依赖提供长期、可持续的解决方案。这个I-Corps项目是基于一种诊断工具的开发，以促进对社交媒体使用的正念。这项拟议中的技术旨在：1)提高人们对无意识社交媒体习惯的认识，包括在这些网站上花费的时间和促使人们点击社交媒体应用程序的社会情感触发因素；2)激发人们思考花在社交媒体上的时间是如何影响情绪健康的；3)通过建议非屏幕相关的大脑休息，对屏幕时间进行短暂干预。其目标是让人们看到与科技设备和社交媒体相关的无意识的、常规化的行为。这项提议的技术解决了过多的屏幕时间和社交媒体上的社会比较的危害，特别是在年轻人中，这个问题在研究文献中已经得到了充分的记录。这个想法来自于美国国家科学基金会的研究结果，该研究表明，年轻人很难自我调节屏幕时间，打破常规可能会成为自我意识的强大催化剂，让他们意识到社交媒体是如何影响自尊和情感健康的。许多研究都将青少年的抑郁、焦虑和自卑与花在社交媒体上的时间联系起来。然而，很少有研究人员提供解决方案，目前也没有广泛使用的干预措施。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a diagnostic tool that uses analytics on self-reported emotional state as well as content engagement and time spent on social media sites to create personalized social media interventions for users. The proposed technology also may gather aggregate level data to understand what the thresholds are for social media engagement and emotional well-being. Currently, more than 90 percent of teens and young adults are social media users, and nearly half report being online almost constantly. Research correlates time spent on smartphones with high levels of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. The proposed technology aims to mitigate the effects of “always on” social media culture. Current products that address this issue include apps that allow the user to briefly lock themselves out of their phones to limit screen time. These apps provide short-term solutions to a deeper problem – a culture of social media that demands hypervigilance and constant engagement. Social media is designed to be an immersive environment where users “lose time” mindlessly scrolling for hours on end. The proposed technology aims to provide a long-term, sustainable solution to social media dependence.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a diagnostic tool to promote mindfulness around social media use. The proposed technology is designed to: 1) raise awareness of unconscious social media habits, including time spent on these sites and socio-emotional triggers that prompt clicking on social media apps; 2) stimulating reflection of how time spent on social media affects emotional well-being; and 3) providing momentary interventions in screen time through suggestions for non-screen related brain breaks. The goal is to make visible unconscious, routinized behaviors related to technology devices and social media. The proposed technology addresses the harms of excessive screen time and social comparison on social media, especially among youth, a problem that has been well-documented in the research literature. This idea emerged out of findings from NSF research suggesting that youth struggle to self-regulate screen time and a break in routine may serve as a powerful catalyst for self-awareness of how social media affects self-esteem and emotional well-being. Numerous studies have correlated depression, anxiety and low self-esteem with time spent on social media among youth. Yet, few researchers offer solutions and there are no widely used interventions at this time.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.