Affecting Technology Consumption—Role of Designers in Ushering Behaviour Change

Abstract

User-centred designers study user behaviours, to create products that fetch maximum adoption and longer loyalty. All this has led to an increased emphasis on user engagement. Often the ill-impact on the user gets overshadowed by business goals. The study presented in this paper focuses on digital well-being of the user and how designers can aid in developing tools to equip the users. A detailed literature review is conducted so as to highlight the inconsistencies of existing digital media that fail to address the issue of digital well-being. They highlight factors other than lacking self-control that lead to uncontrolled tech consumption. The literature review is then followed by a qualitative research study that investigates current mobile usage and its discontinuation pattern. Combining insights from the literature and the exploratory study with users, the study finally suggests unique approaches that designers and the mobile industry can adopt to design for disengagement. The findings of the study can contribute to understanding the middle ground that looks out for the user’s well-being without compromising on businesses and platforms.