The Race Towards Digital Wellbeing: Issues and Opportunities
Alberto Monge Roffarell, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Luigi De Russi, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
CHI '19: ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Session: Everyday Health and wellbeing
Abstract
As smartphone use increases dramatically, so do studies about technology overuse. Many different mobile apps for breaking "smartphone addiction" and achieving "digital wellbeing" are available. However, it is still not clear whether and how such solutions work. Which functionality do they have? Are they effective and appreciated? Do they have a relevant impact on users' behavior? To answer these questions, (i) we reviewed the features of 42 digital wellbeing apps, (ii) we performed a thematic analysis on 1,128 user reviews of such apps, and (iii) we conducted a 3-week-long in-the-wild study of Socialize, an app that includes the most common digital wellbeing features, with 38 participants. We discovered that digital wellbeing apps are appreciated and useful for some specific situations. However, they do not promote the formation of new habits and they are perceived as not restrictive enough, thus not effectively helping users to change their behavior with smartphones.
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Recorded at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Glasgow, Scotland, May 4 - 9 2019
