Overview

Join! is a mobile application that provides students of all ages the opportunity to be made aware of events and activities in their local area, taking advantage of exclusive discounts.

As a self-guided project, I started this in response to noticing a number of adolescents not participating in local events and activities, prefering to engage with their electronic devices, usually at home.

Background

The lowering numbers of commumity activities attended by adolecents is a well-trodden trend, especially since the rise of digital entertainment. I’ve had first hand experience with this through family and friend’s children in the past.

I’ve taken on the role of sole product designer and researcher to bring a concept to life and show how, with connectivity to organizations, a product can enlighten and entice teens to swap their digital devices for off-screen entertainment.

Understanding the problem

After identifying a pain point that I experienced, it’s important to back this up with research and evidence that this extends further than me:

“More teens and young adults — particularly girls and young women — are reporting being depressed and anxious, compared with comparable numbers from the mid-2000s.”

“Suicides are up too in that time period, most noticeably among girls ages 10 to 14.”

Rose Jaffe, The Scientific Debate Over Teens, Screens And Mental Health, 2019, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2019/08/27/754362629/the-scientific-debate-over-teens-screens-and-mental-health

“Young people who spend seven hours or more a day on screens are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety than those who use screens for an hour a day, finds a new study published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports.”

Markham Heid, There’s Worrying New Research About Kids’ Screen Time and Their Mental Health, 2018, Time, https://time.com/5437607/smartphones-teens-mental-health/

“The spike in the amount of time teenagers spend on screens is a likely cause of the ongoing surge in depression, anxiety, and suicide that began shortly after smartphones and tablets became widespread among teenagers, around 2012.”

“Teens who spend more time on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy, and those who spend more time on non-screen activities are more likely to be happy.”

Christine Carter, Ph.D., Is Screen Time Toxic for Teenagers? 2018, Greater Good Magazine, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/is_screen_time_toxic_for_teenagers

Research findings

After gathering information and data from numerous publications and periodicals, the pain points of this issue are far more serious than anticipated. Here are some key data points of what community events can do for the young population:

• Communities meet social and emotional needs
• Reduces crime
• Builds confidence
• Challenges teens
• Pomotes healthier physical lifestyle

This product will also give local community and activity businesses the chance to promote in a healthy way to their audience.

Product MVP & Vision

The user will easily find local off-screen entertainment that are offering discount through the product. This will be done in the form of coupons which will be selected through the product and then redeemed with payment at the time of use. There will also be a reward system in place for the user linked to the number of coupons used.

UX

User Flow

I came up with a flow-map showing how the user would interact with the product and how they would create an account, and search and purchase coupons.