􀄪 More projects

About

Résumé

Helping young users to enjoy TikTok with purpose and leave with a positive afternote

Helping young users to enjoy TikTok with purpose and leave with a positive afternote

Case study | Product strategy, User research

Overview

Overview

TikTok is one of the largest social media platforms with over 1 billion active users, but it has been deemed highly addictive. It often causes emotional fatigue and screen time control difficulty, especially among its largest demographic of 16-25 y/o users. I developed a solution promoting intentional usage and feel-good exit.

TikTok is one of the largest social media platforms with over 1 billion active users, but it has been deemed highly addictive. It often causes emotional fatigue and screen time control difficulty, especially among its largest demographic of 16-25 y/o users. I developed a solution promoting intentional usage and feel-good exit.

Overview

Time
10 weeks (Fall 2022)

My role
End to end research and design

Tool
Figma

Advisors
Gregory Siegal, Spencer Schimel

Problem

TikTok consumption lacks clear purpose and end point

This causes users to have a vicious cycle of emotional fatigue and difficulties in managing screen time. This can lead users to leave the platform with dissatisfaction.


Solution

Personal viewing session with tangible beginning and end point

Personal Session is a new TikTok feature that provides purpose and end point to passive users with niche themed viewing sessions. The sessions end with engaging activities called Feel Good Exit to help users exit smoothly. 

Personal Session is a new TikTok feature that provide purpose and end point to passive users with niche themed viewing sessions. The sessions end with engaging activities to help users to lea smoothly.

Design solution overview

→ Personal Session

On app launch, users get personalized session recommendations based on their past usage and time of entry. Their FYP is replaced with the selected session and shows relevant content for the set duration.


Feel Good Exit

Users receive one or more activities at the end of sessions to detach from app-hopping, including TikTok-style mindfulness exercises and TikTok Now prompt challenges that encourage engagement with the physical world and accomplishment.

Jump to Design Solution

→ Personal Session

On app launch, users get personalized session recommendations based on their past usage and time of entry. Their FYP is replaced with the selected session and shows relevant content for the set duration.


Feel Good Exit

Users receive one or more activities at the end of sessions to detach from app-hopping, including TikTok-style mindfulness exercises and TikTok Now prompt challenges that encourage engagement with the physical world and accomplishment.

Jump to Design Solution

Process

Process

I followed a four-step, circular process to research and design the product.
I revisited previous steps and incorporating new insights to refine the challenges and clarify the end goal.

I followed a four-step, circular process to research and design the product.
I revisited previous steps and incorporating new insights to refine the challenges and clarify the end goal.

Define

Define

Finding the right problem and users.

I conducted a secondary research to to learn more about the platform and its users.

Finding the right problem and users.

I conducted a secondary research to to learn more about the platform and its users.

Studies show that

Studies show that

TikTok is by far the most addictive social media. 􀁌

Define- Findings

TikTok’s largest demographic, Age 16 - 25 users are the most prone to get negative impact. 􀁌

Defined problem statement

How might we help young users consume TikTok in a controlled manner and build healthy use habits?

How might we help young users consume TikTok in a controlled manner and build healthy use habits?

Discover

Discover

Uncovering the root cause of dissatisfaction and addiction
METHOD
User interview | Secondary research | Current product audit | Competitor analysis | User survey

Uncovering the root cause of dissatisfaction and addiction
METHOD
User interview | Secondary research | Current product audit | Competitor analysis | User survey

Key insights

User interview

User interview

I interviewed five users about their overall social media usage and habits to uncover the difficulty in controlling screen time on TikTok.

→ Users experienced losing control over their usage and negative afternote on platforms where they engage passively.

I interviewed five users about their overall social media usage and habits to uncover the difficulty in controlling screen time on TikTok.

→ Users experienced losing control over their usage and negative afternote on platforms where they engage passively.

User interview

User interview

Secondary research

Secondary research

I examined psychological research papers for quantifiable data on  passive and active social media usage.

I examined psychological research papers for quantifiable data on  passive and active social media usage.

Current product audit & competitor analysis

I analyzed TikTok's in-app screen time management features and third-party productivity apps.

User survey & Affinity diagram

I conducted a survey with 38 responses from 16-25 y/o TikTok users via Google survey and categorized the collected responses with an affinity diagram to discover users’ main pain points. 

I conducted a survey with 38 responses from 16-25 y/o TikTok users via Google survey and categorized the collected responses

goal

Goal
1. To understand their behavior and purpose on TikTok

2. To learn about their graduation feeling and trigger

3. To discover their screen time management method and difficulty

Goal
1. To understand their behavior and purpose on TikTok

2. To learn about their graduation feeling and trigger

3. To discover their screen time management method and difficulty

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

  1. TikTok usage can be categorized as : entertainment, escape, Info, social interaction, and self- expression seeking.

  2. Info seeking users’ behavior aligns with that of active users.

passive VS active user path

I created two user paths to further clarify my findings from survey and find the difference of passive and active users' pattern

I conducted a survey with 38 responses from 16-25 y/o TikTok users via Google survey and categorized the collected responses

Synthesis

Key characteristics  of each user type

Strategy

Provide purpose and end point to passive users to encourage intentional use.

Help create positive afternote for passive users.

Ensure users to return to real life instead of app-hopping after they exit TikTok.

Solution

Offer a session with tangible beginning and end point for each usage to prompt an active use pattern for passive users

Offer a session with tangible beginning and end point for each usage to prompt an active use pattern for passive users

Niche themes reinforce the purpose and intention behind each usage.
Set time frame creates a start/end illusion of usage, interrupting the cycle of endless video consumption.

Post-video activities give time to detach and positive graduation experience.

Entertaining AR/geofence quests allow travelers to explore the airport

Ensure travelers’ ability to return to their gate at any time.


Create a sense of community among passengers with a user-generated group

Design

Integrating solutions that meet the platform's business needs and restrictions

Wire framing &
User testing

Wire framing & User testing

I explored numerous design directions with wireframes and tested them with 5 users to validate the designs.

Prototype


Introducing
Personal Session


Introducing
Personal Session

Heavy users* encounter a video campaign explaining the new feature on their FYP. They have the option to enable personal session instantly on a pop-up.

Targets heavy users:
100+ minutes of screen time a day. 􀁌

A video campaign on FYP, produced by micro influencers. 􀁌


Purposeful use with sessions just made for you


Purposeful use with sessions just made for you

Users receive personalized session recommendations, reflecting their previous usage patterns and the time they enter the service.
Upon entering the session, their FYP is replaced with the selected session and show relevant content for the set time frame.

What changes during a session? 􀁌

What changes during a session? 􀁌

What changes during a session? 􀁌

Feel-good exits

Feel-good exits

Session ends with one or multiple activities called Feel Good Exit, which gives users time to detach them from app-hopping.

1
Mindfulness activity

1
Mindfulness activity

Users practice calming and digestible activities guided in a TikTok manner- animated video with audio guide.


 2
TikTok now prompt
challenge


 2
TikTok now prompt
challenge

Enhancing the existing feature, TikTok now, it gives users prompts that makes them engage out side of digital space and give them a sense of achievement.


Control center


Control center

Users can access the control center to switch, alter session details and provide feedback for further customized sessions.

Reflection

Research & Design is a circular process.

As I was tackling a broad issue of social media addiction, I had chances to revisit previous steps and redefine objectives based on new findings. I learned how a circular process could steer the project in the right direction, more precisely.

Product strategy
The biggest challenge in designing the solution was implementing new strategies to the existing product. The constraint of finding the middle ground allowed me to explore and test multiple solutions even further.

Redesigning Verizon’s key flows 􀄫

ⓒ 2024 Junhyung Cho

Email

Linkedin