Team 1 - quarium

quarium's Home Screen
quarium's Blocked Screen after you try to open a social media app
quarium's Timer Screen

Inspiration

We were inspired by our own social media usage and its effects on our mental health. Especially with the younger generation where social media has been a part of our entire lives, it is ingrained in us as a daily habit and often used as a coping mechanism for stress.

What it does

We wanted to stop social media use at its root, that being the first step: the habitual opening of the app. What we determined with our user research is that a lot of people use social media when they want to take a break, but end up being just as stressed afterwards, or feeling guilty about having used it at all. So, our app "quarium" stops users at the first instance of opening a social media app--many existing app blockers do this, but where quarium differs is that we suggest alternative activities for taking a break. For example, reading a book, drawing, or taking a walk. Sometimes simply seeing these activities as available options can motivate a user to do it, rather than other apps that just throw down a harsh roadblock. that leave users feeling lost or frustrated.

Users can then set a timer of how long they want their break to be: 15 minutes of reading, for example, and during this time, social media notifications will be silenced so the user can focus on a restful break activity. This way, the user takes a meaningful break doing a relaxing or enjoyable activity. Thus, instead of feeling guilty for having wasted away an hour of their time mindlessly scrolling, quarium leaves users feeling truly refreshed and accomplished.