un.bottle

1. Prototype link (Please submit a link to a playable prototype, not a link to your design file) Link

2. Describe your project (max 150 words)

In the age of AI, despite seeming more connected than ever, we are in the midst of a “loneliness epidemic”. Un.Bottle is a pen pal app designed to combat this dilemma by fostering meaningful connections around the world.

To set up an account, users provide information about interests, home country, and write an opening letter - a message that is “cast out to sea”. Using a matching system, users are presented with potential pen pals that have similar interests. From these “bottles,” users can set up a connection, and maintain up to three correspondences at a time. It takes three days for letters to be delivered, mirroring a pen pal exchange over mail. Users can also share “trinkets”, digital in-app collectibles, to add personality to their letters.

Un.Bottle aims to use the power of technology to create authentic connections in a world that sometimes limits them.

1. Describe your research process and findings. If you conducted any surveys or interviews, please include the survey form and/or interview questions here. If you conducted secondary research by pulling from online sources, please include a link to your sources. (Max 500 words)

Our research is centered around investigating the current so-called “loneliness epidemic” and its impact on social connection. We aimed to explore how people communicate with friends, make new connections, and their experience (if any) with pen pals. Our research was both primary and secondary, including online academic studies and a survey we distributed.

Our secondary research regarded trends around loneliness and digital communication. A 2024 survey from Gallup’s National Health and Well-Being Index found that 20% of adults in the US reported feeling lonely “a lot of the day yesterday.” Similarly, a 2021 Harvard report from the Making Caring Common Project found that 61% of lonely respondents reported “not having enough close friends and family.” When asked about primary contributions to loneliness, 73% of respondents answered technology (the most popular response). These findings underscore that despite today’s digital connectivity, many individuals still experience loneliness.

We also explored the effectiveness and prevalence of online friendships. A 2015 Pew research center study found that 57% of teens had made friends online. In addition, a 2017 UC Irvine study reported that online friendships could be just as meaningful as those from face-to-face interactions. This suggests that there is space for genuine connections to be made through online platforms.

Finally, we investigated letter writing. A study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that written forms of emotional expression could help people manage stress and reduce negative emotions. In contrast to instant messaging, this lends itself to the fact that letters may allow for a deeper and more thoughtful avenue of communication.

Our primary research consisted of a survey filled out by 41 respondents from North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Respondents were primarily college-aged; 90.2% of respondents were between the ages of 18 and 21. The survey primarily centered around their communication habits with friends and interest in pen pal relationships.

Key findings include:

1. 35% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “in the digital age, it’s harder to meet new people.”
2. 95.1% stated that it was very or very important for them to maintain long distance friendships.
3. 56.1% had never had a pen pal before, but would be interested in having one
4. 31.7% either have had a pen pal before either through letters or a website/emails
5. 12.2% had not had a pen pal before and would not be interested in having one.

When asked what appealed to them about having a pen pal:

1. 65.9% said meeting new people
2. 56.1% said communicating and writing with intention
3. 58.5% said gaining a new perspective from someone around the world.
4. 22% said combating loneliness
5. 29.3% said taking a break from instant messaging

Overall, our findings indicate there is an interest in pen pal relationships as a means of facilitating connection. Given the decline of traditional letter writing, there is space to modernize the practice of having an intimate connection with a pen pal to the digital age.

1. Describe your most important design decisions. What research findings and/or user testing results led you to make these decisions? (Max 500 words)

Background research inspired our most important design decisions. We aimed to create a prototype that fostered an environment for thoughtful and intentional connections.

1. Limited Connections: One of our main motivations was ensuring that each pen pal interaction felt personal. Our survey reported that 56.5% of respondents expressed a desire to write with purpose and channel intentional interactions. To encourage these meaningful connections, we decided to limit the amount of active pen pals to three at a time to prevent overwhelming the user with too many conversations, and instead foster more thoughtful exchanges.

2. Waiting Time for Sending/Receiving Letters: Unlike social media platforms that focus on instant messaging, we wanted to emulate the process of writing a physical letter. As mentioned, 29.3% of survey respondents liked the idea of a pen pal app for the break from instant messaging that it may provide. Implementing a waiting system prevents Un.Bottle from turning into another generic social media app.

3. Minimum Letter Length Requirement: We implemented a minimum letter length, 300 words. This may allow users to gain the benefits mentioned in the Personability and Social Psychology Bulletin that are attributed to the process of letter writing.

4. Cross-Country Contacts: By allowing for connections from different geographical locations, Un.Bottle can connect people from different cultures with different experiences. This mirrors the desire of 57.9% of respondents to gain a new perspective from someone around the world. This opportunity, combined with longer form letters, may allow for global exchange of thoughts and an avenue to do so thoughtfully.

5. Sea-Theme: Our motif was centered around the visual of a letter in a bottle - the idea of writing a letter that one wants to be found, and casting it out into the sea on a journey beyond their control. This aesthetic both creates the calm immersive experience, and thematically matches the idea of meeting someone from around the world. We chose high contrast colors in an effort to make the text readable and accessible.

6. Trinket Exchange: In addition to physical letters, Un.Bottle users can also exchange trinkets. This allows for small digital keepsakes along with letters. This feature emulates what people may include when writing physical letters, including exchanging trinkets, photos, or postcards.

While there are some apps that have similar motifs, which we discovered after starting the design process, Un.Bottle has features that sets it apart. Un.Bottle does not transition to instant messaging after starting with a pen pal scheme, and limits the number of correspondents.

Overall, our design decisions when creating Un.Bottle, with limited connections, a structured sending period, meaningful letter requirements (word count and trinkets), and a serene aesthetic, aimed to create an intentional platform for social exchange, in contrast to the fast-paced nature of social media, in the age of AI. In some ways, including through a matching algorithm for pen pals, AI may even be harnessed as an agent of human connection.

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