WI$E Extension

Inspiration

We were inspired by the culture of overconsumption of goods that stems from social media trends. We wanted to design a way to reduce unnecessary purchases that are both financially and environmentally unsustainable.

What it does

The WI$E Chrome extension encourages the user to rethink their choices on where they spend their money on various shopping websites. It does so by asking the user a series of questions to ensure their purchase is reasonable, sustainable and truly beneficial to their life. If the user determines that their purchase is not wise, they are redirected to the Google home page. If the user is unsure about their purchase, they're given time to think with a timer. If the user believes their purchase is wise, they are prompted with the choice to a more sustainable option that supports local businesses in Montreal.

How we built it

As WI$E is a Chrome Extension, we were required to implement a .json file to make it compatible with Chrome. From there we worked with JavaScript and HTML to implement the visual components and make it user interactive.

Challenges we ran into

Because we are students in 1st and 2nd year of computer science, we did not have any experience using HTML or Javascript. Although it was challenging for us to learn these languages, we were able to find the resources online to successfully implement our code.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Considering this is our first time using theses languages and interfaces, we are glad that this first prototype is functional and successfully user-interactive.

What we learned

Working on this project, we learned how to build a Chrome Extension and along with this were introduced to new scripting languages such as JavaScript and HTML. We learned a different style of testing our code, which involved displaying the output on the Chrome browser. As well, we created our first repository on Github and utilized various features of the platform. Throughout this experience, we realized that programming has positive societal impacts, and we are motivated to use our skills to contribute to a sustainable future.

What's next for WI$E

We wish to make WI$E more open-ended by making it functional on more websites. However, this would require AI and databases. In fact, we want WI$E to be able to detect items that are trending on social media and raise awareness about the effects of unnecessary consumption caused by these online trends.