Pascal
1st place at CMU XHacks hackathon
High-fidelity prototype, "Successfully addresses the issues of accessibility, equity, and sustainability."
Overview: App & Chrome extension that helps users censor media that evokes negative feelings by collecting user data and countering the negative side of algorithms such as the YouTube algorithm
Role: idea developer, prototyper
Tools: Figma
Team members: Cathryn Lin, Hongyu Mao, Rebecca Jiang
Duration: 1 day
Problem Space
Studies have shown that social media including YouTube can increase mental disorders such as depression and anxiety in teens. Part of this issue could be algorithms that keep recommending the same types of videos. This can cause a vicious cycle of media consumption.
Goal
I wanted to find a way to help users understand what types of content evoke positive and negative emotions for them. In this way, they can make their social media experience have a more positive effect on their mental health. Pascal also increases accessibility of social media platforms to people with mental and emotional disorders.
Features
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takes user input as they consume media
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we wanted to be able to collect user data as frequently as possible without intruding too much on the user's viewing experience
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suggests possible emotional triggers
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machine learning algorithm that can help identify possible triggers
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allows users to add triggers to their list to be warned about
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users can customize what they want Pascal to help censor
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warns users about content that could trigger negative emotions, suggests alternatives
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helps provide users with alternative content that might be better for their mental health
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shows user emotional trend data
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users can gain insight into their emotional tendencies
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shows user suggestions as well as top 5 videos that improved their mood
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this can help the user understand what types of content improve their mental state
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Prototyping
Low-Fidelity
Mid-Fidelity
High-Fidelity
Final Thoughts
This is a prototype we want to make a reality in the future to help make social media and media consumption in general a more positive experience for users. This hackathon was a great learning experience for me because it was the first UX hackathon I participated in, and I learned a lot from my teammates. We also learned the benefits of thorough ideation, since we spent hours picking and refining our idea, and this helped us come up with a winning idea that has market value in today's society.