Digital Detox Support Using a Dedicated Smartphone with Restricted Freedom

Based on my university studies and my own interest in smartphone overuse, I framed the issue as a research topic. Instead of treating digital detox as a matter of willpower, I tested the idea of using a restricted dedicated smartphone as part of the environment.

I designed experimental conditions, recorded usage data, analyzed results, created figures, and organized the work into a paper submitted to the 80th Entertainment Computing research meeting.

• Designed the research topic and prototype concept.
• Defined conditions with different costs for unlocking restrictions.
• Recorded and organized data such as SNS usage time, successful unlocks, night interruptions, morning fatigue, and perceived burden.
• Created charts, analyzed numerical results, and wrote the report structure for the EC80 submission.

Through this work, I experienced more than building a product. I learned how to define a question as research, design conditions, collect and analyze data, and explain the findings logically.

I also learned that behavior-change products are not only about convenience. They require careful thinking about how much friction or inconvenience should be designed into the experience.