Desenvolvimento de aplicativo mobile para controlar o uso das redes sociais

Abstract

The term “social media” has gained strength in the digital environment and has become, over time, one of the most used mechanisms for sharing information and virtual communication by human beings. Despite its contribution to fast and accessible communication, social media are increasingly consuming people's time and health. On average people spend almost a third of their waking time looking at the screen of their cell phones. Social media ends up becoming an addiction of daily life, and people do not realize that they are spending so much time trapped in this environment. There are applications in the market which help to control the time of cell-phone use. This project aims to develop an app that helps to decrease and to control the use of social media, which encourages the practice of other activities and to contribute to the user’s physical and mental health. Bibliographic research and the Project E method (2010) were applied to this study. This intended to apply the principles of user-centered interaction design, linked to gamification elements, to encourage users to fulfill their challenges. This study resulted in an interface that meets the functional requirements for which it was designed, as well as good usability, providing a good user experience, as well as serving as a stimulus to help convert time spent on social media into activities that will contribute to increase physical and psychological conditions as well as social health.