6 weeks
Async
Long- distance friendships: bridging the gap between miles and hearts
This asynchronous app will help in strengthening the friendships despite time zone differences and busy schedules.
Company
IUPUI
Role
Ideation
User Researcher
visual Design
Duration
6 weeks
Teammates
Lydia
Vaishnava
Jayati
Me
Tools
Figma
Microsoft teams
Miro
Overview
Problem
"How can we effectively support long-distance platonic friendships, given the challenges of distance, time differences, and the potential negative impact on collaboration and productivity?"
Solution
ASYNC, a social platform that facilitates asynchronous connections with friends through podcast recording and shared activities, can help to overcome the challenges of long-distance platonic friendships by allowing users to interact asynchronously, even across different time zones. This can help to improve collaboration and productivity, as well as reduce loneliness and isolation.
Why do we need this app?
Background
The pandemic and significant increase in moving away from home, for various reasons, have weakened relationships, despite efforts to keep in touch.
Causes
Loneliness
Trust Issues
Isolation
Misunderstandings
Initial problem discovery
What problem are we trying to solve ?
"Communication". " Time zone differences". " FOMO".
These problems are due to the distance and time difference between friends. This can lead to feelings of loneliness, isolation, and difficulty staying connected. It can also be difficult to maintain trust and commitment in a long-distance friendship, especially during difficult times. Additionally, it can be challenging to maintain shared interests with long distance friends, as they may be exposed to different experiences and cultures.
Initial Research/ Problem Validation
Why is this problem important ?
"Growing Problem ". " Not Well Understood".
The problem of maintaining long-distance friendships is important to study because it is a common problem and because it is a growing problem that can have a significant impact on people's well-being.
According to a 2022 study by the Pew Research Center
33%
of the adults have at least one long-distance friend. This means that a large number of people are affected by this problem.
"Studying long-distance friendship challenges benefits both users and a company. Understanding and addressing these challenges can position the company as a leader in promoting digital connections, enhancing its reputation and attracting more users."
We need this app because..
People are increasingly busy and have less time for synchronous communication.
The world is becoming increasingly remote and distributed.
ASYNC can help to reduce loneliness and isolation.
Asynchronous communication can help to build stronger relationships.
Asynchronous communication can lead to better decision-making.
In a business perspective...
Some specific ways that ASYNC can generate revenue:
Subscription fees
Advertising
In-app purchases
Digging deeper...
Research
Primary Research
For our primary research, we have conducted interviews asynchronously using Google Forms, and we have selected our interviewees in such a way that both perspectives of a similar scenario are covered, which is what we have asked two friends who are staying away. We have taken 4 sets of 2 interviews in such a manner so that we get a rounded perspective, as we believe both parties in the friendship play a crucial role in maintaining the relationship.
"Lack of communication"
01
"Not being able to be there for each other"
02
"The fact that we can't meet each other whenever we can"
04
"Time zone differences"
05
"Not being able to give time"
03
"Miss spending OUR time"
06
Key Findings from interviews
Challenges
Missing in-person everyday interactions
Missing notable events in each other's lives due to time zone differences and busy schedules
Feeling neglected, ignored, overwhelmed, suffocated
Maintaining regular communication and keeping up with each other's lives
Misunderstandings and miscommunications due to the lack of face-to-face interaction
Changes in priorities and lifestyles leading to a loss of connection
Benefits
"Gaining a new perspective on life"
"Sharing experiences from various parts of the world"
"Learning about different cultures"
"Having a friend who is always there for them, even if they are far away."
Secondary Research
"Examining the maintenance of friendships: Are there differences between geographically close and long‐distance friends?"
- By Amy Janan Johnson paper.
According to the above research paper, we found that
90%
of individuals have at least one close long-distance friend with whom they cannot understand the feelings of others as compared to face-to-face.
Maintenance of any relationship requires some basic rules or principles, like:
"Direct discussions/openness"
01
"Calling or texting them to keep them updated and to know their updates"
02
Finding new activities to do together despite distance
03
"Having healthy conversations"
04
"Reassuring each other"
05
"Doing activities and spending time together was considered a luxury and energy-consuming activity rather than something basic. the relationship continued to be great between people when they accepted that there would be a change in relationship when they are apart. adjusting and understanding each other is very crucial to a continued relationship."
Analyzing the data
"The main goal is to bridge the gap between current applications and users by designing a system that is simple, natural, and effective in facilitating long-distance friendships through features like collaborative play, interactive feedback, and personalization."
Ideation
Generating a wide range of ideas for supporting long-distance friendships through brainstorming, then evaluate and prioritize them to create a well-structured and informative information architecture.
Storyboarding
Information Architecture
Once as a group we were satisfied with the architecture of the app we moved onto the mapping out the key user flows we wanted to design and our user journey maps.
Low-Fi Prototype
Key Features
Walk:
Firstly, the user can select a friend they want to share a walk with. The walk-home screen also shows suggested places with respect to the user's interest and hobbies.
In the walk feature, the user can record and upload a podcast. They can also share a picture of their walk with their selected friend.
Podcast:
In this feature, the user can upload his/her podcasts and view their and his/her friends podcasts as well.
Shared activities:
This is a shared activities screen where you can select multiple options like reading a book, watching movies, or online shopping.
This feature helps stay connected by having regular everyday interactions.
Conclusion & Next steps
The evaluation consisted of different types of evaluations
Thinking-A-Loud
Completing tasks
