Designing a social exercise app to combat the negative effects of social media on body image amongst young Chinese woman
This study aims to design an app to alleviate the negative impact of social media on young Chinese women's body image, and instead, strengthen their connection to others through a digital design that matches individuals with a workout partner and promotes their physical activity. Human-centered design methodology and methods such as literature review, interviews, rapid prototyping and user testing helped to gain understanding of young Chinese women and develop guidelines and a prototype that matches those. The prototype iterations were designed based on knowledge from the literature and then refined through interviews and user testing. Self-Determination Theory, alongside research on social media, social comparison and social support guided the design. Furthermore, interviews and user testing with participants highlighted important aspects for the design. This study offers a possible way to mitigate the negative impact of social media on body image amongst young Chinese women. The final prototypes alongside the design guidelines can help designers gain understanding of the negative influences of social media and mitigate those through design. Future research could explore further the long-term impact of the design and the social comparison and social support influences on one’s well being and body image.