Engagement, 2024

Violet Hyun

Capstone 2024

Tools

Mixed mixed media (including ml5.js, Arduino, open-source Programmable Air, and more)

Engagement is a social commentary and interactive piece that effectively communicates with audiences to “engage” until audiences realize that engagement is a big commitment to them rather than it being a passive experience.

Inspiration

Background

Every month, I'd mindlessly sign up for free trials, forgetting about these subscriptions that would silently add up charges on my credit card statements.

As I started questioning these marketing traps designed to capture my attention and money, I stumbled into a deeper rabbit hole of understanding how technology subtly manipulates our behaviors.

The Problem

What makes us struggle to disengage or redirect our attention away from the media (e.g. subscription services), and what strategic choices do businesses make to drive these traps in this competitive landscape of the digital age?

People are finding difficulties to unsubscribe (disengage) from such services that are designed to maintain their long-term consumers.
Since our experience in the digital space happens in our unconsciousness, I decided to do a social commentary that shows the tangible experience of the reality of our society of attention scarcity.

(1) Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a psychological trap that implements an algorithm to find what people inevitably will obsess over and want to keep looking at by causing negative fear once disengaged.

(2) Disengagement is increasingly becoming more difficult as digital platforms and apps are strategically employing gamification techniques.

For example, Snapchat’s streak system or daily login rewards in mobile games try to transform the player’s engagement in these games into a personal commitment. These design elements utilize human cognitive biases. Users are getting psychological pressure to find it difficult to leave from such commitment. Quitting a streak on Snapchat may feel like a personal loss, especially considering all the time and effort spent to maintain it.

Project Ideation

The Manual

Marriage Theme

In today’s world, brands and corporations are continuously discovering ways to capture one thing: your attention.

More than just a mere encounter, but they’re trying to build a lasting relationship with you. When they capture your attention, they’re asking for your time, your trust, and your repeated engagement, much like how a marriage is built on dedication and ongoing effort.

In a way, it’s like a traditional engagement in marriage—asking for your commitment, connection, and loyalty, just more in a modern and digital way.

Storyboard

Methodology

Final Presentation

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