Everyday Life Reflection
Ine Mols, Elise van den Hoven, Berry Eggen
Abstract
Reflection is of increasing interest in HCI as it has many potential benefits in design, education and everyday life. In this paper, we explore media-supported reflection through the design and deployment of three concepts. In contrast to prevalent reflective approaches that are based on system-collected data, we explore how user-created media can support personal reflection. Three interactive prototypes were developed, focusing on different modalities: Balance uses audio, Cogito uses text, and Dott uses visual media. We evaluate these concepts in an in-thewild study that is both explorative and comparative. We found that the open-ended systems primarily supported reflection during the creation of media and that the use depended on opportunity and triggers. We conclude the paper with a discussion of our findings regarding the method and the implications of our findings for the broader area of design for reflection.