UX Research

Addressing Digital
Fatigue at Duke

Exploring how digital fatigue impacts Duke students' academic performance, mental well-being, and productivity through qualitative research.

Role

UX Researcher & Data Analyst

Timeline

4 weeks (Fall 2024)

Methods

Interviews, Journey Mapping, Affinity Diagramming

Research Doc

View Report

The Motivation

As an engineering graduate student, I personally experienced how constant digital demands impact productivity and well-being. Gen Z students spend nearly nine hours daily on digital devices, checking their phones 58 times a day on average. This pervasive connectivity leads to reduced blinking rates (66%), physical strain, and mental exhaustion. Understanding and addressing digital fatigue became crucial for me and my peers.

Research Goal

To conduct an exploratory study examining the relationship between digital fatigue levels and concurrent academic-career performance metrics among students over a period of one semester.

My Approach

Working with a team of 4 from the Design Innovation Studio class, I led priority research goal refinement and facilitated insight synthesis. We completed this comprehensive study in just 4 weeks, leveraging tools like Duke Box, Figma, MS Forms, Tetra, Respondent.io, and Generative AI.

1. Discover

Developed assumptions, created systems map, crafted open questions and potential research goals

2. Define

Identified key problems through screeners, recruitment, and 8 diverse interviews with students

3. Synthesize

Tagged and coded observations, conducted affinity mapping, developed insights and interventions

Going Into the Field

I designed the initial screener using MS Forms with open-ended questions to filter participants with a minimum of two hours daily screen time. We recruited eight diverse participants (undergraduates, graduate students, Ph.D. candidates) through Respondent.io and in-person outreach at Bostock Library.

Research goal and methodology for digital fatigue study

Research methodology including screeners and interview protocols

Participant Demographics

• Sample Size: 8 students
• Age Range: 18-27 years old
• Gender: 62.5% female, 37.5% male
• Education Level: 4 Undergrad, 2 Master's, 2 Ph.D.

Data collection process and participant recruitment

Key Insights

Discovery phase insights from student interviews

Affinity diagram showing key themes from digital fatigue research

1. Digital Overload Causes Unseen Strain

Students grapple with physical symptoms (eye strain, headaches, back problems) and mental impacts (anxiety, exhaustion, potential long-term neurological effects). These issues worsen with the constant need to monitor digital platforms and the distracting nature of social media.

2. Coping Tools Are Limited

Current digital wellness tools only partially mitigate fatigue. Students need better integrated solutions.

3. Physical Breaks Matter

Offline activities like walking and exercise proved effective, but lack of full disconnection remains an issue.

4. Social Media's Dual Impact

Balancing social media's potential for connection with its role as a distraction is critical for student mental health. One participant noted feeling sad when scrolling through social media first thing in the morning, affecting their entire day.

Practical Interventions

Based on gaps identified and insights gathered, I recommended practical interventions:

• Promote awareness of digital wellness through workshops
• Encourage regular screen breaks and provide offline activity spaces
• Integrate tools like app blockers and blue-light filters into campus systems
• Streamline digital tools to reduce context-switching fatigue
• Enhance mental health support coordination

What I Learned

This project reaffirmed my passion for UX research and design. It highlighted the importance of empathy in understanding user needs and strategic thinking to propose actionable innovations. Leading the priority research goal creation and insight synthesis taught me how to transform raw data into meaningful recommendations.

"Conducting these interviews caused us to reflect on our own digital device usage, especially as graduate students. Higher levels of digital fatigue directly translate to lower academic performance—students are trying their best to cope, but believe a helping hand from the university is needed."

The Research Journey

The team came to consensus to focus on problem exploration instead of solution development. This approach helped us design with depth, understanding the nuances of digital fatigue before proposing interventions.