Tag Along is an add-on feature for social media apps that aims to reduce friction when forming in-person social interactions.
My role: UX Researcher, UX Designer
Duration: 3 months
Tool: Figma
Research Team Members: James Yu, Evan Tang
Solution Overview
share activity plans as open invitations
customizable friends circle for privacy
no hard commitment, less mental burden
background context
social comparison
“You look at other people’s posts and think: ‘I should be doing that. I should be living that life. I should be that happy. I should have that trip. I should have that kind of family. I should have that many friends.’ And then you feel bad about yourself. That’s what social comparison is.”
Researchers found that people turn to social media more when they’re feeling lonely. But, surprisingly, people felt worse after spending a long time on social media. It didn’t help them feel less isolated.
Social media can be an excellent way to feel connected, but let’s not make it feel only connected with places and things. Nothing is better than an actual in-person engagement.
“in-person communications are more effective because 55% of the impact of our communications comes from reading body language”
- Prof. Jablonski
“direct person-to-person contact triggers parts of our nervous system that release neurotransmitters to help reduce stress.”
- Susan Pinker
How might we integrate features into social media platforms that incentivize offline interactions among users？
understand how people form in-person interactions on social media
57 survey + 6 interviews
“People say they are okay with doing anything, but in fact, they are picky”
— Bill, 28, engineer
“I prefer to be a participant other than a host”
— Jia, 27, teacher
“I like to hang out, but I don’t like thinking about plans”
— Ann, 30, designer
“I am okay with big parties, but if there are only a few people, I just don’t want to commit”
—Summer, 30, manager
friction on initiating an interaction:
not all people are good at planning activities, “don’t know what to do” is the first blocker when forming an in-person interaction
Pain Points
friction on inviting and being invited:
scared of being rejected and making commitments stop people hanging out with others
How can I help people form in-person interactions in a less stressful way？
Feature: share from personal interests,
no need to plan new things
blank space to form a new activity plan
option to edit from previous activities to save time
Feature: focus on the future, and tag along
see incoming activities
option to join (self-initiated action)
Feature: It’s okay to regret
Users can find their joined activities under “My Page”
a “regret” button in case they change their minds.
no notification to the activity host if someone regrets it.
Tag Along + Instagram
— how Tag Along looks on Instagram
Tag Along + Instagram
Feed Page on Instagram
show activity invitations on the Feed page
mixed with other posts, reels, and etc
Outcome: 100% positive feedback from testing
"...it solves the difficulty of managing invitations and this is a more passive broadcasted way of inviting people to things, which also invites some sort of serendipity and magic you don't always get if you just call people directly and invite them to a thing and they just say yes or no...so I like it...I would use that..."
"It could inspire more reconnections with friends because instead of it puts some of the energy out of making a plan together...it's a less committal way of just spontaneously connecting."
"The frictions [of hanging out] usually come from your mind having to commit to something...this solution reduces the friction."
"I would 100% use this... being someone who struggles with reaching out to individual person...this platform helps me track my activities and let people know they can join me if they like."
Behind the scene
how Tag Along was selected
The solution #3 (Tag Along) got the most positive feedback and votes. Users agreed the solution solve multiple pain points and they showed interests in using the solution.
polish the idea with sketches
Storyboard, wireframe sketches are made to show more details about Tag Along’s features.
