Designing for Slow Technology: Using a Physical Artifact to Reflect on Screen Exposure

This thesis explores how slow technology design qualities can be applied to personal informatics to encourage sustained reflection on daily behaviors, specifically screen exposure before sleep. We developed a low-fidelity, tangible artifact - a figurine - whose appearance gradually transformed based on participants’ self-reported data over three days. The design incorporated three key slow technology qualities: explicit slowness (deliberate delays in feedback), ongoingness (cumulative transformation), and pre-interaction (a morning audio message). Our findings show that the pre-interaction phase primed participants for reflection, with voice journaling fostering anticipation and self-awareness. The figurine’s gradual transformation made participants more conscious of their habits. However, explicit slowness - delaying the feedback -was often perceived as a barrier rather than an opportunity for reflection. While one participant appreciated the delay, others expressed frustration, revealing challenges in aligning slow design with fast-technology expectations. Additionally, though reflective moments were observed, not all participants specifically reflected on screen use before sleep as intended. Overall, the study demonstrates the potential of slow technology qualities to foster reflection in personal informatics, but suggests further refinement is needed to sustain engagement and support the shift from fast to reflective interactions.