Thursday, November 12, 2009
Introduction: Problem Space 10:00 AM
Hi there, my name is Sam Kingston and my focus for the Gen-Y Location Based Communication Project is the growing issues surrounding texting while driving.
This issue has been gaining a lot of heat lately, and for good reason: texting while driving is dangerous.
Recently this PSA sponsored by the British government has been making its rounds (WARNING, it's very graphic):
The point here is quite obvious: innocent behaviour can have dire consequences, but don't those of us who text while they drive know this already? Preliminary qualitative research I performed on members of my immediate social group seems to support that they do know what they are doing is wrong, but for some reason the potentially lethal consequences of their irresponsible actions don't seem to outweigh the compulsion to text.
So my problem space seems pretty well defined, doesn't it? An obvious solution here is come up with a peripheral that makes texting while driving impossible, but the opinion of the public has shown that they already are aware of the risks they are taking when texting while driving, and it's clear that this behavior is important to the user on a level that sits above rational logic. This proposed solution already exists in the ability for the user to shut off the phone while driving, but they don't. The user can do that for free, so why would they buy a solution that forces them to abide by limitations that they don't want to live by in the first place?
I believe the opportunity for a truly holistic solution in this case lies in first observing and understanding the behavior and motivations behind text messaging, and then using this understanding to develop a solution that aims to enrich the user experience rather than impose limitations that the user will actively ignore.
Wish me luck.
This issue has been gaining a lot of heat lately, and for good reason: texting while driving is dangerous.
Recently this PSA sponsored by the British government has been making its rounds (WARNING, it's very graphic):
Texting While driving from Facebook User on Vimeo.
The point here is quite obvious: innocent behaviour can have dire consequences, but don't those of us who text while they drive know this already? Preliminary qualitative research I performed on members of my immediate social group seems to support that they do know what they are doing is wrong, but for some reason the potentially lethal consequences of their irresponsible actions don't seem to outweigh the compulsion to text.
So my problem space seems pretty well defined, doesn't it? An obvious solution here is come up with a peripheral that makes texting while driving impossible, but the opinion of the public has shown that they already are aware of the risks they are taking when texting while driving, and it's clear that this behavior is important to the user on a level that sits above rational logic. This proposed solution already exists in the ability for the user to shut off the phone while driving, but they don't. The user can do that for free, so why would they buy a solution that forces them to abide by limitations that they don't want to live by in the first place?
I believe the opportunity for a truly holistic solution in this case lies in first observing and understanding the behavior and motivations behind text messaging, and then using this understanding to develop a solution that aims to enrich the user experience rather than impose limitations that the user will actively ignore.
Wish me luck.