Emotion-centered Data Physicalization in Social Media Contexts: Exploring Tangible Strategies for Emotional Awareness

This thesis examines how data physicalization and personal informatics, integrated through a user-centered design process, can support emotional reflection in young male university students during social media use. Using a three-phase methodology, exploratory interviews, co-design and prototyping, and experimental evaluation, the study developed and tested a tangible artifact. Results show that participants engaged in discreet, non-verbal reflection, favoring symbolic and tactile interaction over verbal disclosure. The artifact acted as both a reflective tool and a subtle interruption to passive scrolling, prompting micro-reflections within digital routines. Participants valued its discretion, emotional safety, and ease of integration into daily life. The design was informed by the behavioral patterns of the target group, fostering engagement without verbal pressure. This research contributes to emotional design and embodied interaction by offering design guidelines for discreet, non-verbal, and hybrid digital–physical tools that promote emotional awareness and reflection in specific user populations.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Design (M.Des.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Industrial Design

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Rojas Sanchez, Sharon Elizabeth

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2025 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2025-16879

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/44906