Promoting Self-Reflection of Social Isolation Through Persuasive Mobile Technologies: The Case of Mother Caregivers of Children With Cancer

Abstract

Mother caregivers of children with cancer are often unaware of how the tasks of caregiving interfere in their social relationships and lifestyle. This article explores how persuasive mobile technologies may promote the self-reflection and introspection of communication practices, emotions, and lifestyle. The article describes the design of EmotionMingle, a mobile system running in a situated display showing an ambient visualization using the metaphor of a tree to represent the status of an individual’s social network that, used in tandem with downloaded Facebook photographs, may help caregivers avoid social isolation. EmotionMingle also informs caregivers of how their emotions correlate with their communication practices and lifestyle. The results of a qualitative evaluation of the EmotionMingle prototype reveal that mother caregivers perceived it as useful and its visualizations as appropriate. The findings from this study reveal emergent practices of using mobile persuasive applications for self-reflection to discover wellness trends, possibly inducing behavior change.