Providing confidence and independence to your loved ones through co-creation experiences.
Helping friends and family learn new things can be challenging. Those offering assistance may feel undervalued and exploited, while those receiving help might feel frustrated. What starts with good intentions can quickly become a relationship strain. This activity focuses on building confidence and independence through respectful, enjoyable, and memorable experiences.
Key Audience
1.
Senior family members and friends who repeatedly seek assistance with the same or similar tasks.
2.
Anyone experiencing frustration from struggling to acquire new knowledge.
Rules
Don't dictate
Communication is the key. Establish understanding through conversation and empathy.
Respectful Boundaries
Don't be afraid to be firm but remain open minded. A respectful relationship is a two-way street.
Build Confidence
It's about building confidence through repeated exposure for long-term independence.
Bonding Experience
Remember to have a fun! You are spending time with your loved ones.
Supporting friends and family in learning technology can be challenging, often leading to strained relationships.
Feeling Undervalued & Exploited
Those providing assistance may feel taken for granted, impacting their willingness to help.
Frustration & Uncertainty
Learners may struggle with feeling lost, leading to repeated requests for help.
Relationship Strain
What begins with good intentions can escalate into lasting conflicts.
Shifting the focus from closing the knowledge gap to building confidence and emotional fulfillment fosters independence.
Co-Creation for Agency
Learners design their own record-keeping methods to gain independence.
Personalized Record Keeping
Structured methods improve retention and confidence.
Collaborative Learning
Shared experiences strengthen relationships and support independence.
Understanding Expectations vs. Reality
To gain insight into people's behaviors, data was collected from online testimonials and in-person interviews. Additionally, key findings from existing programs and studies on senior learning and well-being were analyzed.
Insights
1.
What People Are Saying
2.
What People Are Thinking
3.
What People Are Feeling
4.
What People Are Doing
I hate doing tech support for parents who refuse to learn! I want to help, but it's really frustrating!
Sometimes, you have to be firm and set boundaries.
I don't want to damage my relationship with them.
Don't dictate the terms. Have a conversation with them.
I'm lost. What else can I do to make learning easier for them?
Try different approaches. Help them figure out the best approach. Remember: don't do it for them. Do it with them.
Frustration Over Perceived Time Wasted
People feel their time and effort aren’t valued, creating a sense of unfairness.
Friction Over Different Expectations
Repeated, exhausting attempts at communication leave doubts about being truly heard.
Maintaining Boundaries in Relationships
People often fear damaging relationships over perceived trivial matters, leading them to hesitate in setting firm boundaries.
Frustrated
Frustrated by lack of progress and understanding.
Anxious
Anxious over negatively affecting relationships.
Impatient
Impatient over lack of care and motivation to learn.
Commitment
Exhausted from unrealistic expectations.
Giving Up
Give up on providing proper assistance. Vicious cycle continues.
Overcorrecting
Try to set up boundaries but end up damaging relationships.
Failing to find solutions
Try to explore different approaches but finding no alternative solutions.
Collaboration to Build Confidence
Based on research insights, the design aims to resolve communication issues, provide emotional fulfillment, and build confidence for greater independence. Collaboration with my mother helped evaluate workflows and uncover guiding principles to inspire others.
Activities
1.
Trial and Error
2.
Exploring Options
3.
Finding The Right Balance
This trial tested the feasibility of co-creation activities. While I typically handled online appointments, I encouraged my mother to book one herself, with me available to guide and answer questions. Despite some resistance, I didn’t do the task for her. The result was encouraging, as she discovered her ability to complete it with minimal help.
This session focused on co-creating manuals with my mother. We gathered various notebooks and arts and crafts supplies, and she chose a notebook and pen she preferred. Though she considered using the built-in memo app, she realized it wasn’t ideal due to restrictions like input method, customization options, and screen space.
Graphic Aids
Words alone can't help her understand the procedure correctly.
Relevance
Screenshots may contain too much irrelevant information.
Flexibility
Memo app has limited room for flexibility or creativity.
Context
Limited split screen function for side by side comparison.
This session focused on refining the record-keeping process and incorporating more creativity. Her goal was to learn the split-screen function on her tablet and explore different methods of using a translation app. She was especially motivated to learn translation functions, as they would be useful for quickly translating conversations to understand the context of a situation.
Delightful Experience of Building Confidence
She was genuinely delighted with the manual co-creation experience and enjoyed describing the process in her own way. She actively considered things she wanted to learn and felt satisfied with the progress but sought ways to improve her notebook's organization. She even devised her own system, using page marking tapes to color-code activities. Additionally, she proposed improving the manual with dedicated sections and page numbers for more structured categorization.
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