Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: Expressive writing is an established approach for stress management. Recently, information technologies, such as smartphones, have also been explored for expressive writing. Although mobile interfaces have the potential to support various daily writing activities, interface designs for mobile expressive writing and their effects on stress relief still lack empirical understanding. We examined the interface design of mobile expressive writing by investigating the influence of input modalities and visual feedback designs on usability and perceived cathartic effects through field studies. While our studies confirmed the stress-relieving effects of mobile expressive writing, our results offer important insights into interface design. We found keyboard-based text entry more suited and preferred over voice messages for its privacy and reflective nature. Participants expressed different reasons for preferring different post-writing visual feedback depending on the cause and type of stress. This work advances interface design for mobile expressive writing and deepens understanding of its effects.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Norihama, Shunpei, Geng, Shixian, Miyazaki, Kakeru, Sato, Arissa J., Hirano, Mari, Hosio, Simo, Yatani, Koji
Language: English
Topic: Mental Health via Writing
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4403819543