Reimagining the cycle: interaction in self-tracking period apps and menstrual empowerment

IF 2.4 Q3 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS Frontiers in Computer Science Pub Date : 2023-09-20 DOI:10.3389/fcomp.2023.1166210
Beatrice Tylstedt, Maria Normark, Lina Eklund
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Abstract

FemTech, technology often in the forms of apps developed to specifically target female health issues, have billions of users globally. Yet, despite the popularity of e.g., period trackers or pregnancy apps, we know little about the potential impact of these technologies, often developed outside controlled and regulated healthcare. How interactive technology is designed, and in our case the cycle represented through the design, has the potential to shape women's understanding of menstruation. In this study we analyse the interaction design of nine of the most downloaded menstruation apps, asking how commercial menstruation apps represent the cycle through their interaction design. While previous research has criticized these types of apps for lacking privacy and for enforcing normative ideals on women, they are often marketed in terms of female empowerment and users do indeed seem to find them very useful for period and fertility tracking. However, the term 'empowerment' is today used broadly and is known for having many potential meanings. Even within the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), 'empowerment' is used frequently but rarely explicitly defined. The question then becomes what empowerment could mean for menstruation tracking. In order to begin exploring the way menstruation and the period is represented in current apps and the way that future apps could design for empowerment, we engage in a comparative design investigation using what we call critical app-walkthrough methodology where an app's design is explored comprehensibly at one point in time and apps interacted with over a longer time period through researcher use-diares. Our results center around three ways in which these apps represent the cycle to users through design. We analyse; (1) interface metaphors used to represent the temporality of bleeding, (2) datafication of menstruation through input and output for intimate data tracking, and (3) the ways fertility predictions convey certainty over uncertainty. In a second step, we then explore what empowerment could mean for period trackers and how design could support empowering experiences. Finally, we present four design sensitivities meant to inspire designers to design for other types of period tracking experiences that might better empower bleeders. These are: support lived temporalities, embrace uncertainty, empower the self , and design less .
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重新想象月经周期:在自我跟踪经期应用程序中的互动和月经赋权
FemTech是专门针对女性健康问题开发的应用程序形式的技术,在全球拥有数十亿用户。然而,尽管经期追踪器或怀孕应用程序很受欢迎,但我们对这些技术的潜在影响知之甚少,这些技术通常是在受控制和监管的医疗保健之外开发的。交互技术是如何设计的,在我们的案例中,通过设计代表的周期,有可能塑造女性对月经的理解。在这项研究中,我们分析了9个下载量最大的月经应用程序的交互设计,询问商业月经应用程序如何通过交互设计来代表月经周期。虽然之前的研究批评这些类型的应用程序缺乏隐私,并对女性强制执行规范理想,但它们通常以女性赋权的名义进行营销,用户似乎确实发现它们对经期和生育跟踪非常有用。然而,“授权”一词今天被广泛使用,并以具有许多潜在含义而闻名。即使在人机交互(HCI)领域,“授权”也经常被使用,但很少明确定义。那么问题就变成了授权对月经追踪意味着什么。为了开始探索月经和经期在当前应用程序中的表现方式,以及未来应用程序可以设计的赋权方式,我们使用我们所谓的关键应用程序漫步方法进行了比较设计调查,其中应用程序的设计在一个时间点上被全面探索,应用程序通过研究人员使用日记在更长的时间内与之互动。我们的研究结果围绕着这些应用通过设计向用户展示循环的三种方式展开。我们分析;(1)界面隐喻用于表示出血的时间性,(2)通过输入和输出对月经进行数据化,以进行亲密数据跟踪,以及(3)生育预测传递确定性而不是不确定性的方式。在第二步中,我们将探讨授权对周期跟踪器意味着什么,以及设计如何支持授权体验。最后,我们提出了四个设计敏感性,旨在启发设计师设计其他类型的经期跟踪体验,这些体验可能更好地为出血者提供帮助。它们是:支持短暂的生活,拥抱不确定性,赋予自我权力,减少设计。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Frontiers in Computer Science
Frontiers in Computer Science COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS-
CiteScore
4.30
自引率
0.00%
发文量
152
审稿时长
13 weeks
期刊最新文献
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