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VRFriends – Mobile App Design

A chatbot for empathic relief purposes aimed at teenagers who are suffering from hyperempathy.

View Interactive Demo

Project Overview

Introduction

Hyper-empathy(empathy overwhelm) syndrome occurs when you are too in tune with other people’s emotions and mirror them to the same intensity. In other words, you care too much. People with hyper-empathy may find it hard to regulate their emotions and may have a tendency to pick up on negative feelings.

Characteristics of empathy overwhelm include high sensitivity to pain, struggles in social situations, mood swings and stress, dependency on others, strong intuition, and susceptibility to mental health problems. People pay more attention to Empathy Deficit,  not overwhelm.

 

Roles

  • User Experience Research:
    Studied user behavior and analyzed user feedback to extract key insights.
  • User Experience Design:
    Created user personas and storyboards to define target users and guide product direction.
  • User Interface Design:
    Conducted multiple iterations of product prototypes and refined the design through several rounds of user testing.

Goal

  • AI chatbot that aims to regulate/relieve users’ empathy budget
  • Target users: Teenagers(Age 13-18)
  • Not therapy, but health advice and patient listener
  • Constantly revisit and calibrate

User Study

Research Method

  • Survey:
    An online questionnaire was designed to accurately collect user data, assess users’ psychological states, and customize the user experience accordingly.

Questionaire

  • Do you feel drained and tired after time with others? (1 point)
  • Do you find it difficult to say no to others and put your own needs last? (2 points)
  • Do you often allow others to be rude and unkind to you because you ‘feel sorry’? (2 points)
  • Do you feel physically uncomfortable when you see others being upset? (stomachache, sweating, etc.)? (3 points)
  • Do you feel hopeless and powerless when having emotions? (1 point)
  • Do you blame yourself for everything? (1 point)
  • Do you feel your appetite is bad? (1 point)
  • Do you find it hard to fall asleep with too many things going on in your mind? (2 points)
  • Do you feel numb towards people you know the best (best friends, family)? (2 points)
  • Do you find it difficult to concentrate on things? (2 points)

Prototype

Iteration

Reference

[1] Empathy disorder: What is it, symptoms, and HOW TO OVERCOME IT: UK therapy guide. uktherapyguide.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www.uktherapyguide.com/news-and-blog/empathy-disorder-what-is-it-symptoms-and-how-to-overcome-it/nblog11252

[2]Druce, – R., & Druce, R. (2020, July 27). Hyper empathy: Characteristics and treatment: Cognifit. Health, Brain and Neuroscience. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://yourbrain.health/hyper-empathy/

[3] LaVine, R. (2023, February 3). What is empathy fatigue? (and 12 ways to overcome it). Science of People. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www.scienceofpeople.com/empathy-fatigue/