For the third study of my dissertation, I ran focus groups with several participant couples at a time. As part of discussions about what they would want to do with the possessions and connections that remained after their relationship was over, they were presented with the following prototypes for features that might help with enacting decisions.
Prototype 1 – Archiving Possessions. Currently, archiving a post on Instagram places the post in a different location within one's account. Drawing on the idea of graphic content warnings seen on Facebook, this prototype imagines that instead of moving the archived content, it instead remains on the main profile but is hidden unless tapped. It remains hidden from other viewers.
Prototype 2 – Managing Connections. To access connection management features (such as Restricting, Muting, Unfollowing, etc.), one must go to the profile page for the connection they wish to manage. While doing so, they're exposed to the nine most recent posts that profile has, which could reveal information that is upsetting. This prototype imagines that the management functionality is available from the search page instead of the profile page, mitigating the chance of seeing something upsetting.
Prototype 3 – Viewing Reminiscence Features. Snapchat will push a notification to a phone's home screen when there are memories to be viewed. Click on that notification puts the user directly into the memory workflow, not giving them an idea beforehand of what the memories might be. This prototype again draws on the graphic content warnings present on other platforms to buffer the user before they see something that might be upsetting.