Evaluating the effect of customized smartphone environments on de- and reattachment

Thanks to smartphones, we are always reachable and easily distractible. The first makes it hard for us to detach - from work ("just this one email, then I'm done for today"), pressure from friends and family ("why didn't you answer my message within 5 minutes?"), or the device itself ("what, half an hour passed whereas I just wanted to see what time it was"). On the other hand, once we are settled in, the latter makes it hard for us to focus - on a working task, a conversation, or our own imagination. Within this thesis, we want to develop and evaluate whether setting up a particular smartphone environment, i.e., customising the smartphone screen and functionality (wallpaper, color scheme, app layout, etc.) improves our focus and simultaneously encourages detachment.

Tasks:

• (Extensive) Literature review on smartphone solutions to support focus and detachment
• Enhancement of an existing Android launcher-based application with the findings from 1)
• Design and execution of a lab- and/or field study to evaluate the effect of the solution developed in 2)
• Analysis & discussion of the study results

Requirements: Very good programming skills with Android. A successful project can result in a submission to a renowned international conference/journal.