Do people experience digital communities differently from physical ones?

Growing up around and in digital spaces like Poptropica, Club Penguin, and other online video games for youth, it led to my interest in how youth in this generation experience community. Especially with the growing concern of the over-reliance on online communication, I explored how youth are currently being affected.

How can digital communal spaces be a bridge to physical communities, supporting the social development of youth struggling with in-person social interaction?

Is it really just the phone?

Social media platforms have become appealing ways to satisfy youth desire and need for connection. Because users can adopt different identities or lifestyles in the virtual world, this escape mechanism can be employed to cope with emotional and psychological challenges and interfere with day to day life and social relationships.

From a young age, youth already have access to digital communities. It’s not just the typical social media apps - there are virtual worlds designed for youth and now even metaverse technology. So why don’t we just put away our phones? But it’s not as simple as abstaining from digital use, instead, we need to look at the spaces that fulfill this need.

The concept of the "Third Space".

The term "Third Space" is coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, describing the idea of a public, social place outside of home and work and characterized by its ability to bring people from diverse backgrounds together into a physical space.

Except now there’s an emerging problem. People online have been expressing disappointment with the lack of accessible third spaces. 

Despite the pressing issues, there's still glimmers of what positive community building can look like.

A key characteristic about youth is that they are able to adapt and take initiative. A study conducted by researchers who examined the interactions of youth in virtual worlds designed for children found that users found creative ways to bypass restrictive design features to share information, form and show their connections with certain groups, and build communities.

In recent times, we've seen a Tiktoker inviting Toronto citizens to a spontaneous picnic which resulted in about 2000 attendees, entirely participant-ran. We see youth rising above the limitations the best they can.

Where is the bridge from the digital to the physical?

Knowing there’s a desire for connection in immediate surroundings and youth are more comfortable with digital platforms, how can we leverage those existing platforms to foster in-person community and revitalize physical third spaces?

I asked youth themselves about their experience with finding community.

I conducted a survey with 19 participants aged 18-24 and gained a better understanding of their motivations and challenges. These were the key insights I gathered.

Identifying user need

To see the touch points that affect users, I created personas and user journeys.

Addressing user needs through app features.

Mapping out the user flow.

I connected the features to form a the structure of the app, addressing user needs. After user testing, I found that users still felt that it would be difficult to converse with strangers. Thus, the Park came to be.

An app that grows and sustains communities.

Research is continuous in the design process.

Throughout this project, I went back and forth between research and design to validate my design decisions. As I learned more and gained more understanding, my design also became more relevant to the issue it addresses. This experience showed me the importance of not being too caught up with an initial idea, but rather let research shape the design as it goes.