Digital Distress

Anna Imark

Digital Distress University of Colorado Denver

Digital Design Process Book 24’

Anna Imark

Digital Distress University of Colorado Denver

Digital Design Process Book 24’

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I n t ro d uc ti o n

Fin al Asset s

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Thesis Quest ion

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V is u a l Exp lo r a t io n

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Thesis Prob lems

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Ske t c h e s

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St ic ke r s

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Posters

R e s e a rc h

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Thesis Viabilit y

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Sur vey

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Good Mark et ing

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T h a n k Yo u

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D esign Ment or Int er v ie w

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Cit a t io n s

Fin al Asset s

T h es i s Q u e s ti o n

How can motion design help bring awareness to the effects of mental health brought on by social media?

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T h es i s P ro b l e m s Social media and screen time affect everyone’s mental health. How can we bring awareness to this subject and possibly help remedy it?

Static design is used widely, but motion design can make issues more memorable.

Is it possible that motion design can create stronger, vivid impressions, and impact than static design?

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R e s e a rc h Thesis Viability

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This thesis will explore and present how

My research will delve into different existing

excessive use of smart phones, screen-time,

motion designers and their work, seekin g

and social media can impact us negatively. The

answers to why they picked video vs. static.

advancement of technology affects our lives

Through a combination of experimentation

deeply. The inventions of computers, tablets,

and visually dynamic and captivating assets,

laptops, smartphones, etc. revolutionized how

t his thesis will showcase and highlight the

we work and interact. There are many positive

reasoning behind why motion design can help

things that come from them, but they can also

bring awareness and light to topics that we

have unintended consequences.

showcase online.

In today’s day and age, the use of social media to promote and showcase artistic strategies, opinions, and creative expression has skyrocketed. From posters, stories, pamphlets to collages, there are many static designs floating around the world and online. Although the use of motion design hasn’t been used as efficiently as these static designs. Reels and stories have helped with the idea of videopromotion, but motion design can make it even better. Videos in general can catch viewers’ attention, but with the right touch of color, fluid animation, transitions, effects, those are what makes the content more engaging. This Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) thesis aims to explore and understand the uniqueness behind the use of motion design, how it is more beneficial than basic static designs, and what makes it effective to the audience watching it. It will also present how the excessive use of our smart phones, social media usage, and screen time can impact our mental health negatively.

With the rise of social media and different platforms, the percentage of teenagers and young adults suffer from a type of mental illness.

of 12-17 year olds report

of 18-25 year olds some sort of

From center4research.org

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Screen time and our mental health go hand-in-hand. Take screen time activity from the use of social media for example. As someone who definitely is an avid user of social media, I can vouch for both the positivity and negativity affects that social media brings onto us humans – but for the purpose of this thesis, I’ll be focusing more on the negative impacts.

Anxiety and depression are two of th e biggest leading causes of social media usage. Both girls and boys, teens and adults, can experience harassment online, body dysmorphia, and even en counter images and comments that can sway their emotions and thoughts.

D epr ess io n

Depression is a mood disorder that is driven by the feeling of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest. It can be mild or severe. A research conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, trying to find a link between social media and depression, separated 143 students into two groups with one group bein g allowed only 30 minutes to all types of social media and the other with no restrictions. The group with restrictions reporte d a lower se verity of depression, given they had less time to get affected by whatever it is that floats online and were spared from look ing at content that could make them feel worse.

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A n x i e ty Anxiety is a multifactorial condition, meaning that social media can be part of the issue. For those who use it on a daily, social media may be a potential stressor in their lives, and can cause their anxiety to worsen. Comparison, FoMo, any negative experiences, and procrastination can result in anxiety.

B ody Dysmop hia & su rveillanc e The term “body sur veillance”

or muscular, whatever bodies

much less desirable, it can

has been dubbed for those

online, and wanting to look

c a u s e a n e a t i n g d i s o r d e r,

who monitor their own body

exactly like them. The reality

depression, and negative

due to body influencers

is that these photos are

body image. The self-

posting unrealistic photos

edited prior, or the creator

comparison is so harmful

online. The National Librar y

is posing a specific way in

to each individual’s mental

of Medicine conducted

certain lighting to make their

health since they believe they

an experiment and based

bodies seem more fit or

will never measure up to that

off their findings, they

alluring. When your body is

standard.

discovered that 99% of their participants posted more than 5 photos per week, with 81% of the photos edited before being posted. This is such an enormous issue for growing teens seeing their favorite influencers posting about their perfect skinny, or abs,

1 w o3r s e center4research.org 8

FO MO (Fear of m i ssi ng out) Social media is known to showcase the best and exciting moments of one’s life. This sometimes can lead one to feel e n v y a n d u n w o r t h y f o r m i s s i n g o u t o n e x p e r i e n c e s o t h e rs have. Overthinking is definitely something everyone does, and the need to compulsively constantly go back onto social media to check out people’s lives both stem from the fear o f m i s s i n g o u t . I f i t ’s m i s s i n g o u t o n a f r i e n d s m e e t - u p , or forming an inside joke, or seeing someone on a great trip while you’re stuck at home, all of these are reasons someone would feel lonely and anxious and left out. Social media fosters this idea that your online persona/presence and social standing is everything, and that if you miss out on even the slightest thing such as a notification, then you’re just not as “cool” or “fun” enough.

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I nsom ni a & tr oub le sle e pin g Screen time is known to be one of the biggest problems in disrupting sleep. Our devices produce blue light, which according to Dr, Cooper “is the part of the light spectrum most active in our sleep cycle.” (shutterhelp). It suppresses the production of melatonin, which makes it harder for people to fall asleep since it causes adrenaline rushes instead of calmness. People tend to watch tv or scroll through social media right before going to bed, which can affect the user and their sleep schedule. It’s not just the “I was just going to watch 5 TikToks — it is an impulse that can last for over an hour or more. Turning down your brightness is one way to go about reducing the amount of blue light exposure if you must turn o n your phone before bed.

Insomnia we know is something people can experience with the increase usage in screen time before bed. Symptoms of insomnia have been discovered in teens, who are one of the targ et suspects of this problem. W ith this sleep deprivation, it can affect their mood, emotions, mental health, and even academic performance. Of course, this also extends to adults who will struggle more in their work setting than in school. Loss of sleep can also lead to a weaker immune system.

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Survey Curious to understand and identi fy the most used social media app and the biggest probl ems people around me face while using social media, I released a survey to the publ i c. I sent this sur vey to my coworkers, multiple clubs I ’ m i n , m y p a r e n t ’s f r i e n d s , and asked my sister to spread it around her high school. I wanted to collect as much information all all sorts of age ranges. In less than 24 hours, I gained over 50 responses and in three days, I gained a total of 273 responses.

The most important things I wanted to see are what social media is the most used, the average screen time per person, and what negative impact most people face while using social media.

Age

Ages 23-29

11.4% Ages 30-39 2.9%

Ages 18-22

Ages 40-49 2.6%

28.9%

Ages 50-59 5.9% Ages 60+

Ages 12-17

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47.6%

0.7%

Average phone screen time per day The average screen time per pe rson is

5-6 hours

surprisingly lower than I anticipated,

32.6%

7-8 hours

15.4%

with 102 (or 37.4%) of people c laiming

9-10 hours 2.6%

their screen time as 3-4 hours per day.

10+ hours 2.6%

89 people (or 32.6%) are in the 5-6

0-2 hours

9.5%

hour range, and 42 people (or 15.4%) are averaging 7-8 hours.

3-4 hours

37.4% Half of the people who took the sur vey have also deleted social media for some time, and from those who did, about 40.7% of them feel eomtionally and or physically better about themselves.

Have you ever deleted or logged off of any social media platform for a period of time (longer than 72 hours) No

31.5%

If you have deleted social media, did you feel yourself improve emotionally or physically?

Yes

66.5%

N/A

30.8% I felt better about myself

I felt worse about myself

40.7%

1.5%

I felt the same

27.1% 12

What social media do you have and use? (select all that apply)

Instagram, Snapc hat, and YouTube are the top three apps that people have, but

86.8% 237 people

surprisingly Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are the three apps that are use d the most.

Instagram

72.9% 199 people

Snapchat

72.2% 197 people

YouTube

54.9% 150 people

Distraction

221 people

Problem Falling Asleep

166 people

166 people

Body Dysmorphia & Body Surveillance

133 people

Anxiety

118 people

Photoshop & Fake Representation

118 people

Isolation

118 people

30%

Depression

118 people

30%

Cyberbullying 42 people

15.4% 3.3%

None

9 people

3.3%

13

52.2%

Facebook

26.4% 72 people

Discord

21.2% 58 people 5.2% 15 people

X (Twitter)

Anything else

43.2%

118 people

9 people

60.8%

81%

26.7% 73 people

48.7%

Inappropriate Footage & Images

Other

Instagram

27.8% 78 people

What negative effects have you experienced?

FoMo

TikTok

34.1% 31.1%

Before releasing the sur vey, I thought that FoMo, Body Dysmorphia, and Distraction would be t he top problems that people faced from the usage of social media. Once the responses were in, Depression, Trouble falling asleep/ Insomnia, a nd FoMo are the top three.

The sur vey really helped open my eyes to what people I know personally are dealing with, an d also helped solidify the factual information I found during my research.

What is your average screen time for your most used app?

3-4 hours

30.8% 5-6 hours 5.5% 7-8 hours 3.3%

10+ hours 1.8%

less than 9.5% 1 hour

1-2 hours

Have you ever used a time-limit app to limit your screen time?

No

45.1%

49.1%

Yes

If you have used a time-limit app, did you feel yourself improve emotionally or physically?

54.9%

N/A

42.8%

I felt worse about myself

I felt better about myself

2.9%

22.7%

I felt the same

31.5%

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G o o d m a r k e ti n g Motion Design

Motion design and moving elements have always been an eye-catcher for viewers. But why is it so effective? Motion Graphics is a form of animation that takes static design and transforms it into moving pictures. These animations are t ypically in two-dimensional or three-dimensional format, w ith audio sweetening, narration, and occasionally kinetic t ext to help visually narrate the information.

Different brands use motion graphics to market and demonstrate their products. It’s a way to simplify complex wordy information and put it in a more visual light. Since it’s an attention-grabber, it can easily affect emotions and can be used to empathize with users. Depending on the color palette, the visuals, sound/music, voice-overs, all of these can help create a narrative that will impact the viewer.

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Let’s take Dumb Ways to Die by Metro Trains and McCann and dissect it.

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Created in 2012, Metro Trains faced an issue of incidents and injuries involved with their metro stations and crossings. Wanting to create awareness around this topic, and wanting to draw attention to the risks of the space surrounding the metro, Dumb Ways to Die was created.

This catchy and memorable music video became so popular that it truly did create an impact among it’s audience. According to SBM, “The PSA achieved a pledge from 127 million people to be safer around trains, as well as a 10-20% reduction in train-related accidents..”. The vector characters and lyrics made the whole situation more authentic, and with the release of the game, it brought even more awareness.

It has been 11 years already since the intial release, and Dumb Ways to Die on YouTube has accumulated over 304 Million views, and over 208,000 comments. The mobile game was released 10 years ago and in 2023, it has passed 100 Million lifetime downloads.

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Video marketing is a very effective way to get information out.

In 2012, Vine was released to

Today with TikTok and

Motion design pieces are

the public. It gained popularity

Reels, many videos

typically short. The average

quite fast, with users creating

created are still relatively

attention span of a human is

silly and creative videos that

short to cater to the

around 7-8 seconds.

were only 6 seconds long.

viewer’s attention span.

So w hat makes a go o d video p sa?

Simple, conversational language!

Use of sound, visuals, transitions.

Seamless flow!

Keep the typography and color

Authenticit y Relatable

consistent Technical proficiency: skilled in Adobe AE, Blender, Cinema 4D

Cohesive

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De sign m entor ex pert Greg g Stouff e r U ni versi ty of C olorado Denv er Fi l m & Telev ision Professor Vi d eo g rapher and Film Editor How do y o u ed it wit h empa t h y in m in d ?

How c a n e diting impa c t a n a udie nce’s pe rc e ption a nd/or e motions?

One of the greatest challenges for an editor

The editorial process is perhaps the most

is to take a moment to step back at some

influential part of visual stor ytelling. The write r

point in the process, and forget ever ything

establishes the stor y and the characters. The

you know about the project and view it

director forges the performances and overall

through the eyes of a completely uninformed

tone with the actors and artists on the set. The

viewer. We tend to lose all objectivity when

cinematographer shapes the mood and creates

we bec o me hyper-immersed in the subjective

t h e l o o k o f t h e p r o d u c t i o n . B u t t h e e d i t o r, i n

details and decision s that we are constantly

virtually every decision made, guides the viewers

making, and forget how to seperate our

experience by selecting what they are looking

feelings and opinions from the blank slate that

at in any given moment, thereby establishing

our audi ence is brin ging to the moment.

the emotional and dramatic weight of all of the decisions made throughout the process.

Wha t is y o u r o p in io n ab o u t m o t io n PS A s? D o y o u t h in k t h ey wo rk o n ge t t i n g t h e m es s ag e o u t ? Ho w co u l d t h ey b e im p ro ved ?

W hy do you be lie ve motion de sign is impa c tf ul to a dve rtising?

I believ e that any type of PSA must first and

the ultimate goal of an ad is to compel the

foremost focus on the desired response from

audience to respond on either a conscious or

the viewer. Ver y ofte n the most effective

subconscious level. Most viewers will respond

way to achieve that goal is to simplify the

negatively when they feel they are being over t ly

message, and create a powerful visual

manipulated, so the challenge for the motion

metapho r that communicates that message.

designer is to create an emotional response on

Many times, a message is lost or diluted when

a subliminal level whenever possible.

the communicator tries to do too much, or accompl i sh multiple effects, and ultimately accompl i shes none of them.

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Motion design is critical to advertising in that

V i s ual E x p l o r ati o n Mood Board Typography Color Palette Sketches

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Mo od b oa rd

T y po g r a p h y Colun a C o nd e ns e d Bo l d Helvetica Neue - Thin Helvetica Neue - Medium

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C o lo r Pa l e tte

# 28344C

# 0D4B81

# 30BCAF

# FFFFFF

# 869E44

# A9CD8A

# FEBE40

# 000000

# FAB99C

# ED7079

# A37AB6

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Sketch es My sketch process spanned over a few months. Occasionally, I’d get an idea and quickly doodle it down in my sketchbook. When I really had to sit down and focus on a possible poster or sticker ideas, it was harder to find inspiration and motivation to draw out them. I looked at relating PSA posters, from vaping to recycling to washing hands, and noticed that a lot of them featured vector designs, and minimal text. I liked the overall layout and feel of them, and wanted my work to give off the same energy and feel.

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Fi nal as s e ts Stickers Posters Motion Pieces

I decided on my final deliverables. I’d have posters, stickers, and motion pieces to accompany my static designs. My 3 posters will focus on the topics I feel affect me the most personally – such as distraction/limiting screen time, FoMo, and body dysmorphia.

The motion pieces are short, eye-catching PSA’s that I can visualize being played as an ad while scrolling on TikTok or Instagram reels. The stickers are fun and are meant to help boost mental health awareness and make people smile.

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#DO N E

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All my sticker and vector images are created in Adobe Illustrator 23’. I took those vector images and went into Adobe After Effects 23’ to make the motion peices.

The motion peices are on the following posters Limiting That Screen Time Don’t Get Distracted Screen Time - Weekly Report

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T h an k Yo u

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I want to thank the following people for supporting me along my journey completing my Senior Thesis.

Professors

Family & Friends

Michelle Carpenter

Sophia Imark (Sister)

Travis Vermilye

Robert Imark (Dad)

Gregg Stouffer

Nadia Hong Lily McCann-Klausz Sofie Maliyevsky Jacob Guerrero Jordan Rittgers

And most importantly, To my Mom who has always stood by my side and who supported and encouraged me through this whole process.

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Citations

“Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Anxiety Among University Students in the United Kingdom: Qualitative Study”. PMC PubMed Central. June 16, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC10337317/ “How Too Much Screen Time Affects Kid’s Eyes: Tips to Prevent Eye Strain”. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. December 21, 2021. https://www.chop.edu/news/health-tip/how-too-much-screentime-affects-kids-eyes#:~:text=Studies%20show%20that%20people%20of,that’s%20positioned%20 for%20adult%20use “Is Your Screen Time Just as Harmful as Theirs? How Parents’ Screen Use Affects Their Children”.

Bay Street Pediatrics. https://baystreetpediatrics.com/is-your-screen-time-just-as-harmful-as-theirshow-parents-screen-use-affects-their-children/#:~:text=Experts%20found%20that%20increased%20 adult,fragile%20relationships%20in%20the%20future Jamie Friedlander Serrano. “Experts Can’t Agree on How Much Screen Time is Too Much for Adults”.

TIME. May 9, 2022. https://time.com/6174510/how-much-screen-time-is-too-much/ Joanna A. Cooper. “Screens and Your Sleep: The Impact of Nighttime Use”. Sutter Health. Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation. https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/sleep/screens-and-your-sleepthe-impact-of-nighttime-use#:~:text=Stimulation%20of%20this%20part%20of,Cooper%20says Josh Howarth. “Alarming Average Screen Time Statistics (2023).” Exploding Topics. January 13, 2023. https://explodingtopics.com/blog/screen-time-stats Kecia Ray. “Here’s What the Research Says About Screen Time and School-aged Kids”. EdTech - Focus on K-12. Janurary 3, 2023. https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2023/01/hereswhat-research-says-about-screen-time-and-school-aged-kids#:~:text=Excessive%20Screen%20 Time%20Might%20Limit%20School%20Success&text=The%20study%20found%20excessive%20 screen,literacy%20in%20school%2Dage%20students

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Marc Potenza, PhD, MD. “Study Probes Connection Between Excessive Screen Media Activity and Mental Health Problems in Youth”. Yale School of Medicine. March 21, 2023. https://medicine. yale.edu/news-article/yale-study-probes-connection-between-excessive-screen-media-activityand-mental-health-problems-in-youth/ Michael Cray. “Case Study: Dumb Ways to Die”. SBM The Smarter Way. January 24, 2002. https:// smithbrothersmedia.com.au/get-smarter/case-study-dumb-ways-to-die/#:~:text=With%20a%20 specific%20focus%20on,authentic%20and%20worthy%20of%20notice Selene Grandi. “How motion graphic can increase awareness in Marketing”. Medium. June 21, 2020. https://medium.com/digital-brainstorming/how-motion-graphics-can-increase-awareness-inmarketing-155e371304a3 “Screen Time Effects on Mental Health”. La Amistad Behavioral Health Services. February 15, 2023. https://lamistad.com/blog/screen-time-effects-on-mental-health/#:~:text=Even%20 FOMO%2C%20or%20a%20Fear,%2F%20harassment%20and%20self%2Disolation “Social Media and Youth Mental Health”. S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. 2023. https://www.hhs. gov/sites/default/files/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdf.2023.

“Social Media Usage Statistics By Age”. MixBloom. September 7, 2023. https://www.mixbloom. com/resources/social-media-usage-statistics-by-age#:~:text=The%20age%20group%20who%20 spends,onto%20their%20social%20media%20apps.

Stef McDonald. “Tips on Managing Your Screen Time for Good Mental Health”. National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://namica.org/blog/tips-on-managing-your-screen-time-for-good-mental-health/ Tamika Carlton. “5 Reasons Why Motion Graphics is Important”. Bottle Rocket Media. https://bottlerocketmedia.net/why-motion-graphics-are-effective-for-contentmarketing/#:~:text=Motion%20graphics%20can%20simplify%20complex,to%20reach%20a%20 global%20audience Tim Walker. “All That Scrolling’: How Screen Time Impacts Students”. neaToday. September 30, 2021. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/all-scrolling-how-screen-time-impactsstudents

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