Sem A - Week 3

Need Identification Interview

This week we moved from interviewing experts to speaking directly with teenagers. Based on last week’s insights, we created an open interview protocol with 5-6 broad questions to better understand how teens experience social connection in their everyday lives.

We focused on two main challenges: social pressure to belong, which often leads to fear of self-expression and rejection, and experiences of bullying or exclusion that result in loneliness and a weakened sense of belonging. From these, key needs emerged, including self-confidence, self-acceptance, empathy, social skills, commitment to group activities, and more meaningful human interaction beyond screens.

Through these interviews, we aim to collect authentic stories about how teens connect and experience friendship both online and offline, validate the needs identified in the expert interviews, and explore how technology might support stronger real-world social cohesion. Next week, we will analyze the interviews and identify recurring patterns...