// Final Major Project // Research — 04
Tags: UX Design, UX Research, Design Thinking, Design Process, Wellbeing

Task 1 — Things people enjoy doing

For the things people enjoy doing, it can be classified into “Relationship Building”, “Exercise”, “Arts”, “Self enchantment”, “Relaxation”, “Entertainment” and “Others”. Among all of them, watching TV/ Netflix and socialising are the most popular ones.

Task 2— Your Shelter

In terms of a place where people feel safe, many young adults mentioned about home, their room, or their bed. They feel safe when they are surrounded by people they trust and wiling to give support. And since these places are owned by them, so it provides privacy as well. It is the foundation of their sense of security.

Task 3 — Your Burden

For burdens, many young adults mentioned work, and worried about the uncertain future. And due to COVID-19, they are more concerned about their own, family and friends’s health, but this is not as strong as their worries to their jobs.

Another finding that also supports what I discovered from doing autoethnography research, which is age and job status do affect what people worries. The older employed group would concern about marriage and housing; while the students concern about their return to study and future job hunting.

Task 4— Down Moments

I tried to find the duplicate emotions that people have during their down moments with the feelings they experience during COVID-19, turns out the answer are: frustrated, worries, lonely and insecure. The participants also wrote down ways on dealing with their negative emotions, I wonder whether their previous coping solution can be applied or would get affected or not.

Task 5 — Stay Home Activities

During lockdown or stay home period, the young adults were mostly either staying in their bedroom working or studying, staying in bed watch Netflix, or relaxing and watching TV in the living room.

Task 6 + 7— Lockdown/ Stay-home vs Now

From the previous literature review some scholars mentioned how people found boredom with the repetitive life during lockdown. But I found that no matter it is during lockdown period or now, the employed group’s life tend to be repetitive in their own way. However, they would feel their life being more fruitful, positive, and diversify when they got to socialise with people or exercise once or twice a week.

For students who applied overseas university but not attending in-person class, some started to experience different learning schedule than they previously did, i.e. online classes from late afternoon to mid night due to time differences.

And note that, most people were able to stay with their families during the previous lockdown or stay-home period.

Task 8 + 9— To-dos & Wants

Between what young adults need to do and their wants, I found that it is always work related, and it also links to their burdens and worries.

And for the things young adults want to do, they are the things that they answered in Task 1.

Task 10— Priorities in Life

When asking what are their priorities in life for now, the top 5 are “Family”, “Health”, “Work/ School”, “Money” and “Friendship/ Relationship”. I would say “Family” connects back to the safe space where people find comfort; “Work/ School” and “Money” is what people concern but worry at the same time. And the “Friendship/ Relationship” part is what people enjoy doing that can brings out positive emotion.

Task 11— Emotion Diary

Lastly, I had them to record and write down their mood for the past 5 days. To summarise the findings, there are 4 points:

1. Most of the negative emotion comes from work/ study, but people also feel satisfied when they have overcome the challenges

2.Apart from the medical staff who is still suffering from heavy workload, more people are experiencing positive life at the moment

3. In the repetitive life that happen to most employed people, the once to twice gathering and exercise do make their mood feel differently

4. COVID-19 does not directly affect their mood and wellbeing