An Interactive Smartphone Application to Manage Youth Loneliness

Young adults are exposed to immense stress due to unhealthy lifestyles, affecting their mental health. Loneliness is one such issue that is not given enough attention in the society. It has become extremely challenging to identify and manage, especially for the youth. This paper focuses on the issue of loneliness in 16–24-year-olds and attempts to develop an app-based solution. To understand the factors causing loneliness, five interviews were conducted and eighty-three survey responses were recorded. The obtained insights were utilized to ideate solutions by applying design techniques like giga mapping, concept evaluation, and morphological matrix. The proposed solution is a smartphone application that has been designed on Figma with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR). This app consists of an all-time companion that is designed to make the youth feel comfortable in sharing their feelings and overcoming their loneliness by encouraging them to adopt a healthier lifestyle.