In recent years, being overweight has become prevalent among teenagers across the UK. Research has shown sugary drink consumption would increase body fat, and young people are their main consumers. This project experiments with promoting water consumption as a strategy for reducing sugary beverage consumption. This project attempts to reduce sugary drink consumption by making drinking water more playful and enjoyable.
Through conversation with teenagers, parents and school teachers, observation in young people’s context, and teenagers’ self photo documentations, I build up many insights which include:
1. Kids tend to use readily available drinks and snacks rather than provide on their own.
2. Consuming sugary drinks is a social norm among kids.
3. Kids consume sugary drink because they want to treat themselves.
4. Water is considered a free resource.
These insights then contribute to my design solution: gamifying school drinking fountain to set a competition between boys and girls, which is developed collaboratively with teenagers, parents and teachers.