Self-Determination Theory : User Preferences and Design Recommendations for Technologies to Support Awareness of Sedentary Behavior

Abstract: Sedentary behavior and an inactive lifestyle are a risk factor for chronic diseases and an increasing number of people are affected. Technologies and smartphone applications can help to support and increase awareness of sedentary behavior and thus, help users change their lifestyle and create a balance between sedentary time and physically active time. Based on Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to identify user preferences and design features in technologies to support the awareness of sedentary behavior and explored the influence of design implementations towards motivation on sedentary behavior change. Data was collected and analyzed via a survey that was made available online. Participants were drawn from social media platforms and company email addresses. The survey was distributed to 97 people through a web-based tool which resulted in complete data from 84 responses. Results of the survey based on Self-Determination Theory indicated a positive influence of competition among users in screen-based sedentary behavior applications. These findings contribute to our understanding of how individuals can be motivated to use awareness-based sedentary behavior technologies by the implementation of design features.