OFFSCREEN
Digital Detox App
Course Title
Fundamentals of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Course Code: 0302200
Instructor: Jenna Saud
Submitted By:
U21105712 - Fatima Ahmad RS Abdlhameed
U23102073 - Haya Fathima
U23106958 - Hiba Khalid
U23107008 - Jowana Al Otaibi
U23104590 - Mariam Shaikh
U23101983 - Maryam Elkholy
U24103933 - Maymouna Cheguettine
U23104386 - Shahad Aldabal
U23102640 - Shezin Siraj
U23107395 - Wafa Majeed
Table of Contents
confirm pg no
1.0. The Problem 1
1.1. Empathy 3
1.2. Define 6
2.1. Ideate 7
2.2. Prototype 10
2.3. Test 18
3. References 23
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1.0 The Problem
Recently, it has become a common occurrence to see
people on their phones everywhere. This type of
behavior is one of the main problems noticed in
today's society. A survey by the U.S. National Center
for Health Statistics found that 50.4% of adolescents
aged 12–17 spend four or more hours a day on
screens, while another 22.8% spend at least three
hours daily (Zablotsky et al., 2024) . Furthermore, the
Graph of percentage of teenagers aged 12-17 who had
same research showed that teens who used their symptoms of anxiety or depression in two weeks because of
daily screen time (Zablotsky et al., 2024)
phones for more than four hours a day were
significantly more likely to report symptoms of
anxiety or depression compared to those with lower
screen use (Zablotsky et al., 2024) . The problem isn’t
just in the West it can also be seen in the Middle East
. According to the Arab Youth Survey, 74% of young
Arabs said they “struggle to disconnect” from social
media, and 61% admitted that this constant use is
harming their mental health (Saseendran, 2023).
These surveys show how common it is for teenagers
Percent distribution of teenagers ages 12–17, by hours of daily
to be on their phones and the side effects being faced screen time: United States, July 2021–December 2023 (Zablotsky
et al., 2024).
because of it.
The second problem: a decline in physical activity among youth. The recommended
physical activity is around 60 minutes a day. In the U.S., studies indicate that only 1
in 4 students meet the recommended activity for teenagers (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2024). Moreover, the statistics are even worse in the UAE,
where the country’s youth scored an “F” for overall activity, with just 19% of
schoolchildren reaching the recommended daily exercise levels ( Alrahma et al.,
2023). This means that only 1 in 5 children in the UAE are doing the recommended
amount of physical activity. As researchers put it, “overall, PA levels remain low and
sedentary behaviours remain high amongst UAE children and adolescents” (
Alrahma et al., 2023). The statistics show that there is something that needs to be
addressed to improve the norm that has been currently going on.
Your paragraph text
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1.0 The Problem
The third problem is the decline in in-person
socialization. It has become extremely easy to
keep up with people's lives around you just with
the click of a screen. Although convenient this has
a great cost which is the slow decrease in face to
face connection among people. Research shows
that over the past two decades, teenagers aged 15 -
19 have reduced their weekly hangout time by
more than 3 hours - an overall decline of 45% inYour paragraph text
face-to-face socializing (Thompson, 2024). This
shift means more and more young people are
finding it easier to communicate through screens
rather than meeting in person. Overall, this might
Percent of 12th graders who reported going out
just be because nowadays people find it easier to
Your paragraph text
with friends two or more times a week, 1976–2020,
by gender (Thompson, 2024).
communicate with people through a screen rather
than in person.
These three problems - too much screen time, not enough physical activity, and less face-to-
face socializing - create a cycle that harms both individual well-being and society. The truth
is, most young people already know this lifestyle isn’t healthy, but they often don’t have the
motivation to change it. That’s where our app ( offscreen ) comes in. Aimed at teenagers and
young adults, it uses fun, gamified offline challenges - like 5 minutes of meditation, a short
walk, or meeting a friend - and rewards progress with points, levels, and local discounts.
These rewards can connect directly to local startups, cafés, gaming venues, and other
community spaces, encouraging users to go out, socialize, and explore. The goal is to
encourage social interaction by going to these places with friends or meeting new people,
while also reducing screen time and promoting a healthier lifestyle through the short
challenges offered.
Your paragraph text
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1.1 Empathy
Saud, A 24 year old Employee
Think and Feel: See:
- Feels he wastes valuable time when - Sees people around him constantly on
spending hours online. their phones, which limits real social
- Thinks endless scrolling brings no connection.
real benefit or satisfaction. - Notices many social and physical
- Believes social media negatively activities he could enjoy with friends
impacts his mental health and overall and family instead.
well-being.
- Feels that too much screen time
reduces his physical activity and
motivation.
Hear : Say and Do:
- Hears others often complain about -Says he wants to make better use of
wasting time online and struggling to his free time and reduce online
organize their day. distractions.
- Occasionally hears about social - Tries to limit time spent on social
events but finds it difficult to media by filling his schedule with more
coordinate attending them. productive activities.
- Hasn’t heard of any apps designed - Plans outings and activities with his
specifically to increase real-world friends throughout the week to stay
social interaction. active and offline.
Pains: Gains:
- Feels overwhelmed by the number of
- Would benefit from an app that
available activities and finds it hard to
helps him discover, organize, and
keep track.
book activities easily.
- Struggles to stay physically active
- Wants to feel more motivated,
because too much time is lost on
doomscrolling on social media.
socially engaged, and physically
active.
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1.1 Empathy
Ali, a 21 year old undergraduate student
Think and Feel: See:
- Feels happier staying active and -Sees his friends often rely on social
social rather than being online. media to plan outings.
- Thinks that being offline helps his -Notices that there are many places to
mental health and productivity. hang out but doesn’t know how to find
-Feels frustrated when he can’t find them easily.
new social activities to join.
-Believes he’s missing out on
experiences because he avoids social
media.
Hear: Say and Do:
-Hears friends talking about new -Says he prefers real-life interactions
events or hangouts he didn’t know over online chats.
about. -Goes to the gym regularly and meets
-Hears people say it’s hard to organize friends every other day.
social plans without online platforms. -Tries to plan outings but struggles to
organize or discover new activities.
Pains: Gains:
- Finds it difficult to make or - Without relying on social media, he
coordinate plans. wants an easy way to discover and
- Misses out on social events due to organize social activities.
staying offline. - Hopes to stay socially active and
maintain balance with his offline
lifestyle.
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1.1 Empathy
Hala, a 17 year old highschool student
Think and Feel: See:
- Thinks she wastes too much time - Sees fashion and beauty content
scrolling instead of being productive. online that influences her self-image
- Believes social media makes it harder and spending desires.
to prioritize important things. - Sees most people around her
- Feels frustrated after spending hours connecting online rather than in
online. person.
- Feels stressed and anxious from what - Notices others being socially and
she sees online but content when active physically active but doesn’t always
or offline with friends. join in.
Hear : Say and Do:
- Hears messages promoting being - Says she’d rather stay inside when
more active and productive offline. told to go out.
- Hears her friends being open to - Tends to respond with uncertainty
meeting up offline. when invited out by friends.
- Hasn’t heard of apps that encourage - Goes out with friends once every
reducing screen time or socializing. week or two and doesn’t use any
activity or screen-time management
apps.
Pains: Gains:
- Feels mentally drained and frustrated - Would benefit from tools or apps
after long screen time usage. that motivate her to be more active
- Finds it hard to stay motivated or and manage time better.
organized offline. - Wants to feel more productive,
- Struggles to balance productivity with balanced, and socially connected
phone use. offline.
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1.2 DEFINE
i- POINT OF VIEW TABLE
User Need Insight
Needs a simple way Because he knows social
Saud
to organize and join media harms his well-
Ali
in on social and being and wants to stay
Hala
physical activities. physical active and
Needs an easy way to connected in real life.
find social activities Because he wants to stay
without depending socially active and
on social media. connected while
Needs motivation maintaining a healthy
and guidance to offline lifestyle.
balance screen time Because she feels
with real-life social frustrated and drained
and physical after long hours online but
activities. content and productive
when she’s active or with
friends.
Problem Statement
People who want to stay and live more offline need an easy and motivating
way to discover and organize real-life activities, as they often feel
disconnected, unproductive, and mentally drained when spending too much
time online.
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2.1 IDEATE
The Detox Challenge App is an innovative solution that we came up with after
applying Design Thinking principles to understand the frustrations of different users
(Saud, an employee; Ali, a university student; and Hala, a high school student) with
screen addiction and a lack of meaningful offline engagement.
We concentrated on using empathy to identify their true needs, ideation to come up
with interesting strategies, and creativity to integrate gamification with social impact
and community. Instead of making digital detox restrictive or dull, we wanted to
make it enjoyable, social, and fulfilling.
Design Thinking Principles Used
Empathizing: Recognizing Defining: Presenting the Ideating: Coming up with
the negative effects of issue as the necessity of a innovative features to make
excessive screen time on social and motivating digital detox fun, such as
social life, productivity, and detoxification strategy rather gamified levels, reward
mental health than a rigid or isolating one. systems, and social gatherings.
User 1 : Saud (Employee)
Innovative Solution
How might we?
(Answer)
How might we help users stay productive
Introduce the Detox Control system that pauses
and avoid digital distraction during work
app usage when switching to games or social
hours?
media.
Offer level-based challenges (e.g., “30 mins
How might we motivate working adults
focus task,” “15 mins walk”) that unlock harder
to maintain offline habits?
lifestyle missions
By adding short relaxation breaks and
How might we help working adults
mindfulness reminders during challenges, so
manage stress and mental fatigue caused
users can take a breather, clear their heads, and
by constant screen use?
feel more balanced throughout the day.
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2.1 IDEATE
User 2: Ali (University Student)
Innovative Solution
How might we?
(Answer)
How might we make digital detox fun Use Duolingo-style gamification with levels,
and social for students? streaks, and badges for completing detox tasks
Create Skill Swap Meetups — in-app feature
How might we help students connect
for hosting or joining group activities like
offline without relying on social media?
guitar, art, or fitness sessions
Utilizing the “focus lock” on the app which
How might we prevent procrastination locks all other distractions during focus time
due to excessive screen use? and rewarding use of this feature through a
point based system
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2.1 IDEATE
User 3 : Hala (High School Student)
Innovative Solution
How might we?
(Answer)
Add fun mindfulness and creativity challenges
How might we help youth reduce anxiety — like doing a quick 5-minute journal,
and build confidence offline? painting something small, or trying a short
meditation
Give users cool in-app rewards and virtual
How might we keep young users
coins they can use to get discounts at local
consistent in their detox journey?
cafés, fun workshops, and different activities.
By introducing playful detox challenges with
How might we make the app seem
collectibles, limited time badges, scoreboard
inviting and entertaining for young users?
system to promote positive competition.
SOCIAL IMPACT ECONOMIC IMPACT
✧ Encourages healthy digital habits and ✧ Boosts visibility and income for local
improved mental health among youth. businesses, artisans, and workshops
through app partnerships.
✧ Builds real-world communities through
meetups and shared activities. ✧ Generates sustainable income via ads,
minimal subscriptions, and brand
✧ Donates part of app revenue to youth collaborations.
rehabilitation centers in the UAE.
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2.2 PROTOTYPE
Overview:
Offscreen is a gamified digital wellness app created specifically for the youth that struggle
with issues related to social connections, mental and physical health, and screen addiction.
The app's interactive design transforms digital detoxification from an unpleasant task into a
more interesting challenge. Users engage in skill-based activities, earn rewards, and progress
through levels to earn more real-world rewards. The main aim of the app is to reduce screen
time and encouraging young people to lead healthier, more active lifestyles. The interactive
interface and essential features of the app are showcased in the prototype.
Functional Sections:
➼Dashboard: The dashboard shows the user's daily progress, total coins and rewards,
streak, and current level. It also draws attention to their daily challenges, encouraging users
to monitor their progress on a daily basis.
➼Challenges: There are five categories of daily challenges: Screen Free, Meditation,
Fitness, Creativity, and Social. By completing these tasks, users can level up and earn more
coins with which they can unlock increasingly rewarding incentives. Digital detoxing feels
rewarding rather than restrictive with such a system. Users can learn or teach new skills by
attending local meetups or hosting their own. This fosters in-person communication and peer
education among young people.
➼Skill Swap: A community tool that allows users to teach or learn new skills by hosting
their own meetups or attending local ones. This encourages in-person communication and
peer education among young people.
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2.2 PROTOTYPE
➼Rewards: Through business partnerships, users can exchange their earned coins for actual
coupons and discounts.
➼Profile: Shows your name, current streak, accomplishments, and personal progress. It also
reinforces community interaction by providing a section called "About Me" where users can
list the skills they would like to learn and teach.
Solving User Needs :
By combining gamification, community incentives, and habit-building, the app aims to
directly address primary issues that young people face: excessive screen time, reduced social
connections, and low levels of physical activity.
✦Reducing Screen Addiction: By rewarding users for avoiding screens, the screen-free
challenges promote healthy screen breaks and give them a sense of accomplishment.
Purposeful engagement can take the place of harmful screen time with gamified progression.
✦Promoting Physical Activity: Consistent exercise habits are developed through fitness
challenges that incorporate small, achievable physical goals that gradually progress.
Incentives like discounts on gym memberships would encourage users to continue exercising
outside of the app.
✦Fostering Mental Health and Mindfulness: Creative challenges and meditation encourage
focus and relaxation. The challenge-based format gives users a framework to enhance daily
routines and lessen anxiety.
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2.2 PROTOTYPE
✦Rebuilding Social Connections in the Real World: Skill Swap meetups encourage users to get
together with their peers and share knowledge. The Rewards Store promotes socialization by
offering incentives for going to workshops, cafes, and other community spaces.
Creating a Positive Feedback Loop: The user receives coins for completing each challenge,
which encourages a cycle of growth and motivation. Personal development becomes more
measurable and enjoyable with this feeling of progression.
The Offscreen app prototype makes lifestyle enhancement and digital detoxification fun and
goal-oriented. For young people who are battling screen addiction, loneliness, and inactivity, it
offers a workable solution by fusing gamified challenges, tangible rewards, and social
interaction. Our app prototype shows how these elements combine to provide a clear path from
online habits to offline growth.
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2.2 PROTOTYPE
NOVELTY:
The Offscreen app brings in a completely new and innovative approach to digital
wellness since it is dedicated to young people who need help with managing screen time,
physical inactivity, and real-life interaction. Although several other wellness or
productivity apps do exist, they mostly centre on individual aspects such as screen time
tracking, meditation, or focus and productivity. Offscreen combines several such
wellness domains into one cohesive gamified experience and motivates people to cut
down on screen time and engage in daily fitness, creativity, and mindfulness and help
people foster relationships.
When compared to existing digital wellness apps such as Forest, Headspace, or Digital
Detox Challenge, the originality of Offscreen stands out. the Forest app uses a timer
system to help people focus and stay off their phones for a limited time but lifestyles
around the screen are not engaged. Headspace encourages meditation but it is limited to
online only, with no real interaction or social features. In contrast, Offscreen merges the
best elements of gamification, habit-building, and community engagement into one
unified experience.
What truly sets Offscreen apart is its inclusion of the unique skill swap feature that
allows users to meet offline to teach and learn new skills. This feature makes the app a
social growth platform as well by helping users reconnect with their communities and
discover new interests.
Offscreen is not only unique in design but also in its global and regional originality.
There is no app in the UAE or anywhere else in the world that combines digital detox,
offline interactions, gamification, and real-world rewards within a single platform.
Although many applications are designed to help users manage their screen time or
enhance their focus, very few have established a balanced system that includes
individual well-being, social interaction, and community incentives. This makes
Offscreen the very first app in its class not just in Sharjah or the UAE, but in the entire
world providing a systematic and fun way for the youth to shift from passive digital
consumption to active and purposeful living.
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2.2 PROTOTYPE
FIDELITY:
The prototype presents a high level of fidelity as it reflects both the design and the
functionality of the definitive version of Offscreen. It provides the users an experience
that is realistic and interactive by allowing them to explore the app just like the fully
developed version. The user interface features a simple and modern design including
clear icons, easy navigation, and clickable buttons.
The prototype features all the key elements of the Offscreen app including interactive
dashboard, where users can track their challenges and daily progress across the five
categories such as Screen-free, meditation, fitness, creativity, and social activities. It
allows users to navigate effortlessly between sections like the Skill swap feature, where
they can exchange skills, plan meetups and host events and the rewards store, where they
can view and redeem their rewards using the coins they earn by completing the
challenges.
The app’s interactive interface creates a genuine and engaging sense of connection for
the [Link] shows how users would select challenges, mark them once complete and
receive digital rewards. The transition between screens, sections and animations replicate
the behaviour of the final version, giving users a genuine feel of the journey.
By integrating both design and functional flow, the prototype effectively demonstrates
how Offscreen works to motivate the users to lead a healthier lifestyle and achieve
personal goals. Its realistic design, interactive features and complete representation of the
apps core system make it a high-fidelity prototype.
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2.2 PROTOTYPE
LIMITATIONS:
While our Off Screen website prototype is highly functional, it still has a few limitations
compared to the final version we aim to launch.
▸Features
The current prototype includes only the basic functions, such as tracking screen time
and displaying daily usage summaries. In the final version, we plan to introduce
additional features such as user accounts, progress tracking dashboards, wellness
resources, focus lock and customizable focus challenges to create a more interactive and
personalized experience.
▸User Interface (UI)
The prototype’s design is simplified to demonstrate the layout and navigation flow. The
final version will include a more refined and visually appealing interface, complete with
smoother animations, improved accessibility, and a fully responsive design that adapts
to all devices and screen sizes.
▸Performance and Optimization
As an early prototype, the current version may experience slower load times or limited
functionality on certain devices. The final website will be optimized for speed,
responsiveness, and efficient performance, ensuring a smoother and more seamless user
experience across platforms.
▸Data Management
At present, the prototype stores data locally for demonstration purposes. The final
version will implement secure cloud-based data management, allowing users to back up
their progress, synchronize accounts, and access personalized recommendations safely
and conveniently.
Despite these limitations, the Off-Screen prototype effectively demonstrates the main
goals and core features of the final website. It provides a solid foundation for future
development and reflects the intended functionality and purpose of the complete
product.
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2.2 PROTOTYPE
APP EXPERIENCE PREVIEW - APP PICS
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2.2 PROTOTYPE
APP EXPERIENCE PREVIEW
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2.3 TEST
A. Advertisement
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2.3 TEST
B. Marketing Channel and Feedback
1, Whatsapp Channel
Positive Feedback Negative Feedback
The first impression when
I like that it offers a wide variety
entering the website was
of challenges and features that
confusing.
I get to pick from.
I wasn’t completely sure what
the main purpose of it was.
The display on the phone is
The site is very fluid and easy not practical because you can't
to understand and going see the entire page.
through. -The bright color scheme makes
the site look less formal and takes
away from a professional look
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2.3 TEST
2. Face To Face Channel
Positive Feedback Negative Feedback
The colors feel mismatched and
don't really fit the theme of the
app.
It's easy to become confused by
Simple in appearance; it is quite the numerous menus and
easy to navigate thanks to all the information available.
text and labels. I would add the ability to
compete with other users. Adding
some kind of competition would
make it way more engaging.
The app's workflow feels
The website is very engaging and
paradoxical. The feature designed
captures sattention from the
to save me time requires a multi-
moment I opened it since it
step process that forces me to
appears like a game. The timer
spend more time on my screen,
works well, even after shutting
which is the opposite of what I
my device off, which is the basic
want.
idea.
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2.3 TEST
3. Instagram Channel
Positive Feedback Negative Feedback
You should add some Gen Z
words since the target audience
Looks like a video game quest
is them.
system, and the interface is clean
Free coffee does sound
and easy to navigate.
tempting, but I suggest some
other rewards too!
The site lags sometimes and is
confusing to navigate.
The idea of having rewards is
motivating, it gives users
The platform felt very vague, I
something to look forward to and
struggled understanding its
work towards.
purpose, a banner would be
useful to introduce the idea
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2.3 TEST
C. Bullseye
oFFSCREEN
The feedback results indicate that the face-to-face approach was the most
effective among the three methods evaluated. This format facilitated the
collection of more transparent and comprehensive responses, allowing for
honest feedback from potential customers. We ensured the responses were
genuine, thereby avoiding the one-sided nature typically observed on social
media platforms. Additionally, the immediacy of the responses enabled direct
follow-up questions, further enriching the interaction.
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3 REFERENCES
Zablotsky, B., Arockiaraj, B., Haile, G., & Ng, A. E. (2024). Daily screen time
among teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2023 (NCHS Data Brief No.
513). National Center for Health Statistics.
[Link]
Saseendran, S. (2023, October 10). Arab youth survey 2023: Social media addiction
hurting mental health of young users. Gulf News.
[Link]
hurting-mental-health-of-young-users-1.98660456
Alrahma, A. M., Al Suwaidi, H., AlGurg, R., Farah, Z., Khansaheb, H., Ajja, R., …
Loney, T. (2023). Results from the United Arab Emirates 2022 report card on
physical activity for children and adolescents. Journal of Exercise Science &
Fitness, 21(2), 218-225.
[Link]
Your paragraph text
via%3Dihub
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Data summary & trends report
for dietary, physical activity, and sleep behaviors: 2013–2023. U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. [Link]
[Link]
Thompson, D. (2024, February 14). Why Americans suddenly stopped hanging out.
The Atlantic. [Link]
hanging-out/677451/
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