Breaking the disposable technology paradigm: opportunities for sustainable interaction design for mobile phones

We present a qualitative study of mobile phone ownership, replacement and disposal practices geared towards identifying design opportunities towards sustainable mobile phone interfaces. Our work investigates how people understand the lifespan of their phones, what factors, such as style, service contracts, and functionality, affect how they attribute value to their phones, and their awareness and actions regarding mobile phone sustainability. Our findings reveal the complexity of the actions and decision-making processes involved in phone ownership and replacement. We use these findings to present open areas for sustainable interaction design and generate seed ideas for designs and services to provoke thought and further exploration towards more sustainable mobile phone interfaces and practices. Author Keywords Sustainability, mobile phones, qualitative studies, design, ewaste ACM Classification Keywords H5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Elaine M. Huang, Khai N. Truong
• Keywords: CHI 2008, Human Computer Interaction, Mobile Phone Interfaces, Mobile Phone Sustainability, Sustainable Mobile Phone