The probe kit I designed to get insight into the experiences of participants.
The probe kit I designed to get insight into the experiences of participants.

Understanding social platforms experiences using probes

As part of my PhD work to better understand the experiences of queer and trans young on social platforms I designed a kit of five probes to use with participants. They served as an effective way to understand experiences beyond the constraints of an interview. They were also a playful way to create shared understanding and build rapport with my participants.

Here I share the probes that I designed and how I used them. See my main PhD page to learn more about the overall project and findings.

But first, what are probes?

Probes are a kit of activities given to research participants to give glimpses into their lives. They're designed to be playful, evocative and reflective. Initially, they were used to provide inspiration for designers but now they're often interpreted with participants.

Why did I use them?

If I were studying how a group of people use technology at work, I could observe them throughout the work day, take notes, ask questions where appropriate and get a decent understanding of their experiences.

But, our experiences on social platforms can be deeply personal and private. We also use them at all hours of the day. And it's difficult to track someone's use of social platforms, espcially across a range of different apps. And even if that weren't the case, analytics give limited insight into people's experiences with and attitudes to the platforms.

Meanwhile, interviews can be great for getting people to describe their experiences but they can be disconnected from reality and offer a limited window into people's lives.

I needed a way to get a deeper insight into people's experiences beyond the confines of an interview that would respect participants' privacy and be more practical than observation.

The probe kit

  • Designed to help participants reflect on the ways they used each of their social platform activities.
  • Each activity focused on a different aspect of how they used platforms.
  • Activities varied in terms of how much effort and time they required to help participants get into them.

Social Platform Characters

People present different versions of themselves across social platforms. Using a metaphor of a character card this probe encourages participants to share the different selves (or characters) they perform across their accounts.

Design considerations

They were designed to look like character cards from games and came in a card box. They're a little bigger than standard cards so there's space to draw and write on them. The front provides an opportunity to reflect on who they are on the account in a fun way while the questions and scales on the back provide a quick way for participants to detail key aspects of how they use them.

The front of the Social Platform Character Card P5 made for Tinder.
The front of the Social Platform Character Card P5 made for Tinder.
The back of the Social Platform Character Card P5 made for Tinder.
The back of the Social Platform Character Card P5 made for Tinder.

Moments Worth Screenshotting

Screenshots are a quick and unobtrusive way to capture moments and can be taken anywhere and anytime. This probe gave participants the opportunity to capture interactions that speak to them, annoy them, uplift them, or produce other emotional responses and save those moments to reflect on later.

Design considerations

Sheets have a section that looks like a phone and is similarly sized to contextualise the screenshots. The default is to draw so they can share their screenshots in a way that protects their privacy and only shows the key elements they want to share. If they don’t want to draw, they can upload screenshots using a QR code. Sheets come with an envelope that has instructions for the task and a checklist of different kinds of interactions that they can check off — this gives them some prompts to encourage a diversity of screenshots and helps the task feel more bounded.

The Moment Worth Screenshotting card P19 made for an ad he saw on Instagram.
The Moment Worth Screenshotting card P19 made for an ad he saw on Instagram.
The Moment Worth Screenshotting card P22 made for a post he saw on Reddit.
The Moment Worth Screenshotting card P22 made for a post he saw on Reddit.

Honest Platform Ads

This probe got participants to satirise each platform through "honest" ads as a way to share their perceptions of different social platforms. Participants were encouraged to focus on things they either enjoyed or found toxic about the culture on each platform.

Design considerations

The templates look like blank Instagram ads on a phone. It’s a format all participants should be familiar with and small enough that they can be done quickly and without too much need for detail. They come in a package that has instructions and a way to mark out progress.

The Honest Social Platform Card P1 made for Instagram.
The Honest Social Platform Card P1 made for Instagram.
The Honest Social Platform Card P11 made for Tumblr.
The Honest Social Platform Card P11 made for Tumblr.

A day of Social Platforms

To get insights into how participants use social platforms throughout their days this probe gave them a timeline on an A4 which allowed them to map out their use visually.

Design considerations

A4 sized sheet that has a blank timeline and some instructions and hints on it. Big enough that they are encouraged to add some detail but not so big that it’s overwhelming. The zigzagging line takes up the whole space and makes the timeline longer which encourages participants to include more annotations. There are no fixed times on the timeline because participants days will start/end at unpredictable times, instead there are places to mark start and end times.

P1's Day of Social Platforms.
P1's Day of Social Platforms.

Your Ideal Social Platform

This probe was less directly linked to their current use of social platforms but provided an opportunity to articulate what they would desire in an ideal social platform.

Design considerations

The questions give some structure and dimensions for what participants might want to think about. Using an A4 sheet gives them space to write and sketch in some detail. Giving them a blank space to draw instead of a wireframe means they can be more creative.

The Ideal Social Platform P1 designed.
The Ideal Social Platform P1 designed.

How the probes were used across four phases

👋 First interview

Probes were handed over at the end of the first interview with participants where I built up rapport and asked general questions before explaining and handing over the probe kit.
45-90 minutes

‍👨‍🎨 Time with probes

Participants were given time with the kit to reflect on how they use social platforms and complete the probe activities on their own.
2-4 weeks

🕵️‍♂️ Initial probe analysis

I'd pickup the probe kit before the second interview to do an initial analysis myself.
2-4 days

🤝 Second interview

Together we'd review the probes in the second interview to build a shared understanding of how they use and see social platforms.
60-120 mins