1. SunCast A project using technology to motivate people to apply sunscreen everyday Nicole Fernandez Habits.stanford.edu

2. Why is this important? The sun gives off UV rays, which can cause sun burns in the short term and skin cancer and melanoma in the long run. Sunscreen that protects against UVA/UVB rays is an effective way to block these harmful rays. Applying sunscreen everyday will dramatically decrease your risks of cancer. People know this and still don’t apply sunscreen regularly. How can we develop a daily habit by using technology to motivate people to apply sunscreen daily?

3. The Project

4. Audience Stanford University Undergraduates Originally going to target the women’s swim team, but they already applied sunscreen daily 18-22 years old Students who surf the internet regularly

5. To create a habit, you need…

6. The Home Page www.stanford.edu/~nicolef/Sunscreen Local weather information Large Reminder Information

7. Results Total: 6 participants Half of the participants applied sunscreen at least 5 out of 7 days 2/3 reported they would continue applying sunscreen daily Only one participant applied sunscreen on only one day of the week

8. Was the web page effective? Yes and no. The effectiveness of the web page was dependent on the type of internet user. When opening a new tab, browsers don’t display the home page but a list of most visited sites.For users who never closed their browser, they rarely saw their home page and received the trigger Users who checked their browser later in the day felt they received the trigger too late in the day. Home page was most effective for users who checked their browser early in the day (i.e. after waking up) and opened their browser for the first time that day.

9. Recommendations for future changes To affect the users who never close their browser, users should manually add the website to the list of top sites so a thumbnail is visible when a new tab is created Instead of making the home page of the user’s browser a specific site, change the desktop image to an image that would remind users to apply sunscreen. This will be seen whenever the user accesses their computer.

10. Or visit Habits.stanford.edu Questions? Email nicolef6@gmail.com