Communicating “What's Not Said”

Abstract

Technologies designed to access our personal worlds have the potential to profoundly influence the way we live and to promote human flourishing. They also require an ethical approach to their design that takes human values into account. Mobile technologies for psychological wellbeing present particular challenges that require a sustainable approach to ethical reflection from early in the design process. This paper offers insights into ethical approaches to design, through projects that explore the potential for using mobile apps for reporting psychological wellbeing. It reports on feedback from a focus group with valuable insights for app design in particular contexts of use that help to inform discourse more generally around designing technologies for wellbeing. The discussion focuses on the practical and cultural issues that arise and explores how technologies can mediate self-knowledge and information in ways that might otherwise remain unsaid, but is crucial for successful outcomes both clinically and in design.