AhmedSabbirArifUniversityofCalifornia,Merced

Merced,CA,USAasarif@ucmerced.edu

SunjunKimSchoolofComputing,KAISTDaejeon,RepublicofKorea

kuaa.net@gmail.com

GeehyukLeeSchoolofComputing,KAISTDaejeon,RepublicofKorea

geehyuk@gmail.com

UsabilityofDifferentTypesofCommercialSelfieSticks

SelfieSticks

• Becomingincreasinglypopular• 95%ofU.S.18-34year-oldshavetakenaselfie• 27%haveusedaselfiestick

• Oftenphysicallydemanding• Carryingaroundacameraattachedmonopod• Adjustingtheangle• Balancingtherodwithonehandforanintendedview

• Humanfactorsmustbeconsidered• Noresearchonusabilityofcommercialselfiesticks

http://lecoindemel.com2

PhysiologicalChallenges

Asecond-classlever Athird-classlever Aportraitorientationgrip(i.e.,whenthesmartphoneisinaportraitposition)

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CommercialSelfieSticks

• InformalsurveyofAlibaba,Amazon,eBay• Collectedallitemslistedas“selfiestick”• Dividedtheninto“inexpensive”,“affordable”,“expensive”priceranges

• Basedonthecheapestandthepriciestitemsonthelist• Pickedthe10mostsolditemsfromeachpricerange

• 3maintypesofselfiesticks

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CommercialSelfieSticks:Results

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ASurvey

• Voluntaryparticipantsrecruitedfromsocialmedia(twitter,facebook)• Asemi-structuredquestionnaire• Demographic• Selfiestickusage(type,frequencyofuse,etc.)• Subjectiveopinion(pros,cons,considerations,etc.)• Ergonomics(fatigue-relatedquestions)

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Result:Participantsdemographics

96%SouthKorean

Female:37%|Male:63%

105 8

105outof113haveusedaselfiestick

Avg.24.9yearsold(SD=4.4)

15 4224.9

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Result:typeofselfiestickusage

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Result:importance

Q:Howimportantisyourselfiesticktoyouasagadget?(1:lessimportant/5:mostimportant)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Aonly

Bonly

Conly

Multiple

1 2 3 4 5

*

*0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Freq

uency

*Sticktypevs.importance

Those who buy cheaper sticks (A type) thinks a selfie stick less important

* : p < 0.05** : p < 0.01

*** : p < 0.001

*Gendervs.importance

0 1 2 3

Male

Female

AverageImportance(errorbar=S.E.)

Female tends to think a selfie stick more important than male (marginal, p=.09)

People thinks selfie stick is not an important gadget.

Avg.=2.49

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Result:usagepattern

<6m

44%

0.5- 1y32%

1- 2y23%

>2y

1%

Q:Howlonghave(orhad)youusedyourselfiestick(s)?

Whenplanningon

takingsubsequentpictures65%

Iputitaway(i.e.,inabag)rightaftertakingapicture31%

Never3%

etc

1%

Q:Whenyoucarryyourselfiestick,howoftendoyoucarryyourselfiestickinhand?

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Result:upgradewillingness

Q:Wouldyouliketoupgradetoabetterselfiestick?

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No

Maybe

Yes

1 2 3 4 5

Yes34%

No

46%

Maybe20%

*Upgradewillingnessvs.importance

***

* : p < 0.05** : p < 0.01

*** : p < 0.001

There are more demands for upgrading a selfie stick as they think their selfie sticks more important.

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Result:usagefrequency

Q:Howfrequentlydoyouuseyourselfiestick?

3%

10%

10%

72%

2% 3%

Everyday

Onceaweek

Severalamonth

Onceamonth

Rarely

Never

etc

*Usagefrequencyvs.importance

Perceived importance of the devices increase with usage frequency

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Subjectivequestion:liked

Q:Whatdoyoulikethemostaboutyourselfiestick?

1. Abilitytotakepicturesandvideoswithwiderbackgroundsandlandscapes(68.6%),2. Abilitytotakeself-portraitswithouttheassistanceoftheothers(27.6%),3. Abilitytotakegrouppictureswithease(26.7%)4. Abilitytoenhancethecompositionandaesthetics(21%).

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Subjectivequestion:disliked

Q:Whatdoyouhatethemostaboutyourselfiestick?

1. Thedevicesareheavyandbulky(55.2%),2. Thepreparationinvolvedwithusingaselfiestick,suchasmountingthephoneandexpandingtherod(12.4%)3. Thedevicesarenotdurable(9.5%)

Therodisoftenconspicuoustoothers(9.5%)Thefearofaccidentallydroppingthesmartphoneorcamera(9.5%).

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Subjectivequestion:desiredimprovement

Q:Ifyoucouldchangeonethingaboutyourselfiestick,whatwoulditbe?

1. Volume andweight,i.e.,wouldmakethemsmaller,thinner,andlighter(36%)2. Holderdesign,i.e.,moredurableandfirmholder (12.4%)3. Connectionmethod,i.e.,AàB,BàC,CàB(12.4%)4. MoreDurablestick(9.5%)5. Longerrodlength(5.7%)6. Better(shake-resistant)button(5.7%)

Q:Whatisthe‘one’thingyouwouldconsiderinyournextselfiestickpurchase?

1. Price(27.6%)2. Portability(21.9%)3. Durability(21%)4. Solidholder(18.1%)5. Functionality(14.3%)6. Convenience,i.e.,easytopressashutterbutton(11.4%)

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Physicalstress:fatigue

Q:Doyoufeelanydiscomfortusingtheselfiestick?

Yes,72.9% No,12.1% Uncertain,15.0%

Forearm(45%)

Hand(44%)

Fingers(33%)

Shoulder(23%)

Upperarm(19%)

Wrist(9%)

Neck(3%)

Mental(2.8%)𝐹𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒(𝐹𝑆)

= 1(𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝐵𝑜𝑑𝑦𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠)�

�

Effectof…• FrequencyonFatigue:n.s.(p=.52)• Gender onFatigue:marginal(p=.052)

0 1 2 3

Male

Female

AverageFatigueScore(errorbar=S.E.)

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Summary

• Mostusedselfiesticksoccasionally• Aweak relationshipbetweenusagefrequency andimportance• Usersthatfoundselfiesticksimportant

• Onaveragefemale foundmoreimportantthanmale(notsignificant,p=.09)• Arelikely toupgradetobetter/smarterselfiesticks

• Usersthatfoundselfiesticksunimportant• Settledforcheaper selfiesticks• Notinterestedinupgrades

• Causedshort-termfatigueinallmajorarmandshouldermuscles• Theextentsuggests,couldturnintochronic overthetimeandwithextensiveuse• Onaveragefemale reported29%higherfatiguethanmale(notsignificant,p=.052)

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Recommendationsforreducingfatigue

• Useashorterarmifpossible• Addcounterweighttothehandle,e.g.sword’spommel• Mayincreasefatigueduetothethird-classlever

• Uselightweightmaterialsforthelongrod,e.g.,carbonfibercomposite

• Usewidehandlemade/coveredwithanti-skidmaterials• Automaterepetitivefeatures,e.g.,angleadjustment• Requiresadditionalhardware&sensors,increasingtheprice• Sinceaffordabilityisoneofthemostdesiredfactors(25%),itisimportanttomaintainabalancebetweenthefunctionality andthecost

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Limitations&FutureWork

• Fatigueswereself-reported• 96%participantswerefromtheRepublicofKorea• Afuturestudywillbroadenparticipantpool

• Insufficientdatatostudyeffectsoffrequency&genderonfatigue• Afuturestudywillincreasesamplesize

• Insufficientdatatostudylong-termeffects• 95%providedcontactinfoforafuturestudytofindout

• Iftheycontinuedusingtheirselfiesticks• Upgraded/downgradedtodifferentselfiesticks• Long-termeffectsoftheselfiesticks

• Standardizationofselfiestick(minimalrequirements)

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Rawdataisnowavailable!

• Findtheanonymizedresultdataat:

http://kuaa.net/publications/2017-SelfieStick-SurveyResult_release.csv(orsimplyvisithttp://kuaa.net)

• Weappreciateyouradditionalanalysisonthedata.

• Thankyouforlistening!

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