Online Engagement in the Eye of the Young Beholder : A study on what youth appreciate on mobile-friendly websites

Sammanfattning: Today's youth use their mobile phones in the same way as earlier generations used their computers. Therefore, web designers need to make websites mobile-friendly when aiming for the younger generation’s attention. In collaboration with Ashoka and Raoul Wallenberg Academy, within a project named Changemakers’ Yard, this thesis investigates what factors in terms of content and design youth in the age of 16-23 appreciate on a mobile application or website. The outcome of the thesis aims to guide web designers on what to keep in mind when designing mobile applications or websites for today’s youth. A quantitative and qualitative research was done by performing interviews, an online survey and two customized lectures with the target group. Data and comments from the research were then analyzed and summarized to form a paper prototype which was developed into a digital prototype. Both prototypes were evaluated via user tests with the target group. Finally, ten guidelines were compiled on what youth appreciate when it comes to the content and design on mobile-friendly websites. The guidelines focused on communication and usability, as well as site owners taking responsibility for updates and minimize the amount of data used. The responsibility of keeping the website updated as well as minimizing the amount of data, were both new findings. In addition, arguing against prior research, there were indications of differences between the genders regarding preferred content.