Ripple: A Behaviourally Guided Intervention to Reduce Loneliness

This thesis explores how behavioural strategies could be included when designing interventions to reduce loneliness, focusing on young adults aged 20–29 living in Tallinn, Estonia.

While many of the interventions that aim to mitigate loneliness often emphasise on creating new opportunities for social connection, there is a gap for solutions that try to actively reduce the internal barriers – such as anxiety, emotional fatigue, and uncertainty about social expectations – that nevertheless prevent individuals from acting on those opportunities.

A core insight of the project is that within this specific target group, loneliness often persists not due to a lack of opportunity, but because of a behavioural gap between intention and action. Many young adults want to connect, but struggle in the ambiguity of necessary steps – especially when they’re emotionally drained or unsure how to navigate social situations. What’s often missing is a clear pathway towards change that feels manageable.

Throughout the design process, four behavioural archetypes emerged – the Tired Initiator, the Anxious Avoider, the “Click” Seeker, and the Guidance Seeker – each capturing distinct patterns of loneliness-related behaviour within the target group. By mapping their specific barriers and motivations, a strategic framework of behavioural levers was designed that could be used to reduce the ambiguity around social connection.

The result is RIPPLE, a behaviourally guided micro-intervention app that lowers the emotional and cognitive friction of social interaction. Through small, mission-based prompts – tailored to each archetype's comfort level – RIPPLE aims to help individuals build social momentum, step-by-step. The concept was tested and iteratively refined with the target group, showing promising potential to increase both motivation and perceived capability for connection.

The project highlights the value of behaviourally guided, emotionally safe design in addressing complex social issues like loneliness.

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