Making meaning through strategic design.

Don't Talk About Politics

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Don't Talk About Politics is a mobile app concept developed over a weekend following the 2016 US Election. It aims to weaken the vitriol between right and left after perhaps the most divisive campaign in American history.

The Challenge

The grass is not always greener.

The 2016 American Presidential Election laid bare the deep social and ideological divisions in American society. Of course, political polarization is not a new phenomenon -- the Pew Research Center has found that 55% of Democrats and 49% of Republicans say that they fear the other party, a number that only intensifies with higher levels of political engagement.

American political discourse and civil society are in desperate need of healing -- in ways large and small. 

 

 


The Idea

Research shows that there is one factor vital counteracting the fear and name-calling that has become inherent to modern American politics: having positive interactions with people on the other side of the aisle. 

According to Pew, people with few or no friends in the other party are likely to have "very cold" feelings for the opposition.  For Republicans in particular, having a friend who is a Democrat cuts the likelihood of "very cold" feelings in half -- from 62% to 30%. 


How it works

Danny logs in using Facebook, generating a basic profile consisting of his name, age, and location.. 


Danny chooses whether he is more of a "donkey" or an "elephant." Those who do not fit cleanly into one category will be taken to a separate menu to decide how best to classify them.


To find a chat partner, Danny will hit "Find Me an Elephant" on his home screen. He's matched with Greg, an Atlanta Republican.


Danny and Greg begin their videochat. Fun, neutral topics are featured to spark conversation. All chats are limited to 2 minutes to keep things casual and low-commitment. 


Once the call is over, Danny and Greg can add each other as friends. If both agree, they can choose to chat again anytime they are both using the app. More conversations and friendships are favored in the matching algorithm, and help guard against trolling and bad behavior. If political talk or disrespect does occur, users can flag the conversation, which our team will review and take appropriate action. 

Screens

Partnerships

Don't Talk About Politics may be attractive to a number of private and non-profit organizations hoping to get media attention and promote social understanding and empathy.