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Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research has illuminated how technology can influence users’ awareness of their environmental impact and the potential for mitigating these impacts. From hot water saving to food waste reduction, researchers have systematically and widely tried to find pathways to speed up achieving sustainable development goals through persuasive technology interventions. However, motivating users to adopt sustainable behaviors through interactive technologies presents significant psychological, cultural, and technical challenges in creating engaging and long-lasting experiences. Aligned with this perspective, there is a dearth of research and design solutions addressing the use of persuasive technology to promote sustainable recycling behavior. Guided by a participatory design approach, this investigation focuses on the design opportunities for leveraging persuasive and human-centered Internet of Things (IoT) applications to enhance user engagement in recycling activities. The assumption is that one pathway to achieve this goal is to adopt persuasive strategies that may be incorporated into the design of sustainable applications. The insights gained from this process can then be applied to various sustainable HCI scenarios and therefore contribute to HCI’s limited understanding in this area by providing a series of design-oriented research recommendations for informing the development of persuasive and socially engaged recycling platforms. In particular, we advocate for the inclusion of educational content, real-time interactive feedback, and intuitive interfaces to actively engage users in recycling activities. Moreover, recognizing the cultural context in which the technology is socially situated becomes imperative for the effective implementation of smart devices to foster sustainable recycling practices. To this end, we present a case study that seeks to involve children and adolescents in pro-recycling activities within the school environment.

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This paper discusses the potential effects of Attention-Capture Damaging Patterns (ACDPs) in designing socially and culturally sensitive interfaces based on their mechanisms and psychological impacts on users. Building on the concept of “dark patterns” and examining how they contribute to social polarization, this study explores the intersection between digital interface design, digital wellbeing, and polarization. The paper analyzes several examples of ACDPs present in popular social media apps and platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Facebook, proposing a new taxonomic approach based on three main categories. In addition, a set of alternative design strategies that promote healthier interactions on digital platforms are discussed to mitigate the negative effects of these patterns and promote a more balanced digital environment.