ArticleJMIR formative research2025
User Experiences With Digital Future-Self Interventions in the Contexts of Smoking and Physical Inactivity: Mixed Methods Multistudy Exploration.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- User Experiences With Digital Future-Self Interventions in the Contexts of Smoking and Physical Inactivity: Mixed Methods Multistudy Exploration.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Digital future-self interventions to promote physical activity: perspectives of minimally active middle-aged and older adults.Journal of imagery research in sport and physical activity · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSmoking and physical inactivity compromise health, especially in combination. Interventions to promote smoking cessation and increased physical activity (PA) often lack impact, especially in the long term. Digital future-self interventions (FSIs), which prompt individuals to imagine who they do and do not want to become (ie, their desired and undesired future selves), show promise in encouraging sustainable changes in both behaviors. However, knowledge of user experiences with digital FSIs is limited. A deeper understanding of these experiences could help optimize FSIs, enhancing their efficacy in supporting smoking cessation and increased PA sustainably.
objectiveThis study examined behavioral, cognitive, and affective experiences with digital FSIs focused on smoking, PA, or both. Potential differences in user experiences based on behavior (smoking vs PA), polarity (desired vs undesired future self), and modality (verbal vs visual description of future selves) were explored.
methodsSecondary analyses of quantitative and qualitative survey data from 3 studies using digital FSIs as a means to encourage smoking cessation or increase PA were conducted. In study 1, participants (N=144) thought about how it would be to complete the FSI. In studies 2 (N=447) and 3 (N=87), they completed an FSI. Each study highlighted different aspects of user experiences with FSIs, namely, behavioral (eg, time spent), cognitive (eg, mental effort exerted), or affective (eg, emotions) experiences. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated for a comprehensive interpretation.
resultsRegarding behavioral experiences, participants completed future-self tasks promptly (mean 6.64, SD 8.30 minutes), spent less time completing the desired- versus undesired-future-self (P<.001; η
conclusionsDigital FSIs appeared to be a time-efficient, feasible, and acceptable way of strengthening identities as a means to encourage smoking cessation and PA. Findings support continued implementation of digital FSIs, although further research is required to optimize their operationalization. Avenues in that regard are proposed and discussed.
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Registered trials
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