A report on a short intervention intended to create a habit of sunscreen wearing utilizing text messaging as a vector.

1. Habitbuddies: An epic quest to help Stop the Sun Benjamin Olmsted Victor Gane habits.stanford.edu

2. The Challenge Stopping The Sun The objective was to facilitate participants in creating a habit of daily sunscreen application, Thereby

3. The Players Six people agreed to attempt the arduous task of Stopping the Sun. Pair A Pair B Pair C Vs. Vs. Katrina and Heather Daniel and Jenny Lisa and Jacob

4. The Process Each morning, the 'server' would text each member: ON! Wear it, or the sun wins. Sometimes, they would text back. Wear it, or the sun wins. Done!

5. The Play Pair A Pair B Pair C Katrina and Heather Daniel and Jenny Lisa and Jacob Teams were given 5 points if both Stopped the Sun, 2 if one did, and no points for no action. Stayed Cool Got Burned Legend: Responded According to these criteria the winners were:

6. The Payoff- Social Glory Pair A: 18 points Pair B: 26 points Pair C: 15 points Katrina and Heather Daniel and Jenny Lisa and Jacob Overall, the Sun was Stopped 58% of the time. The top four participants applied sunscreen 78% of days.

7. Feedback After the intervention, the players were asked a series of questions. All 4 suggested a non-random teammate. All 4 agreed that the buddies should interact more. 4 of the 6 said that the buddy was not very helpful. After the intervention, the players were asked a series of questions. 3 of the 4 said that the leaderboard needed to be more pronounced/updated more frequently. 2 individuals were not motivated

8. The Future Allow stat tracking AND buddy-buddy communication By having the buddies be the source of reminders, a system of reciprocity and social contract reenforce the behavior. No one wants to dishonor a buddies helping hand, do they? More: habits.stanford.edu My buddy Cares! Can't let buddy down!