Digital Footprints and Changing Networks During Online Identity Transitions
Managing Design for Life Disruptions
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Brubaker, Jed R.
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Dombrowski, Lynn
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Hayes, Gillian R.
Proceedings of the ACM CHI'16 Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems
2016-05-07
v.1
p.2895-2907
© Copyright 2016 ACM
Summary: Digital artifacts on social media can challenge individuals during identity
transitions, particularly those who prefer to delete, separate from, or hide
data that are representative of a past identity. This work investigates
concerns and practices reported by transgender people who transitioned while
active on Facebook. We analyze open-ended survey responses from 283
participants, highlighting types of data considered problematic when separating
oneself from a past identity, and challenges and strategies people engage in
when managing personal data in a networked environment. We find that people
shape their digital footprints in two ways: by editing the self-presentational
data that is representative of a prior identity, and by managing the
configuration of people who have access to that self-presentation. We outline
the challenging interplay between shifting identities, social networks, and the
data that suture them together. We apply these results to a discussion of the
complexities of managing and forgetting the digital past.
Understanding Social Media Disclosures of Sexual Abuse Through the Lenses of
Support Seeking and Anonymity
Affording Collective Action in Social Media
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Andalibi, Nazanin
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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De Choudhury, Munmun
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Forte, Andrea
Proceedings of the ACM CHI'16 Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems
2016-05-07
v.1
p.3906-3918
© Copyright 2016 ACM
Summary: Support seeking in stigmatized contexts is useful when the discloser
receives the desired response, but it also entails social risks. Thus, people
do not always disclose or seek support when they need it. One such stigmatized
context for support seeking is sexual abuse. In this paper, we use mixed
methods to understand abuse-related posts on reddit. First, we take a
qualitative approach to understand post content. Then we use quantitative
methods to investigate the use of "throwaway" accounts, which provide greater
anonymity, and report on factors associated with support seeking and first-time
disclosures. In addition to significant linguistic differences between
throwaway and identified accounts, we find that those using throwaway accounts
are significantly more likely to engage in seeking support. We also find that
men are significantly more likely to use throwaway accounts when posting about
sexual abuse. Results suggest that subreddit moderators and members who wish to
provide support pay attention to throwaway accounts, and we discuss the
importance of context-specific anonymity in support seeking.
"Hunger Hurts but Starving Works": Characterizing the Presentation of Eating
Disorders Online
Food and Health
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Pater, Jessica A.
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Andalibi, Nazanin
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Mynatt, Elizabeth D.
Proceedings of ACM CSCW 2016 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative
Work and Social Computing
2016-02-27
v.1
p.1185-1200
© Copyright 2016 ACM
Summary: Within the CSCW community, little has been done to systematically analyze
online eating disorder (ED) user generated content. In this paper, we present
the results of a cross-platform content analysis of ED-related posts. We
analyze the way that hashtags are used in ad-hoc ED-focused networks and
present a comprehensive corpus of ED-terminology that frequently accompanies ED
activities online. We provide exemplars of the types of ED-related content
found online. Through this characterization of activities, we draw attention to
the increasingly important role that these platforms play and how they are used
and misappropriated for negative health purposes. We also outline specific
challenges associated with researching these types of networks online. CAUTION:
This paper includes media that could potentially be a trigger to those dealing
with an eating disorder or with other self-injury illnesses. Please use caution
when reading, printing, or disseminating this paper.
On Vintage Values: The Experience of Secondhand Fashion Reacquisition
The Value of Things
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Bowser, Anne E.
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Melcer, Edward F.
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Churchill, Elizabeth F.
Proceedings of the ACM CHI'15 Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems
2015-04-18
v.1
p.897-906
© Copyright 2015 ACM
Summary: Secondhand fashion is a rapidly growing, lucrative market with both off- and
online outlets. Studies of secondhand consumption have focused primarily on
people's motivations for secondhand shopping, highlighting sustainability
and/or thrift. We extend this work by looking at the motivations and practices
of secondhand shoppers who are driven instead by style, playfulness and
treasure-hunting. We present findings from ethnographic observation and
interviews with 13 secondhand shoppers. Three secondhand shopping orientations
emerged. Perfection Seeking involves seeking items that fit with an individual
look or personal brand. These items are seen as unique, and demonstrate an
alternative to mainstream fashion and consumption. Casual curiosity is less
focused, more engaged in browsing, and driven by both secondhand objects and
the secondhand experience itself. Digging involves the focused pursuit of
hidden "gems" or treasures, following the belief that unusual items are waiting
to be found. We offer ideas for designing secondhand shopping experiences to
support the needs for storytelling, experiential pleasure, and negotiation
around durable value.
Online Inspiration and Exploration for Identity Reinvention
Gender & Technology
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Bowser, Anne E.
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Melcer, Edward F.
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Churchill, Elizabeth F.
Proceedings of the ACM CHI'15 Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems
2015-04-18
v.1
p.3809-3818
© Copyright 2015 ACM
Summary: Self-representation online can be difficult for those who are in life
transitions that involve exploring new identity facets and changes in personal
style. Many desire to tailor their online representations for different
audiences. Social media site profiles and sharing settings offer varying levels
of anonymity, privacy, and thus safety, but these settings are often opaque and
poorly understood. To understand the complex relationship between identity,
personal style and online self-representation, we examine how people explore
and experiment with new styles in public and in private online settings during
gender transition. We present the results of interviews with transgender people
who have recently reinvented their personal style, or are planning to do so in
the near future. We find that people explore new styles in online settings to
craft possible or ideal future selves. When involving others, people engage
intimate and unknown others, but often avoid weak ties. Our results indicate
that to account for changing identities, social media sites must be designed to
support finding inspiration and advice from strangers and style experimentation
with close friends.
Between the Lines: Reevaluating the Online/Offline Binary
Workshop Summaries
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Vieweg, Sarah
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Massimi, Michael
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O'Hara, Kenton
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Churchill, Elizabeth F.
Extended Abstracts of the ACM CHI'15 Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems
2015-04-18
v.2
p.2337-2340
© Copyright 2015 ACM
Summary: Scholarly debate within the HCI community has acknowledged that the concepts
of "online" and "offline" are merely handy descriptors for different
environments and contexts. However, when it comes to designing technologies,
this binary is still frequently invoked In this workshop, our goal is to
address what issues arise when we invoke this binary uncritically, and how we
can better understand people's everyday experiences of their on- and offline
self-representations and interactions. When, how and why do people invoke or
exploit notions of online versus offline? When does this notional "seam"
dissolve? We will articulate a broadened agenda for understanding behavior
across contexts. We aim to continue and update discussions of on- and offline
with a deeper focus on people's practices and experiences around the creation
and maintenance of a sense of "self" and identity and discuss designers' and
developers' roles and responsibilities in enabling and supporting those
practices.
Facebooking in "Face": Complex Identities Meet Simple Databases
Panels
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Handel, Mark J.
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Bivens, Rena
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Brubaker, Jed R.
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Lingel, Jessa
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Yarosh, Svetlana
Companion Proceedings of ACM CSCW 2015 Conference on Computer-Supported
Cooperative Work and Social Computing
2015-03-14
v.2
p.122-125
© Copyright 2015 ACM
Summary: Online systems often struggle to account for the complicated
self-presentation and disclosure needs of those with complex identities or
specialized anonymity. Using the lenses of gender, recovery, and performance,
our proposed panel explores the tensions that emerge when the richness and
complexity of individual personalities and subjectivities run up against design
norms that imagine identity as simplistic or one-dimensional. These models of
identity not only limit the ways individuals can express their own identities,
but also establish norms for other users about what to expect, causing further
issues when the inevitable dislocations do occur. We discuss the challenges in
translating identity into these systems, and how this is further marred by
technical requirements and normative logics that structure cultures and
practices of databases, algorithms and computer programming.
Disclosure, Stress, and Support During Gender Transition on Facebook
Gender and Sexual Identity
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Brubaker, Jed R.
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Dombrowski, Lynn
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Hayes, Gillian R.
Proceedings of ACM CSCW 2015 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative
Work and Social Computing
2015-02-28
v.1
p.1176-1190
© Copyright 2015 ACM
Summary: Social computing technologies, such as social networking sites (SNSs), often
privilege people who fit within expected, static categories. Thus, users
embarking on major identity changes, such as gender transition, often encounter
stress when using SNSs to interact with their online social networks. To
address this problem and reflect on the design of SNSs and other social
computing systems, we present the results of a comprehensive online survey of
transgender and gender non-conforming SNS users. Our findings indicate that
although Facebook can be a stressful place for gender transition due to
difficulties of transition disclosure, support from one's Facebook network can
help to mitigate some of this stress. We examine Facebook both as a site of
stress and as a site of support. Better understanding the relationships between
stress, disclosure, and support on SNSs for these particular users can inform
technology design that will benefit people who struggle with navigating a wide
range of major identity changes online.
DDFSeeks same: sexual health-related language in online personal ads for men
who have sex with men
Personal health and wellbeing
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Brubaker, Jed R.
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Hayes, Gillian R.
Proceedings of ACM CHI 2014 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2014-04-26
v.1
p.1615-1624
© Copyright 2014 ACM
Summary: The HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s fundamentally changed sexual practices of
men who have sex with men (MSM) in the U.S., including increased usage of
sexual health-related (SHR) language in personal advertisements. Analyzing
online personal ads from Craigslist, we found a substantial increase in SHR
language, from 23% in 1988 to over 53% today, echoing continuing concern about
rising HIV rates. We argue that SHR language in Craigslist ads can be used as a
sensor to provide insight into HIV epidemiology as well as discourse among
particular communities. We show a positive significant relationship between
prevalence rate of HIV in an ad's location and use of SHR language in that
location. Analysis highlights the opportunity for SHR information found in
Craigslist personal ads to serve as a data source for HIV prevention research.
More broadly, we argue for mining large-scale user-generated content to inform
HCI design of health and other systems, and explore use of such data to examine
temporal changes in language to facilitate improved user-interface design.
