Manya Sleeper & Pedro G. Leon
While sharing ideas, opinions, and information on social media can represent enormous benefits for users and society, sometimes apparently innocuous disclosures can lead to negative consequences. We are working on designing and evaluating behavioral “nudges” for social networks to help users make better online sharing decisions without forcing them to change their behaviors. Over the course of three field studies we have found that because users vary in posting behavior and privacy goals general-purpose nudges are not broadly effective. Thus, in ongoing research, we are moving toward more personalized, goal-based nudging interventions. We discuss past research, current research plans, and a desire to collaborate with a broader community of researchers interested in behavior-change technologies.
While sharing ideas, opinions, and information on social media can represent enormous benefits for users and society, sometimes apparently innocuous disclosures can lead to negative consequences. We are working on designing and evaluating behavioral “nudges” for social networks to help users make better online sharing decisions without forcing them to change their behaviors. Over the course of three field studies we have found that because users vary in posting behavior and privacy goals general-purpose nudges are not broadly effective. Thus, in ongoing research, we are moving toward more personalized, goal-based nudging interventions. We discuss past research, current research plans, and a desire to collaborate with a broader community of researchers interested in behavior-change technologies.