From 'Time to BeReal' to 'Let Me Post My BeFake:' A Case of Operationalizing Authenticity Through Design

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · 2025-10-16 · 1 citations

The effects of social media platform usage on users' well-being have been a topic of significant discussion. Some evidence suggests that users sharing about themselves in ways that are perceived by themselves and others as ''authentic'' may benefit their well-being. BeReal is a social media platform that aims to encourage more authentic online behavior by constraining users' ability to selectively share content via a daily prompt to post whatever they are doing at that time. This rigid operationalization of authenticity, however, may be at odds with the rich and nuanced notions of authenticity observed in practice. Through an analysis of interviews with 25 BeReal users, we find that participants experienced two facets of authenticity that often did not align with BeReal's operationalization. Moreover, we find that participants' desire for authenticity was often in tension with their competing desires for privacy and autonomy, and their desire to reflect back on significant moments. We discuss how these tensions illustrate the challenges of designing for authenticity and add nuance to our understanding of authenticity on social media platforms.

The Subtleties of Self-Presentation: A study of sensitive disclosure among sexual minority adolescents

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · 2024-04-17 · 8 citations

Disclosing sensitive information online, such as an LGBTQ+ identity or potentially stigmatized behavior, can be necessary for many reasons, especially for those who identify as LGBTQ+ and may rely on social platforms for meeting others and social support. At the same time, these disclosures can lead to harassment and stigmatization. Evidence suggests that today's social platforms provide many more options and opportunities for sensitive disclosure than are possible offline, but we lack a taxonomy of disclosure strategies. Drawing on Goffman's self-presentation framework, we examined two types of sensitive disclosure within the cisgender male adolescent gay, bisexual, and/or queer (GBQ) population: revealing one's GBQ identity on social media and revealing the use of an anti-HIV medication, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), on both social media and dating apps. We find that today's online environment, with its different affordances, provides new opportunities for disclosure, such as the use of associations, repeated over time. Participants had distinct ideas about what disclosures were normative and relevant to particular social platforms and audiences. Lastly, we discuss suggestions for how platform design might promote sensitive disclosure.

Queerness and Mental Health in India: An Intersectional Approach to Sensitive Social Media Disclosures

Social Media + Society · 2024-10-01 · 5 citations

Despite the growing body of research on people disclosing sensitive details about their identities or experiences online, few studies have focused on how individuals with intersecting stigmas manage these disclosures. Those facing multiple, overlapping sources of discrimination may encounter compounded challenges, which can complicate their assessment of the perceived benefits and risks of disclosure. This study seeks to understand disclosure among individuals with intersecting stigmas by examining how queer-identifying individuals in Mumbai, India, navigate the intersection of queerness and mental health disclosures on social media. Based on qualitative findings from 35 interviews, we identify three key factors that can further enhance existing disclosure frameworks. First, the perceived risk of disclosure can be amplified by intersecting sources of stigma, such that people may be particularly wary of disclosing at all, and especially on social media. Second, the importance of community support and resources for those with intersecting stigmas can increase their focus on the communal benefits of disclosure. Third, prior experiences with disclosing stigma on particular social platforms can affect the perceived safety of disclosing on those platforms and influence the strategies used. We discuss the implications of these findings and suggest areas for further investigation to develop a more comprehensive disclosure framework for those with intersecting stigmas.

The Magic of the Unicorn: Understanding Long-term Routine Dynamics Through a Tradition in Flux

2024-06-28 · 1 citations

Abstract A central tension in routine dynamics is the paradox of the [n]ever-changing world: how can we consider each routine performance as unique, when it is simultaneously a recognizable variant of the behavior from the past? Emergent from this paradox is the question of how we can consider routines to be the “same” over time, even as they change. Organizational traditions, which often persist over decades, present a potentially informative case of this paradox as their core rituals are simultaneously recognizable and recognizably in significant flux over the long-term. In this paper, the author draws on a case history of “the Unicorn,” a tradition at a US summer camp that began as a quiet activity for a few children in 1985 and by 2017 had become a weekly spectacle witnessed by hundreds of campers. By drawing on routine dynamics and tradition literatures, the author shows how action visibility and influence by different organizational constituencies over time slowly enabled these changes. This longer-term lens helps illuminate the under-researched, mutually constitutive relationship between routines and traditions, and their long-term dynamics.

“Is it time for me to be authentic?”: Understanding, performing, and evaluating authenticity on BeReal

New Media & Society · 2024-08-14 · 6 citations

On social media, people often value authenticity and realness, yet the ways in which platforms promote authenticity may conflict with people’s goals to present an idealized self. Launched in 2020, the social media app BeReal encourages authenticity by prompting users to post unfiltered front and back camera photos at a particular time, thereby limiting control over their online self-presentation. We interviewed 25 BeReal users, exploring how they understand, perform, and evaluate authenticity given these unique constraints. Our findings reveal that participants resist BeReal’s prompts and encouragements, employing strategies to regain control over their self-presentation. Yet participants simultaneously ascribe to BeReal’s notion of realness, believing posts should appear effortless, branding themselves and others as fake when they ignore BeReal’s prompts. Ultimately, we discuss authenticity as sociotechnical and reflect on the ways in which people’s values around authenticity shift over time.

When reality does not meet expectations: What sexual minority assigned-male-at-birth adolescents learn from using geosocial networking apps.

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity · 2023-06-20 · 10 citations

“Someone Else Is Behind The Screen”: Visibility, Privacy, and Trust on Geosocial Networking Apps in India

Social Media + Society · 2022-07-01 · 14 citations

Queer people increasingly use geosocial networking apps (GSNAs), such as Grindr and Blued, to find connections. These apps play a particularly important role in countries such as India, where being visibly queer can carry social stigma, and same-sex intercourse was criminalized until 2018. A key challenge on these apps is self-disclosing enough information to appear authentic and build trust with other users, without drawing unwanted attention, stigma, and safety threats. Careful consideration of when to share information and what to share is critical, but we have a limited understanding of how users make these decisions. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 36 queer men in 4 smaller urban environments in and near the state of Maharashtra, India, we sought to understand how queer men think about their visibility while using GSNAs. We find that they are primarily concerned with the visibility of the actual GSNA on their phone, especially given many users in this context live with their families and assumptions common in the West, such as one person per device, may not hold. They also worry about the information they disclose on the app itself given this visibility can lead to dangerous situations. We detail how participants try to resolve the tensions around visibility and discuss our findings in relation to conceptualizations of privacy and signaling theory. We conclude with practical guidelines related to the use of these apps in the Indian context.

Perspectives on Cigarette Use, Vaping, and Antitobacco Campaigns Among Adolescent Sexual Minority Males and Gender Diverse Youth

LGBT Health · 2022-07-07 · 17 citations

Purpose: This qualitative study examined perceived benefits and drawbacks of smoking/vaping and attitudes toward antitobacco campaigns among adolescent sexual minority males and gender-diverse (ASMM/GD) youth. Methods: In July 2019, 215 U.S. ASMM/GD youth (meanage 16.78, 95.3% cisgender male, 60.0% racial/ethnic minority) answered questions about smoking/vaping behaviors, motivations for smoking/vaping, and attitudes toward antitobacco campaigns via an online survey. Data were analyzed with thematic analysis. Results: Overall, 17.2% of participants had smoked cigarettes, and 34.9% had vaped. Teens described psychological (e.g., stress relief), chemical (e.g., nicotine buzz), and social incentives (e.g., fitting in with peers) for smoking/vaping. Teens also reported concerns about physical health, costs, and self-image as drawbacks of smoking/vaping. Most considered antitobacco campaigns unrelatable and uninteresting, while others reported that campaigns reinforced their decisions to not smoke/vape. Most participants wanted antitobacco campaigns to be tailored to the sexual and gender minority (SGM) community. Conclusions: These findings shed light on ASMM/GD youth's perspectives of smoking/vaping and antitobacco campaigns. Results suggest that equipping teens with skills to cope with minority stress and resisting peer pressure could indirectly reduce smoking/vaping, and that SGM-inclusive campaigns may better reach SGM adolescents.

“I don't want to be known for that:”The role of temporality in online self-presentation of young gay and bisexual males

Computers in Human Behavior · 2021 · 26 citations

• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Social psychology

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