Abstract

Online interactions are part of our social fabric. We are becoming increasingly reliant on online platforms, such as social media and collaborative platforms, to enable and facilitate our social interactions and collaborations. The ways in which these platforms are designed greatly influence the way we interact with one another. Yet many commercially available tools for computer-mediated user-user interactions rely on existing generic approaches without adequate consideration of contextual specificity or user needs. This often leads to ill-designed collaborative tools, frequently impairing communication and collaboration, rather than empowering users to interact seamlessly online. 

To build a better understanding of the impact of current platform designs, I have explored user perceptions around online actions. Online actions are actions that we take on social platforms that have communicative value and are one of the most active ways in which we interact with others online. I have investigated how ambiguities inherent in the current design of these actions make users think, feel, and interact. I have found that ambiguous online actions lead to inaccurate conjectures, attributional biases, and interpretation discrepancies by users both in social media and on collaborative platforms. These, in turn, affect users’ perception of others and comfort in taking online actions, especially in contexts where perceptions of ownership abound. Consequently, my investigations elucidate where and how misunderstandings may occur, and underscore the importance of providing rationales for online actions. From these findings, I formulate principles of design affordances that can enable platform developers and designers to help build better collaborative experiences for users.