Finding a Way Through the Social Media Labyrinth: Guiding Design Through User Expectations

TL;DR

This study investigates user expectations of SNS UI features through card sorting, aiming to inform user-centered design improvements that enhance navigation and privacy control.

Contribution

It introduces a user expectations framework based on card sorting of SNS features, guiding design of more intuitive and privacy-aware social media interfaces.

Findings

Identified six UI feature groups with varying importance and usage frequency.

Provided design considerations for creating user-centered SNS interfaces.

Enhanced understanding of user priorities in SNS UI features.

Abstract

Social networking services (SNS) have become integral to modern life to create and maintain meaningful relationships. Nevertheless, their historic growth of features has led to labyrinthine user interfaces (UIs) that often result in frustration among users - for instance, when trying to control privacy-related settings. This paper aims to mitigate labyrinthine UIs by studying users' expectations (N=21) through an online card sorting exercise based on 58 common SNS UI features, teaching us about their expectations regarding the importance of specific UI features and the frequency with which they use them. Our findings offer a valuable understanding of the relationship between the importance and frequency of UI features and provide design considerations for six identified UI feature groups. Through these findings, we inform the design and development of user-centred alternatives to current SNS interfaces that enable users to successfully navigate SNS and feel in control over their data by meeting their expectations.