Data Diaries Study

The broader adoption of social media platforms (e.g., TikTok), combined with recent developments in GAI technologies has had a transformative effect on many peoples’ ability to confidently to assess the veracity and meaning of information online. In this paper, building on recent related work that surfaced the social ways that young people evaluate information online, we explore the decision-making practices, challenges and heuristics involved in young adults’ assessments of information online. To do so, we designed and conducted a novel digital diary study, followed by data-informed interviews with young adults.