Overview

Social media has become an indispensable part of human life, creating opportunities for making friends and exchanging ideas. However, people with visual impairments (PVI) face significant challenges in consuming, creating, and sharing information on social media platforms (especially video-oriented ones like YouTube) due to the predominantly visual nature of the content. These challenges pose serious accessibility issues, adversely impacting their quality of life. Therefore, I propose a study to investigate the experiences of PVI on video-sharing platforms. This study aims to understand PVI's motivations, interactions, and challenges in using TikTok, one of the most popular short-video platforms. By closely examining the challenges and needs of the BlindTok community (the PVI community on TikTok), I intend to report on their experiences of building their social world using these trending technologies and to identify design opportunities for more accessible platforms. Furthermore, I will delve into the ultimate appeal of these platforms for PVI, providing insights that can inform the development of more inclusive and accessible video-sharing applications.

Project Outcome

1. Alternative Professional Development (CHI2026b) An interview study with 60 BlindTokers showing how they pursue professional goals on TikTok through a more flexible, inclusive, and personalized alternative to traditional career development. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3772318.3790567

2. Infrastructural Intersectionality Experiences of Gender & Sexuality (CHI2026a) An interview study with 41 BlindTokers who are also women and/or LGBTQ+, documenting how blindness intersects with gender and sexuality to shape experiences of harassment, self-discipline, and community on TikTok. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3772318.3790337

3. Identity Work & Flourishing (CSCW2024a, Best Paper Mention 🏆) An interview study with 45 BlindTokers examining how they use TikTok's affordances to create positive content, express disability identity, and build community from a flourishing perspective. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3687013

4. Infrastructuring Work & Independence (CSCW2024b, DEI recognition 🏆) An interview study with 30 BlindTokers exploring how blind TikTok users leverage the platform as infrastructure for entertainment, professional development, and community engagement. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3637297

5. Content Moderation Experiences (CHI 2024) A study of how blind TikTokers experience platform content moderation, revealing how moderation practices can disproportionately marginalize users with disabilities. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642148