Tech Worker Perspectives on Considering the Interpersonal Implications of Communication Technologies

Abstract

Communication technologies, from social media to video conferencing, are used by billions of people globally and contribute to shaping relationships between people. As these technologies become increasingly ubiquitous, the tech workers building them are increasingly making product decisions that can have far-reaching interpersonal ramifications. At the same time, few workplace tools and support exist to help tech workers understand and navigate these potential ramifications, and tech worker perspectives on such tools are not fully understood. In this work, we explore the needs, challenges, and opportunities encountered by tech workers in thinking through the interpersonal implications of their products. To do this, we ran a semi-structured interview study with 10 diverse tech workers. To ground the discussion, study participants interacted with a design probe prototype, InterAct, which provides research-grounded information about interpersonal implications of product features. Our findings suggest a desire by tech workers to consider the social implications of the technologies they build, and the potential for structured tooling to help provide the required knowledge and build organizational support. Based on these findings, we provide design considerations for creating future workplace tools to support thinking about the social implications of technologies.