My work in academic research and personal writing has been about making a case to design, write, and make strategies that are friendly for an ADHD brain. Doing so also helps the product/interface/service be more usable for everyone because we all live in a world where our attention is pulled in a million different directions.
We are 24×7 connected to work, friends, and family, and you know it — being connected to everyone means you are not connected to anyone. We are consuming the most content that humans ever have, in every size of screen, at a pace that makes 24 hours too less for a day. This information overload impacts the brain’s processing ability, causes emotional distress, and leaves us distracted and irritable. On top of that, we are getting lesser sleep time which increases stress and distractibility.
In my research related to Security and Privacy, I am doing a literature review and conducting surveys to find out how ADHD impacts an individual’s vulnerability to phishing and fraud attempts. The exposure risks arise from not reading terms and conditions, being overwhelmed with instructions, and impulsivity in making decisions. All these risks are not just limited to people diagnosed with ADHD but to every individual living in modern society. The design suggestions will revolve around simplifying interface design, using neutral color tones, condensing long texts of terms and conditions, and reducing the checkpoints. These principles are useful for any internet user in general.
I am currently working on an SoK with Prof. Pardis at Duke University. Our research questions are as follows:
Research Questions
- What are some previous studies done focussing on the online behavior of people with ADHD?
- What are the key S&P themes that surface from those studies?
- Do instructions related to S&P add to the cognitive burden of people with ADHD since ADHD is characterized by executive dysfunction and emotional dysregulation?
- Are there S&P guidelines existing to design interfaces suitable for people with ADHD?
Potential contribution of the research
- Systemize existing literature at the intersection of S&P and ADHD and assess threats from a neurodiversity lens.
- Collate existing S&P guidelines for designing more inclusive interfaces
- Highlight the existing gaps in online S&P threats for people with ADHD. [financial frauds, phishing, security compromises, extortion, etc. – there is evidence of such behavior in offline settings]
- Making design-specific recommendations to protect people with ADHD from different online threats and not compromising their online experience that aligns with design justice.