Mobile navigation apps are among the most used mobile applications and are often used as a baseline to evaluate new mobile navigation technologies in field studies. As field studies often introduce external factors that are hard to control for, we investigate how pedestrian navigation methods can be evaluated in virtual reality (VR). We present a study comparing navigation methods in real life (RL) and VR to evaluate if VR environments are a viable alternative to RL environments when it comes to testing these. In a series of studies, participants navigated a real and a virtual environment using a paper map and a navigation app on a smartphone. We measured the differences in navigation performance, task load and spatial knowledge acquisition between RL and VR.From these we formulate guidelines for the improvement of pedestrian navigation systems in VR like improved legibility for small screen devices. We furthermore discuss appropriate low-cost and low-space VR-locomotion techniques and discuss more controllable locomotion techniques.

Visual as-the-crow-flies (ATCF) navigation methods are an increasingly popular alternative to existing turn-by-turn (TBT) navigation for cyclists. To better understand how people use them in everyday navigation and how they cope with the novel navigation method in challenging situations, we studied two main issues posed by ATCF navigation: knowing whether one is on the right route to their destination and knowing whether a turn leads into a dead end or detour. To investigate these two problems, we compared visual ATCF navigation against (1) TBT navigation and (2) an improved ATCF+ navigation system in two successive studies. We found that users encountered problems riding in the opposite direction to the destination and were often turning around as a result using the ATCF method. Using colour cues in the ATCF user interface we were able to reinforce correct route choices. Additionally, we found that unsuccessful route progression negatively correlates with user confidence. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Human computer interaction (HCI); User studies; Field studies; Empirical studies in ubiquitous and mobile computing.

Many researchers have been concerned with whether social media has a negative impact on the well-being of their audience. With the popularity of social networking sites (SNS) steadily increasing, psychological and social sciences have shown great interest in their effects and consequences on humans. In this work, we investigate Facebook using the tools of HCI to find connections between interface features and the concerns raised by these domains. Using an empirical design analysis, we identify interface interferences impacting users' online privacy. Through a subsequent survey ( = 116), we find usage behaviour changes due to increased privacy concerns and report individual cases of addiction and mental health issues. These observations are the results of a rapidly changing SNS creating a gap of understanding between users' interactions with the platform and future consequences. We explore how HCI can help close this gap and work towards more ethical user interfaces in the future. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in HCI; HCI theory, concepts and models; Empirical studies in interaction design; Interaction design theory, concepts and paradigms; • Security and privacy → Usability in security and privacy.

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Research in HCI has shown a growing interest in unethical design practices across numerous domains, often referred to as "dark patterns". There is, however, a gap in related literature regarding social networking services (SNSs). In this context, studies emphasise a lack of users' self-determination regarding control over personal data and time spent on SNSs. We collected over 16 hours of screen recordings from Facebook's, Instagram's, TikTok's, and Twitter's mobile applications to understand how dark patterns manifest in these SNSs. For this task, we turned towards HCI experts to mitigate possible difficulties of non-expert participants in recognising dark patterns, as prior studies have noticed. Supported by the recordings, two authors of this paper conducted a thematic analysis based on previously described taxonomies, manually classifying the recorded material while delivering two key findings: We observed which instances occur in SNSs and identified two strategies -engaging and governing -with five dark patterns undiscovered before.CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in HCI; HCI theory, concepts and models; Empirical studies in interaction design; Interaction design theory, concepts and paradigms; • Security and privacy → Usability in security and privacy.

Physical activity is entering the virtual realm. Zwift is an at-home cycling system that is enjoying increasing popularity, yet the specifics of the experience of a virtual cyclist have not been studied to date. Building virtual sports systems can make physical activity accessible to more diverse user groups. To understand how and why users engage in virtual cycling, we conducted n=22 interviews with Zwift users. Through charting the motivations behind using Zwift, we determined that it allowed users to engage in a range of cycling activities traditionally reserved for professional cyclists. Our work reports on key motivations and identifies five key strategies which Zwift uses to create an engaging virtual sports experience. Further, we discuss how Zwift creates a world of virtual professionalism. Our findings offer a structured understanding of the experience of Zwift which can be used to inspire the design of future virtual amateur sports systems.

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly being used to promote mindfulness practice. However, the impact of virtual and multimodal interactive spaces on mindfulness practice and presence is still underexplored. To address this gap, we conducted a mixed-method user study (𝑁 =12). We explored the impact of various multimodal feedback, in particular tactile feedback (passive haptic feedback by artificial grass) and auditory feedback (footstep sound) at feet level on both mindfulness and presence. We conducted semi-structured interviews and collected quantitative data through three validated questionnaires (SMS, IPQ, WSPQ). We found a significant effect of passive haptic feedback on presence and mindfulness. Tactile

Cycling is on the rise as a relevant alternative to car-based mobility and even though there are mobile applications specifically designed for cyclists to support this development, many still face unresolved challenges in terms of safe user interaction with complex data while riding. We present the design, development, and evaluation of Ve-loCity -an application for reporting traffic incidents and structures relevant to cyclists. In a case study, we compared its' three input methods (touch, in-app speech recognition, the voice assistant of the operating system) to evaluate which attributes make for safe interaction while cycling. We found that participants prefer to use the voice assistant over the other modalities as it was least distracting due to its hands-and eyes-free interaction design. Furthermore, they chose short commands over conversational phrases. Based on our results, we present five guidelines for designing voice user interfaces for cyclists and argue for moving away from touch-based interfaces in this domain, which still make up most of the applied interaction techniques today. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Interaction techniques; Usability testing; User studies; Mobile devices.