@thomasmildner.me
Designer and computer scientist ✏️💻 from northern Germany. Trying to make social media more social. In my research, I focus on ethical design, dark patterns, and online well-being. Now a postdoc at Uni Bremen. He/him #hci #dpbsky www.thomasmildner.me
Fruitful collaborations that turned into wonderful friendships are the foundation of my thesis, and I would like to share this honour with you. Thank you all! 🫶
For anyone interested, the full dissertation is available here:
doi.org/10.26092/eli...
I would love to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me throughout this journey! While the dissertation carries my name, it was certainly not a "one-man job."
The included research investigates deceptive design strategies in various online contexts, with a particular focus on social media. The work further explores how responsible and ethics-informed design can help reduce manipulation and support more transparent, user-centred technologies.
Two men in suits standing next to each other. One holding a price certificate, the other a bouquet of flowers.
I’m truly honoured to share that my dissertation, "Mitigating Dark Patterns Through Responsible Design – Ethical Design Considerations for User-Centred Technologies", has been awarded the “Thematischer Preis” of the Bremer Studienpreis 2025. 🥳
#Bremen #UniBremen
Such an amazing article and very well-written. Really happy I got to chat with @caitlingilbert.bsky.social about the problems of social media, specifically TikTok. The harm of TikTok constantly engaging its users can be linked to studies showing that overuse of social media decreases well-being.
🎉I am extremely happy to be part of a wonderful group to organise CUI 2026 and bring it to the city I grew up in - 𝘽𝙍𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙉!
If you work in the field and want to engage and be part, we made an open call to look for organising committee members:
forms.gle/9HjLsSz4uZFK...
Really great tips to enjoy CHI and not get fully overwhelmed! Thanks @altoombs.bsky.social 🙌
And in the same session, right after:
"Getting Trapped in Amazon's "Iliad Flow": A Foundation for the Temporal Analysis of Dark Patterns"
📅: Wednesday, 30 April, 2:10 pm - 2:22 pm.
📍: G304
🔗: programs.sigchi.org/chi/2025/pro...
📄: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
On Wednesday, 30 April:
"A Comparative Study of How People With and Without ADHD Recognise and Avoid Dark Patterns on Social Media"
📅: Wednesday, 30 April, 2:10 pm - 2:22 pm.
📍: G304
🔗: programs.sigchi.org/chi/2025/pro...
📄: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
On Tuesday, 29 April, our SIG will be on
Global and Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Dark Patterns and Deceptive Design Practice
ダークパターンとひとをだますデザインに関する国際的かつ学際的な交流
📅: Tuesday, 29 April, 2:10 pm - 2:22 pm.
📍: G217
🔗: programs.sigchi.org/chi/2025/pro...
📄: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
While it’s already great enough to be at #chi25 and meet old and new friends, I am also excited to be part of a SIG and two papers. Here, I’ll collect the details if you’re interested in this work and want to connect:
Stage for the opening keynote of the CHI 2025 conference.
#CHI2025 is kicking of in #Yokohama 🌸 and what a fantastic location to host and get to visit! Very happy to be here 🎊
Each year, I am impressed by the size of this community and the great energy it holds! Looking forward to a fascinating and inspiring week!
Just made it to #Yokohama for #CHI2025 and I am extremely excited for our SIG on #DarkPatterns and the fantastic people I will get to talk to!
Hey @derossinger.bsky.social, das meiste entweder online via Google Scholar, der ACM digital library oder über meine Website (www.thomasmildner.me). Wenn du was nicht findest, sag gern noch mal Bescheid und ich versuch zu helfen :)
@graydesign.bsky.social @johannagunawan.bsky.social @thomasmildner.me
Since we didn’t retain the CC rights for this paper on #darkpatterns in #mobilegames so here‘s the author version on arxiv for public access 🙌🎮📱
arxiv.org/abs/2412.05039
Here‘s now the copy for the arxiv version: arxiv.org/abs/2412.05039
The second is titled "Finding a Way Through the Social Media Labyrinth", for which I am incredibly happy that it received an honourable mention 🏆. Huge Thanks go to my co-authors Gian-Luca Savino, Susanne Putze, and Rainer Malaka.
doi.org/10.1145/3701...
The first was "Level Up or Game Over" 🎮 for which I want to thank my former student Sam Niknejad whose thesis is the foundation for this work. And of course all other co-authors: @nimazargham.bsky.social, Susanne Putze, and Rainer Malka! 🎉
doi.org/10.1145/3701...
Me presenting findings at MUM 2024.
Me presenting findings at MUM 2024.
This year was my first time at #MUM2024, and what an incredible community and conference it was! Thanks to all who made it happen in #Stockholm. ❄️🇸🇪
Not only did I co-host a workshop, but present two papers. And it still doesn't stop here: We received an honourable mention for one of them! 🏆
As one of the authors, currently it’s only in ACM’s digital library. But I will also upload our author version on arxiv.
Foto out of a train in late autumn. The Rhein river and some wine fields are seen.
🚅Again in a train to the airport for my final conference of the year and what better destination than #Stockholm! At #MUM2024, I get to co-host a workshop and present two papers.. did not expect this academic year to wrap with such a wonderful opportunity! Thanks to all!
Thursday's online #HCI BIG TALK: Heloisa Candello from IBM Research Brazil talks about #CUI #AI and #responsibleAI in her talk "A human-centered approach to responsible conversational user interfaces."
Online, free, all welcome! 2pm GMT, sign up here:
bighci.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2024/10/03/b...
Great writeup of Veronica Krauss and team’s work on #darkpatterns and #generativeai by @stokel.bsky.social! Such a timely paper and good to see it reaching a broader audience.
www.fastcompany.com/91233844/cha...
The German science magazine „Spektrum der Wissenschaft“ interviewed me, alongside Deborah Löschner, for an article on #DarkPatterns. The article is in German but very informative!
www.spektrum.de/news/dark-pa...
Congratulations @laststrawberry.bsky.social!! Well done! 🎉🙌
Today might be remembered for many reasons, but I hope to carry these happy memories with me the longest! Thank you all very much!
Special thanks go to Benjamin Cowan, Minha Lee, and Robert Porzel, who gave engaging talks in the crosssection of this transdisciplinary workshop. Further thanks to all attendees, who made these past few days so exciting with many open avenues for future work and collaborations! 💻