My research is interdisciplinary and focuses on the intersection of new media and the life course, privacy, social capital, and friendship. Here are some recent projects:

Social Media Privacy Research Collective

This project explores privacy from the perspective of the user, leveraging a “framing in thought” approach to capture how users make sense of privacy in their social media use. Data were collected in several waves from social media users are being used to analyze user conceptualization of privacy, privacy attitudes, and privacy management behaviors.

Recent publications:

Quinn, K. & Epstein, D. (2023). Dimensionalizing privacy to advance the study of digital disempowerment. Big Data & Society, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517231221739

Quinn, K. Privacy in later life. (2023) In S. Trepte and P. Masur (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Social Media and Privacy (pp. 185-193). New York: Routledge. [email to request a copy]

Quinn, K. Social media and social well-being in later life. Ageing & Society, 41(6), 1349-1370. [email to request a copy]

Epstein, D. & Quinn, K. (2020). Markers of online privacy marginalization: Empirical examination of socioeconomic disparities in social media privacy attitudes, literacy, and behavior. Social Media + Society, 6(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120916853

Quinn, K., Epstein, D. & Moon, B. (2019). We Care About Different Things: Non-Elite Conceptualizations of Social Media Privacy. Social Media + Society, 5(3). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305119866008

Comparative Privacy Research Network

The goal of this project is to create a sustainable framework for comparative privacy research across political, geographic and cultural boundaries.

Recent publications:

Masur, P., Epstein, D., Quinn, K., Wilhelm, C., Baruh, L. & Lutz, C. (Forthcoming). Comparative privacy research: Literature review, framework, and research agenda. The Information Society. Preprint available at https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/fjqhs.

Conversational Agents for Older Adult Well-Being

This project examines the feasibility of using a voice-controlled conversational agent device, such as a Google Nest Mini, to encourage physical activity and mindfulness. This project is being conducted in partnership with Mather Institute.

For information on the Exercise Buddy Action Privacy Policy click here.

ActivityAssist: A Virtual Coach for Sedentary Older Adults

This project examines the feasibility of using a voice-controlled conversational agent device, such as a Google Home, to improve mobility among sedentary older adults. This project is funded through the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science.

For information on the Health Moves Action Privacy Policy click here.

Recent publications:

Quinn, K, Leiser, S, O’Connell, C, Muramatsu, N, Marquez, DX, & Chin, J. (2024). Assessing the feasibility and acceptability of smart speakers in behavioral intervention research with older adults: Mixed methods study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2024;26:e54800. https://doi.org/10.2196/54800

Chin, J., Quinn, K., Muramatsu, N. & Marquez, D. (2020). A user study on the feasibility and acceptance of delivering physical activity programs to older adults through conversational agents. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 64(1), 33-37. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8232393/.

Connected: Older Adults and Social Media

This project seeks to assess the relationship between social media use and social well being among older adults, >65 years. We employ a social media training workshop as an experimental intervention to establish the cognitive and social effects accorded to social media use. The project was funded by the Midwest Roybal Center for Health Promotion and Translation.

Publications:

Quinn, K. (2021). Social media and social well-being in later life. Ageing & Society, 41(6). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X19001570

Quinn, K. (2018). Cognitive effects of social media use: A case of older adults. Social Media + Society, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118787203

Quinn, K., Smith-Ray, R. & Boulter, K. Concepts, terms, and mental maps: Everyday challenges to older adult social media adoption. In J. Zhou & G. Salvendy (Eds.), Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Healthy and Active Aging, Chapter 22. Berlin: Springer International Publishing. [email to request a copy]