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Cited by 54Digital Accessibility for DisabilitiesDisability Rights and RepresentationAssistive Technology in Communication and Mobility

"Hey, Can You Add Captions?": The Critical Infrastructuring Practices of Neurodiverse People on TikTok

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Simpson, Ellen, Dalal, Samantha, Semaan, Bryan·2023·Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
DOI 10.1145/3579490
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Abstract

Accessibility efforts, how we can make the world usable and useful to as many people as possible, have focused on how we can support and allow for the autonomy and independence of people with disabilities, neurodivergencies, chronic conditions, and older adults. Despite these efforts, not all technology is designed or implemented to support everyone's needs. TikTok. Recently, a community-organized push by creators and general users of TikTok urged the platform to add accessibility features, such as closed captioning, to allow more people to use the platform with greater ease. Through an interview study exploring the experiences of creatives on TikTok, we explore the creative practices of people with ADHD and those who experience similar challenges, focusing on the kinds of accessibility they create through their creative work. We find that creatives engage in critical infrastructuring--a process of bottom-up (re)design--to make the platform more accessible despite the challenges the platform presents to them as creators through creating and augmenting video editing and video captioning infrastructures. We then reflect on how the introduction of a top-down infrastructure - the implementation of an auto-captioning feature - shifts the critical infrastructure practices of TikTok creatives. Through their infrastructuring, creatives were revising the broader sociotechnical capabilities of TikTok to support their own needs as well as the broader needs of the TikTok community. We discuss how the routine of infrastructuring accessibility is a form of incidental care work and highlight how accessibility is an evolving sociotechnical construct, forwarding the concept of contextual accessibility.

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Authors
Simpson, E., Dalal, S., & Semaan, B.
Affiliations
University of Colorado Boulder (US)
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Published
2023-04-14
Volume
7
Issue
CSCW1
Pages
1-27
ISSN
2573-0142 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1145/3579490
OpenAlex
W4366004253
Cited by
54
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 2
FWCI
53.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
University of Colorado Boulder
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Digital Accessibility for Disabilities
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Rights and Representation
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility
Keywords
neurodiversity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, TikTok, accessibility, closed captioning, video captioning, video editing, platform design, user-generated content

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