SnuggleSense: Empowering Online Harm Survivors Through a Structured Sensemaking Process
Journal:
arXiv
Published Date:
Apr 27, 2025
Abstract
Online interpersonal harm, such as cyberbullying and sexual harassment,
remains a pervasive issue on social media platforms. Traditional approaches,
primarily content moderation, often overlook survivors' needs and agency. We
introduce SnuggleSense, a system that empowers survivors through structured
sensemaking. Inspired by restorative justice practices, SnuggleSense guides
survivors through reflective questions, offers personalized recommendations
from similar survivors, and visualizes plans using interactive sticky notes. A
controlled experiment demonstrates that SnuggleSense significantly enhances
sensemaking compared to an unstructured process of making sense of the harm. We
argue that SnuggleSense fosters community awareness, cultivates a supportive
survivor network, and promotes a restorative justice-oriented approach toward
restoration and healing. We also discuss design insights, such as tailoring
informational support and providing guidance while preserving survivors'
agency.
