Our study of how children assess digital safety risks on Roblox was accepted to the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS 2026), held November 15–19 in The Hague.
How Children Assess Digital Safety Risk in Gaming Platforms: A Case Study of Roblox — Zinan Zhang, Qiurong Song, Xinning Gui, Junnan Yu, Sunhye Bai, and Yubo Kou
Two papers accepted to CHI PLAY 2026
Two papers were accepted to CHI PLAY 2026.
From Stream to Stake: Gamblification Practices and User Perceptions on Twitch — Yunhan Liu, Sam Moradzadeh, Qiurong Song, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Gaming Together on Discord: Teen Gamer’s Cross-Platform Practices — Elena Koung, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou DOI record
Seed grant for research on children’s online gambling
A 2026–27 Penn State College of IST seed grant supports our project on risk exposure and harm reduction in children’s online gambling, led by Xinning Gui and Yubo Kou.
Our five CHI 2026 papers cover child-centered game safety, baby-monitoring practices, teenagers’ risky interactions on Discord, rule-breaking among creators, and privacy controls in conversational LLM platforms.
Player Safety by Design: Co-Designing Child-Centered Safety Mechanisms with Children — Zinan Zhang, Qiurong Song, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Yunhan Liu, Elena Koung, Junnan Yu, Sunhye Bai, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Surveillance as Care: Configuring Baby Monitors in the Home — Qiurong Song, Yunhan Liu, Zinan Zhang, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Teen Vigilance: Navigating Risky Social Interactions on Discord — Elena Koung, Yunhan Liu, Zinan Zhang, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou DOI record
Why Creators Break Rules: Quantitative Evidence on Moral Disengagement and Self-Control — Yao Li, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou DOI record
Privacy Control in Conversational LLM Platforms: A Walkthrough Study — Zhuoyang Li, Yanlai Wu, Yao Li, Xinning Gui, and Yuhan Luo DOI record
Yubo Kou speaks at the GDC Festival of Gaming
Yubo Kou gave the talk “Toxic Players After Punishment: Rehabilitation and Prosocial Play,” presented by GameSafe, at the GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 in San Francisco.
Paper on gig drivers’ knowledge practices published in the CSCW Journal
Making the Gig Economy Infrastructure Work: Gig Drivers’ Adaptive, Algorithmic, and Social Knowledge Practices, by Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Qiurong Song, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui, was published in Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). DOI record
Paper accepted to USENIX Security 2026
Our study of the digital risks Roblox game creators face, and how they cope with them, was accepted to the 35th USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 2026).
Digital Risks and Coping Practices among Roblox Game Creators — Qiurong Song, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou Paper page
Paper accepted to CSCW 2026
Our study of how teenagers perceive and mitigate gambling risks, based on their discussions on Reddit, was accepted to CSCW 2026.
“I usually profit because I know when to stop”: Understanding Teenagers’ Risk Perception and Mitigation Strategies of Gambling from Reddit — Yunhan Liu, Elena Koung, Qiurong Song, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Xinning Gui and Yubo Kou contribute to a European Commission report on virtual worlds
Xinning Gui and Yubo Kou contributed to “Virtual Worlds and Well-being: Current Research and Future Directions,” a European Commission Joint Research Centre report.
CHI PLAY paper receives a Best Paper Honorable Mention
Gendered Toxicity in Competitive Gaming: Women’s Perceptions and Responses, by Elena Koung, Zinan Zhang, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou, received a Best Paper Honorable Mention at CHI PLAY 2025. DOI record
Paper accepted to IEEE S&P 2026
Our paper on the usability of anonymity features in period and fertility tracking apps was accepted to the 47th IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy.
Usable Anonymity in Reproductive Health Privacy — Qiurong Song, Yanlai Wu, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Yao Li, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Three CHI PLAY 2025 papers and a journal article accepted
Three papers were accepted to CHI PLAY 2025 and one article to the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies.
“This is Human Intelligence Debugging Artificial Intelligence”: Examining How People Prompt GPT in Seeking Mental Health Support — Zhuoyang Li, Zihao Zhu, Xinning Gui, and Yuhan Luo · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies DOI record
More Than Just Microtransactions: Predatory Monetization in User-Generated Games — Zinan Zhang, Sam Moradzadeh, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou · CHI PLAY 2025 DOI record
Gendered Toxicity in Competitive Gaming: Women’s Perceptions and Responses — Elena Koung, Zinan Zhang, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou · CHI PLAY 2025 DOI record
Fake Game but Real Play: Exploring Player Motivations and Coping Strategies with Fake Games — Sam Moradzadeh, Jeffrey Seihoon Oh, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou · CHI PLAY 2025 DOI record
Papers accepted to SOUPS 2025, DIS 2025, and the CSCW Journal
Three papers were accepted: one to SOUPS 2025, one to DIS 2025, and a literature review of video game research to the CSCW Journal.
How Predatory Monetization Designs Manifest in Child-Friendly Video Games — Qiurong Song, Zinan Zhang, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou · SOUPS 2025 Paper page
Reflecting Upon the Unintended Consequences of Personal Informatics Systems: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies — Yuhan Luo, Xinning Gui, Xianghua (Sharon) Ding, Xi Zheng, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Zhuoyang Li, and Qiurong Song · DIS 2025 DOI record
The State of Video Game Research in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work – A Systematic Literature Review — Sam Moradzadeh, Zinan Zhang, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou · Computer Supported Cooperative Work DOI record
CHI 2025 paper receives a Best Paper Honorable Mention
“The System is Made to Inherently Push Child Gambling in my Opinion”: Child Safety, Monetization, and Moderation on Roblox, by Yubo Kou, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, and Xinning Gui, received a Best Paper Honorable Mention at CHI 2025. DOI record
Paper accepted to IDC 2025
A paper led by Zinan Zhang was accepted to the 24th ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC 2025).
Dangerous Playgrounds: Child Players’ Encounters with Design-Mediated Risks on User Generated Game Platforms and Their Safety Practices — Zinan Zhang, Xinning Gui, Junnan Yu, Sunhye Bai, and Yubo Kou DOI record
Four full papers accepted to CHI 2025
Four full papers were accepted to CHI 2025.
Weighing Benefits and Harms: Parental Mediation on Social Video Platforms — Renkai Ma, Yao Li, Sunhye Bai, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
“The System is Made to Inherently Push Child Gambling in my Opinion”: Child Safety, Monetization, and Moderation on Roblox — Yubo Kou, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Customizing Emotional Support: How Do Individuals Construct and Interact With LLM-Powered Chatbots — Xi Zheng, Zhuoyang Li, Xinning Gui, and Yuhan Luo DOI record
Understanding Users’ Perception of Personally Identifiable Information — Qiurong Song, Yanlai Wu, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Yao Li, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Two CHI PLAY papers receive Best Paper Honorable Mentions
Two of our CHI PLAY 2024 papers received Best Paper Honorable Mentions.
“Wow another fake game from YouTube ad”: Unpacking Fake Games Through a Mixed-Methods Investigation — Sam Moradzadeh and Yubo Kou DOI record
Harmful Design in User-Generated Games and its Ethical and Governance Challenges: An Investigation of Design Co-Ideation of Game Creators on Roblox — Zinan Zhang, Sam Moradzadeh, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou DOI record
Renkai Ma defends his dissertation
Renkai Ma successfully defended his dissertation. Congratulations, Renkai!
Three full papers accepted to CHI PLAY 2024
Three full papers were accepted to CHI PLAY 2024.
“Wow another fake game from YouTube ad”: Unpacking Fake Games Through a Mixed-Methods Investigation — Sam Moradzadeh and Yubo Kou DOI record
Harmful Design in User-Generated Games and its Ethical and Governance Challenges: An Investigation of Design Co-Ideation of Game Creators on Roblox — Zinan Zhang, Sam Moradzadeh, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou DOI record
Toxicity by Game Design: How Players Perceive the Influence of Game Design on Toxicity — Zinan Zhang, Sam Moradzadeh, Andrew Woan, and Yubo Kou DOI record
NSF grant for research on learning community norms
The National Science Foundation awarded $590,840 to the project “Community-Based Support for Learning Community Norms” (PI: Yubo Kou).
Qiurong Song, Lindy Hernandez, and Zinan Zhang pass their comprehensive exams
Qiurong Song, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, and Zinan Zhang passed their comprehensive exams. Congratulations to all three!
Two full papers accepted to DIS 2024
Two full papers were accepted to ACM DIS 2024.
The Ecology of Harmful Design: Risk and Safety of Game Making on a Metaverse Platform — Yubo Kou, Yingfan Zhou, Zinan Zhang, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Labeling in the Dark: Exploring Content Creators’ and Consumers’ Experiences with Content Classification for Child Safety on YouTube — Renkai Ma, Zinan Zhang, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou DOI record
Paper accepted to CSCW 2024
Casual Competition by Design: A Study of the All Random All Mid (ARAM) Mode in League of Legends, led by Zinan Zhang, was accepted to CSCW 2024. DOI record
Yue You defends her dissertation
Yue You successfully defended her dissertation. Congratulations, Yue!
Four papers accepted to CHI 2024
Four full papers were accepted to CHI 2024.
“Our Users’ Privacy is Paramount to Us”: A Discourse Analysis of How Period and Fertility Tracking App Companies Address the Roe v Wade Overturn — Qiurong Song, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
“At the end of the day, I am accountable”: Gig Workers’ Self-Tracking for Multi-Dimensional Accountability Management — Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Qiurong Song, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Trading as Gambling: Social Investing and Financial Risks on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit — Yubo Kou, Sam Moradzadeh, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Community Begins Where Moderation Ends: Peer Support and Its Implications for Community-Based Rehabilitation — Yubo Kou, Renkai Ma, Zinan Zhang, Yingfan Zhou, and Xinning Gui DOI record
Paper accepted to CSCW 2024
Collective Privacy Sensemaking on Social Media about Period and Fertility Tracking post Roe v. Wade, by Qiurong Song, Renkai Ma, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui, was accepted to CSCW 2024. DOI record
NSF grant for research on harmful design in virtual worlds
The National Science Foundation awarded $598,705 to the project “Investigating and Mitigating Harmful Design in User-Generated Virtual World through Design Moderation” (PI: Yubo Kou; Co-PIs: Xinning Gui and Sunhye Bai).
Beyond Self-diagnosis: How a Chatbot-based Symptom Checker Should Respond was accepted for publication in ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction. DOI record
Three papers accepted to CHI 2023
Three papers were accepted to CHI 2023.
Multi-Platform Content Creation: The Configuration of Creator Ecology through Platform Prioritization, Content Synchronization, and Audience Management — Renkai Ma, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou DOI record
Transparency, Fairness, and Coping: How Players Experience Moderation in Multiplayer Online Games — Renkai Ma, Yao Li, and Yubo Kou DOI record
AutoML in The Wild: Obstacles, Workarounds, and Expectations — Yuan Sun, Qiurong Song, Xinning Gui, Fenglong Ma, and Ting Wang DOI record
Paper accepted to DIS 2023
Harmful Design in the Metaverse and How to Mitigate it: A Case Study of User-Generated Virtual Worlds on Roblox was accepted to DIS 2023. DOI record
Paper accepted to CSCW 2023
How Do Users Experience Moderation?: A Systematic Literature Review, by Renkai Ma, Yue You, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou, was accepted to CSCW 2023. DOI record
CHI 2023 paper receives a Best Paper Honorable Mention
AutoML in The Wild: Obstacles, Workarounds, and Expectations received a Best Paper Honorable Mention at CHI 2023. DOI record
✦ ✦ ✦
SECRET STAGE UNLOCKED
Thanks for exploring. Health and play are worth protecting.
