"Chasing Shadows": Understanding Personal Data Externalization and Self-Tracking for Neurodivergent Individuals
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866912983560486912 |
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| author | Selin, Tanya Rudberg Unéus, Danielle Knudsen, Søren |
| author_facet | Selin, Tanya Rudberg Unéus, Danielle Knudsen, Søren |
| contents | We examine how neurodivergent individuals experience creating, interacting with, and reflecting on personal data about masking. Although self-tracking is often framed as enabling self-insight, this is rarely our experience as neurodivergent individuals and researchers. To better understand this disconnect, we conducted a two-phase qualitative study. First, a workshop where six participants with autism and/or ADHD crafted visual representations of masking experiences. Then, three participants continued by designing and using personalized self-tracking focused on unmasking over two weeks. Using reflexive thematic analysis of activities and interviews, we find that self-tracking imposes substantial interpretive and emotional demands, shaped by context-dependencies that challenge assumptions in self-tracking. We also find that facilitated sharing of experiences might validate emotional responses and support reflection. We identify three emotional dimensions that shape engagement with personal data in a working model of emotion in self-tracking, and discuss implications for designing self-tracking and reflective practices that incorporate peer support and better account for context and emotional labor. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_22609 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | "Chasing Shadows": Understanding Personal Data Externalization and Self-Tracking for Neurodivergent Individuals Selin, Tanya Rudberg Unéus, Danielle Knudsen, Søren Human-Computer Interaction H.5.m We examine how neurodivergent individuals experience creating, interacting with, and reflecting on personal data about masking. Although self-tracking is often framed as enabling self-insight, this is rarely our experience as neurodivergent individuals and researchers. To better understand this disconnect, we conducted a two-phase qualitative study. First, a workshop where six participants with autism and/or ADHD crafted visual representations of masking experiences. Then, three participants continued by designing and using personalized self-tracking focused on unmasking over two weeks. Using reflexive thematic analysis of activities and interviews, we find that self-tracking imposes substantial interpretive and emotional demands, shaped by context-dependencies that challenge assumptions in self-tracking. We also find that facilitated sharing of experiences might validate emotional responses and support reflection. We identify three emotional dimensions that shape engagement with personal data in a working model of emotion in self-tracking, and discuss implications for designing self-tracking and reflective practices that incorporate peer support and better account for context and emotional labor. |
| title | "Chasing Shadows": Understanding Personal Data Externalization and Self-Tracking for Neurodivergent Individuals |
| topic | Human-Computer Interaction H.5.m |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.22609 |