Remote Triggers: Misophonia, Technology Non-Use, and Design for Inclusive Digital Spaces

2026-01-19

AI Summary

This study investigates how auditory and visual triggers—such as chewing sounds and specific video content—elicit intense negative emotional responses and avoidance behaviors among individuals with misophonia on digital platforms, ultimately contributing to their marginalization in social and professional participation. Through semi-structured interviews with 16 participants across platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Zoom, and Discord, and grounded in human-computer interaction and inclusive design theories, the research offers the first systematic account of the experiential challenges faced by misophonia users in remote digital interactions. It identifies food-related behaviors and uncontrolled media content as primary triggers and proposes three novel design interventions: fine-grained trigger control, real-time detection mechanisms, and shared preference systems, thereby establishing an empirical foundation and design paradigm for creating more inclusive digital environments for individuals with misophonia.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Mitigating online harms, including harassment, spam, and fake reviews
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Studies of user behavior, including longitudinal effects of personalized systems
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: The sharing economy

Abstract

Misophonia, characterized by intense negative reactions to specific sounds or related visual cues, remains poorly recognized in clinical settings yet profoundly affects daily life. This study examines how individuals with misophonia experience and sometimes avoid technology that amplifies their triggers. Drawing on 16 semi-structured interviews with U.S. adults recruited from online communities, we explore how social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, along with remote communication tools like Zoom and Discord, shape coping strategies and patterns of non-use. Participants described frequent distress from uncontrollable audiovisual content and food-related behaviors during virtual gatherings. We propose design interventions -- including channel-specific audio-visual controls, real-time trigger detection, and shared preference tools -- to better support misophonic users and reduce exclusion in increasingly mediated social and professional contexts.

Problem

• misophonia
• technology non-use
• inclusive digital spaces
• audiovisual triggers
• remote communication

Innovation

• misophonia
• technology non-use
• inclusive design
• trigger detection
• audio-visual controls