Fiona Westin

Fiona Westin is a Research Assistant at the CHORUS Lab at Carleton University, holding a Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction and a combined Honours Bachelor’s degree in the History of Science and Technology as well as German. Her research focuses on societal impacts of security and privacy, particularly studying the influence of FoMO (Fear of Missing Out) on user privacy behaviors and how manipulative designs in online technologies (so-called "Dark Patterns") shape user decision-making. Her work explores how users balance privacy with social needs and how social media design encourages reluctant data-sharing behaviors. Fiona’s research has been presented at several international conferences and has significantly impacted the fields of digital privacy and user experience.

• 2020 – Present·Carleton University CHORUS Lab·Research Assistant
  • Focused on the societal aspects of security and privacy research, investigating the phenomenon of FoMO in user privacy behaviors and the impact of manipulative designs in online technologies on user experience.

• 2020·Carleton University·Master’s Degree (Human-Computer Interaction)
  • Research focused on how dark design in social media leads users to reluctantly surrender data (FoMO-Centricity).
• 2018·Carleton University·Combined Honours Bachelor’s Degree (History of Science and Technology & German)
  • Majored in History of Science and Technology and German, laying a foundation for interdisciplinary research.