The Nuances of Creepiness: A Systematic Literature Review of Creepy Technology

Paper Title

The Nuances of Creepiness: A Systematic Literature Review of Creepy Technology

Publication Info

• Topic area: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and user perceptions of creepy technology.
• Keywords: creepy technology, uncanny valley, user experience, design dynamics, HCI, privacy, anthropomorphism, unpredictability, cultural context, interaction design.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: The concept of "creepy technology" is ambiguously defined in HCI literature, with varying interpretations across domains such as robotics, privacy, and interaction design. Existing tools and studies often focus on specific contexts, leaving gaps in understanding broader dynamics of creepiness.
• Significance: Creepiness in technology can deter user engagement, impact trust, and lead to negative user experiences. Clarifying its dynamics is essential for designing technologies that are less unsettling and more user-friendly.
• Motivation and related work: Previous research has explored creepiness in robots, avatars, and privacy-invading devices, often emphasizing the uncanny valley and privacy concerns. However, these studies are limited to specific domains and do not fully address the broader complexity of creepiness across contexts or the role of individual and cultural factors.

Solution

• Proposed approach: The authors conducted a systematic literature review of 115 papers to develop the Creepiness Framework, which distinguishes between design-driven aspects (Structure of Creepiness) and user-driven experiences (Felt Creepiness).
• Novelty:
  1. Development of the Creepiness Framework to integrate design and experiential elements of creepiness.
  2. Identification of recurring design dynamics and experiential elements that evoke creepiness.
  3. Analysis of prototypes and sensory modalities used in studying creepiness.
  4. Recommendations for leveraging creepiness in critical and speculative design.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Systematic review using the ACM Guide to Computing Literature, focusing on papers published from 2019 to May 2025.
  • Analysis of 115 papers selected from an initial pool of 16,481 using PRISMA methodology.
  • Coding of papers into categories such as research focus, concept definitions, study design, and prototype characteristics.
  • Development of the Creepiness Framework through iterative clustering and concept mapping.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • 70.43% of papers intentionally investigated creepiness, while 29.5% reported it as an unintended outcome.
  • The Creepiness Framework includes two categories:
    • Structure of Creepiness: design-driven factors like contextual triggers, appearance elements, interactional dynamics, and narrative intent.
    • Felt Creepiness: user-driven factors such as emotional and cognitive responses, cultural interpretations, physiological reactions, and temporal dynamics.
  • Most prototypes relied on visual (71%) and auditory (23%) modalities, with limited exploration of tactile (7%) and no use of taste or olfactory senses.
  • 64.35% of prototypes were third inanimate objects, with minimal focus on immersive or on-body technologies.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Provides a unified framework that integrates design and experiential elements, addressing gaps in prior research.
  • Highlights underexplored areas such as cultural diversity, sensory modalities, and longitudinal studies.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • The review synthesizes findings from 115 studies, including empirical, theoretical, and methodological contributions.
  • Quantitative research dominated (47.83%), followed by mixed methods (27.83%) and qualitative approaches (13.91%).
• Limitations and future work:
  • Limited to HCI and computing literature indexed in the ACM Guide; interdisciplinary perspectives from psychology or sociology are underrepresented.
  • Framework validation and empirical testing across diverse cultural and technological contexts are needed.
  • Underexplored areas include everyday technologies, longitudinal studies, and multisensory creepiness.

Summary

This paper systematically reviews 115 studies on creepy technology, developing the Creepiness Framework to integrate design-driven (Structure of Creepiness) and user-driven (Felt Creepiness) factors. Key findings include the prominence of visual and auditory modalities in prototypes, the influence of cultural and contextual factors, and the dynamic nature of creepiness over time. The framework provides actionable insights for designing less unsettling technologies and leveraging creepiness in critical design. Future work should validate the framework, explore underrepresented sensory modalities, and include diverse cultural perspectives.