Hello world! My name is Lizzie Li. I'm a third-year PhD candidate at Northwestern University studying Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). I work with Dr. Jeremy Birnholtz in the Social Media Lab and Dr. Darren Gergle in the CollabLab. My research examines how people navigate the messy realities of constructing and evaluating authenticity on social media platforms in the age of AI.
I just published my first paper on the challenges of designing for and practicing authenticity, which received a Best Paper Honorable Mention award at CSCW 2025. You can read it here!
I received my MA in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University where I was advised by Dr. Steven Bellovin. My thesis explored information sharing behaviors of Hinge dating app users. While at Columbia, I was also a research fellow at the Columbia Privacy Lab where I conducted a digital ethnography to ascribe meaning to emerging anti-privacy behaviors among dating app users. I was also a fellow at Columbia Entrepreneurship's eLab.
I received my BS from Cornell University in 2019 with a double major in Communication and Development Sociology and a minor in Inequality Studies.
Recent Updates
- Launched my UX research portfolio, with case studies from industry and academic work.
- Attended CSCW 2026 in Salt Lake City! It was so nice to catch up with friends. I also co-organized the workshop "The Capacity to Care: Designing Social Technology for Sustained Engagement With Societal Challenges," which brought together a great group of participants for great conversations.
- Quoted as an expert source in Wired, in an article about "dunking" on dating app profiles.
- Started a summer UX Research internship at an early-stage startup building an AI assistant for older adults. Read the case study.
- Presented my paper "The Cruel Optimism of Staying: Understanding the Role of Affect and Adaptation in Dating App Persistence" at DIS 2026 in Singapore, in the Algorithmic Intimacy and Identity session. Read the case study.
- Presented my first paper, on designing for authenticity on BeReal, at CSCW 2025, where it received a Best Paper Honorable Mention! Read it here.
- Was a guest on Amanda Montell's podcast Magical Overthinkers, talking about parasocial relationships.
- Was a student volunteer at CHI 2025 in Yokohama, Japan, and attended the UX Research POV workshop.
Show older updates
- Quoted in The Daily Northwestern in a story about an AI dating assistant designed by a Northwestern student.
- Attended my first-ever academic conference, CSCW 2023 in Minneapolis!
- Published "Screenshot, share, and save," my Columbia Privacy Lab research on why people post dating app profiles on social media.
- Started my PhD in Media, Technology & Society at Northwestern University.
- Completed my MA in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University with a thesis on privacy and self-disclosure on Hinge.