Normal, on rare occasions I'll swap it down to easy for segments if the game allows you to switch back and forth. I haven't done that since a fight early in Fallout 4 though. I rarely replay games these days but if I do I'll switch it to hard on the 2nd play through.

Easy or Very Easy in most cases. Normal if it's tied to trophies and I think I can pull it off. Also Normal sometimes just if I feel like it.

I don't really ever go higher than a normal setting.

Always normal or default, as that's likely the developer's preferred setting.

if its a series i've had expirence in and i've played hard on that series before, i go for hard, ESPECIALLY in games where there is a difficulty harder then hard, as it is in most RPGs. examples here are fire emblem, where there is a lunatic/maddening difficulty abouve hard, and persona, where there is a brutal abouve hard. same thing with civ, though i'd hardly call playing on king 'hard', its still one stage higher then the standerd 'prince' difficulty.

Usually one step below the hardest level for shooters, and normal for everything else.

I will definitely adjust on the fly though, if I feel like it.  Most of the time this means switching to an easier difficulty because I'm not in love with the game and prefer to finish it sooner.  

Almost always "normal"

Normal but not rly cuz I want to

I'm rly bad at most video games and wish games let me play at easier difficulties so I could enjoy the experience more but almost always Easy difficulty means dumbing the enemy AI down to the point where it breaks immersion and ruining other gameplay aspects when all I want is them to be easier to kill or more checkpoints or smthn. That or games that make fun of you for choosing easy or don't let you get the true ending for playing on easy (still havent forgiven Cuphead for this). In an ideal world or in games I know are well made for this easy but oftentimes that reality doesn't work for me

Whatever the game puts you on by default, which is usually 'normal.' I might play through the game on 'easy' just for kicks, but only after I've beaten it on normal first.  Kind of like a victory lap. I almost never play on hard.

Single - hardest difficulty available

Married with children - default difficulty

A step lower from the hardest difficulty the first time unless it's a new type of game and the absolute hardest if a game is fun enough for multiple times.

I even invent self challenges sometimes to make a game even harder. Not sure why i hate myself so much. I just hate easy games.