diff --git a/db/migrate/20160802075029_create_user_notifications.rb b/db/migrate/20160802075029_create_user_notifications.rb
index c4e6441bde..42212014d8 100644
--- a/db/migrate/20160802075029_create_user_notifications.rb
+++ b/db/migrate/20160802075029_create_user_notifications.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ Sequel.migration do
   change do
     create_table :user_notifications do
       foreign_key :user_id, :users, type: :uuid, null: false, on_delete: :cascade, primary_key: true
-      String :notifications, null: false, type: 'json'
+      String :notifications, null: false, type: 'json', default: '{}'
     end
   end
 end