VirtueS Seminar: New Perspectives in Media Effects Conceptualization and Measurement

First part

Measuring Digital Media in Research on User Mental Health: What Do We Study? And What Should We Care About?

Prof. Adrian Meier, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Abstract: Research on digital media use and its impact on mental health is mainly based on five key conceptual and operational approaches: behavioral, cognitive, clinical, social psychological, and sociological. Each of these approaches has its advantages and disadvantages, but to varying degrees they all fail to account for the specific interactions, contents, and design elements that characterize digital technology environments. Additionally, many approaches struggle with technological determinism or negativity bias. A shift toward an integrated communication-centered perspective is proposed to overcome these challenges and focus research on (i) social interaction and message effects, (ii) cross-platform experiences, and the role of (iii) features and perceived affordances. These key units of analysis are most information-rich, relatively temporally stable, and provide a robust and unbiased foundation for building causal models that link digital technologies and their usage to specific psychological mechanisms and subsequent changes in mental health. 

Prof. Adrian Meieris Assistant Professor for Communication Science at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. His research examines the interplay between communication technologies, health, well-being, and self-regulation among diverse populations (e.g., adolescents, working adults)

Second part

Vanishing effects? On the Importance of Assessing the Effects of Virtual Worlds on Users’ Well-Being among Early Adopters and First-Time Users

Prof. Susanne Baumgartner, University of Amsterdam

Abstract: Virtual worlds are poised to significantly impact individuals’ well-being. While research on digital media offers insights, it is likely that research has often underestimated effects due to a dominant view of media impacts as accumulative. By contrast, psychological theories suggest that these effects stabilize over time through habituation and adaptation, leading to a stabilization of effects. To detect this stabilization, new empirical approaches are needed. To solve this issue, this talk highlights the need for studies focusing on first-time users of virtual worlds to capture initial effects before stabilization occurs.

Prof. Susanne Baumgartner is an Associate Professor at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), at the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on the impact of digital media, particularly on how digital media affect attention and well-being of children and adolescents. To study the impact of digital media, she employs innovative methodological approaches, such as experience sampling, smartphone tracking data, and eye-tracking. She received several rewards and grants, among others from the International Communication Association and the Dutch Science foundation (NWO). 

The seminar series Virtual Worlds and Well-being: Setting the Research Agenda is part of the project Virtual Worlds and Society, hosted by the Centre for Advanced Studies.