Research Interests

Joseph Bayer is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication. His research centers on social media, social networks and mobile technologies. Taking an interdisciplinary and multi-methodological approach, his work examines the social cognitive processes underlying communication technologies and personal network characteristics. In doing so, his research program provides insight into how people perceive and experience the contemporary social media ecosystem -- alongside their personal offline networks. For instance, one line of work seeks to explain why different people choose to maintain certain social platforms (Facebook vs. Snapchat) and network types (dense vs. sparse friendships) over others. More broadly, his research studies help to inform public health challenges such as distracted driving and societal concerns such as technology addictions.