Wan presents research about effects of new media technologies on user wellbeing for University of Cambridge

Oct. 26, 2022

Anan Wan, assistant professor in the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication, gave a virtual research talk for the Cambridge Humanities Research Centre at the University of Cambridge this summer as a part of their Research Network Seminar Series for students, researchers and global audiences interested in social media and digital economic development.

Wan’s talk, "Darkness and Light: Impacts of New Media Technologies on Users' Wellbeing,” covered how three new media technologies and their practices — social live streaming, bullet-screen videos (when real-time comments from viewers fly across the screen like bullets during video content) and social media influencer marketing — lead to undesirable consequences for media users in the United States and China. Wan discussed how the media industry and policymakers can better protect common media users, specifically adolescents and younger adults.

“Previous media technology research has looked at why these technologies are popular, why people like or use them or how effective they can be used in advertising and marketing, but not a lot has examined the negative impacts they could have on individual media users' psychological wellbeing,” Wan said.

“As a junior researcher, it was not only an honor to be invited to give a talk about my research to international scholars and audiences at Cambridge Digital Humanities, but also an encouragement for me to continue my research in this field,” Wan said.