Social media has grown to be a large part of our virtual connectedness online. However, with this growth in digital connection, we have also become connected with digital entities that run them (social media). Borrowing from the concept of interpersonal responsiveness, researchers have found that users perceive their algorithm to be responsive to their needs and sensitive to their identity have a greater sense of well-being online and media enjoyment. However, the mechanisms for which these connect with one another (responsiveness predicting subjective well-being) remain to be disentangled. Guided by self-determination theory, this study examines whether autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction through TikTok use mediate the associations between perceived algorithm responsiveness and insensitivity and satisfaction with life. With an online survey (N = 385), our study found that greater responsiveness is associated with greater life satisfaction mediated through greater relatedness satisfaction. However, greater competence satisfaction was associated with lower life satisfaction. Future research and current limitations in light of our findings are discussed.

This study investigates the impact of virtual reality (VR)-based intergroup interactions on domestic students’ attitudes and intergroup anxiety toward international students from Asian countries. Grounded in Intergroup Contact Theory (Allport, 1954), we conducted an experimental study examining whether cooperative interaction partner (domestic vs. international) and interaction outcomes (win vs. lose) influence post-contact attitudes and intergroup anxiety reduction. The results provided mixed support for VR as a tool for fostering positive intergroup contact. Contrary to expectations, interactions with international students did not significantly enhance attitudes toward them, nor did interactions with domestic students reinforce positive in-group attitudes. Results also found that domestic students were more likely to desire future interactions with an international partner after a win, whereas they preferred future interactions with a domestic partner following a loss. These findings underscore the nuanced role of VR interaction outcomes in shaping intergroup dynamics and suggest that carefully structured VR experiences may be necessary for promoting intergroup perceptions and fostering intercultural engagement.

This essay explores the conceptual, practical, and relational foundations of building and sustaining communication research labs. Drawing on early models of research teams, we argue that contemporary labs function as living systems that integrate research, teaching, mentorship, and community engagement. The essay outlines practical considerations for creating and maintaining labs, including recruitment, infrastructure, leadership succession, and digital presence, while emphasizing the importance of flexibility and autonomy. Rather than viewing labs as static organizational units, we position them as relational ecosystems that evolve through connection, shared purpose, and adaptability across time and institutions. Ultimately, this work encourages scholars to view lab-building as both a structural and philosophical endeavor that strengthens collaboration, fosters belonging, and bridges the gap between academic inquiry and public impact.

Data about individual users drives today’s social media content-filtering algorithm recommendations. Through nuanced interactions with social media algorithms, such as human-algorithm interplay, the end user effortlessly cultivates a social media feed. While this level of personalization can significantly benefit the user, recommended ads and content sometimes resemble aspects of the user’s private lives that they may not have wanted the algorithm or platform to know. Moreover, though users dislike these experiences of privacy violations, they still disclose private information to the system due to fatigue in managing online privacy altogether. This current study integrates communication privacy management (CPM) theory (Petronio, 2002) into the human-algorithm interaction context to examine the extent to which social media users (N = 1,305) engage in open privacy management practices with social media platforms via their algorithms, depending on their felt privacy fatigue. Results from using latent moderated structural equations (LMS) suggest that individuals’ awareness of algorithms is negatively associated with using open privacy management practices with social media algorithms. However, this depends on their felt privacy fatigue, such that individuals who are both highly aware and highly fatigued are likely to be more closed off in sharing private information with social media algorithms, thus granting less co-ownership rights to social media platforms. In light of these findings, implications for future research on communication privacy management in the context of social media algorithms are discussed.

Social media content filtering algorithms can both provide desired personalized content and ads for users. However, sometimes these recommendations can resemble individual private information. How might users navigate these experiences to best manage their private information? The present exploratory study utilizes the rules- and systems-based framework of communication privacy management (CPM) theory to explore social media users’ (N=636) experiences of privacy breakdowns with social media algorithms and investigates what users’ do in response to said breakdowns. These responses were refined using content analysis and divided into different categories of privacy breakdowns and recalibration strategies. Implications for future research surrounding human-machine communication privacy management are discussed in light of our findings.