Digital Media Use and Digital Environments

The use of digital media devices and platforms (e.g., smartphones, social media) are now common behaviors in the daily lives of many people around the world. People differ in terms of how frequently they engage with digital media, how much time they spend on it, and what they do with their devices and platforms. And yet, the role of psychological (e.g., traits, motivations, well-being) and contextual factors (e.g., being alone vs. with others, being at home vs. in public places) in driving digital media use are not well understood. We study individual differences in digital media use to better understand (a) who uses various technologies, (b) when they do so and for what purpose, and (c) the potential positive and negative consequences associated with digital media use. Much of our work in this area has focused on smartphone use and social media use in particular.

Below are representative publications about this topic:

• Vaid, S. S., & Harari, G. M. (2021). Who uses what and how often?: Personality predictors of multiplatform social media use among young adults. Journal of Research in Personality, 91, 104005.
• Harari, G. M., & Gosling, S. D. (2016). Concerns about Facebook among users and abstainers: Relationships with individual differences and Facebook use. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 2(3), 261.