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Since the early twenty-first century, social media has evolved into a pervasive communication tool and has continued to expand ever since. This research examines how users of social media construct identities online and how self-presentation varies by the platforms Instagram, LinkedIn, and various dating apps including Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and Grindr. The research seeks to examine to what extent social media users transform or embellish their identities online and why. The study was conducted via a dual method approach of one snowball convenience sample anonymous survey and a series of eight individual interviews with respondents of the survey. The study ultimately found that a majority of respondents had, in some way, altered their identity online. Responses from individual interviews, along with survey questions, suggest that the main reasons for people altering their identities online are to feel more confident or less insecure, and to publicize the best versions of themselves. Additionally, the study revealed that women are more than twice as likely to alter their identities on social media, particularly their physical appearance, compared to their male counterparts. One reason for this may be increased exposure to certain beauty characteristics over time.

Mentor: Dan Haygood

The Super Bowl is a global cultural phenomenon blending sports, entertainment and commercialism, attracting more than 100 million U.S. viewers annually and offering advertisers a premier platform for brand exposure. This study investigates how Corporate Social Responsibility is portrayed in Super Bowl advertisements over the last decade, analyzing 587 commercials to explore the shift towards ethical consumerism. It uses a mixed-methods content analysis to delve into both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the ads. The findings show that only 10.05% of the ads included CSR themes, with a noticeable increase in such advertisements until 2020, followed by a decline potentially linked to growing consumer skepticism. Ethical and Environmental Responsibility emerged as the most prominent themes. The results indicate a strategic shift in Super Bowl advertising, with brands using CSR more effectively to improve their public image and meet consumer expectations for socially responsible behavior. This trend reflects a wider movement towards embedding CSR into the core business strategies of companies, driven by increasing consumer influence on corporate ethics.

Mentor: Barbara Miller Gaither

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In recent years, the rise of digital influencers has challenged traditional fashion communication, transforming the way fashion narratives are created and consumed. This study examines the differing approaches of fashion journalists and digital influencers in shaping fashion narratives and fostering people’s engagement with fashion trends and ideas. A content analysis of 152 Instagram posts and articles reveals that journalists prioritize authority and credibility, while using informative, positive, and inspirational tones, and formal, conversational, and educational writing styles. In contrast, influencers focus on personal narratives and interactive engagement. They use informative, positive, playful tones, complemented by a casual style featuring visual storytelling. One new discovery is organic influencer content receives higher engagement than sponsored posts, highlighting the importance of authenticity in influencer-brand collaborations. These findings have implications for the fashion industry, emphasizing the need for brands to adapt their communication strategies to leverage influencer partnerships while maintaining authenticity and transparency. 

Mentor: Glenn Scott

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Communicating effectively about climate change is a key to saving the planet. Climate change is often perceived as distant and daunting, but improved communication has the potential to create positive change by engaging and empowering young people. Social media is a leading source for news information and is an ideal place to reach this audience. This research aimed to determine how Environmental NGOs can best use social media to effectively communicate with young audiences, specifically differentiating between optimistic and pessimistic climate change communication. During two focus groups, ���ϲ����� students discussed their previous experience with climate change communication, brainstormed content that they could see themselves being engaged by and responded to optimistic and pessimistic social media posts from Sierra Club and Greenpeace. Participants assigned a numeric level of empowerment and an emotion to each post. Overall, roughly 70% of the most empowering posts were pessimistic. Participants expressed an appreciation for personal appeal, specificity, and calls to action. This study indicates that pessimistic content regarding climate change cannot be abandoned but must be strategically created. Climate change communications content should establish a fear-inducing problem that directly relates to its intended audience and provide a specific and accessible call to action.

Mentor: Harlen Makemson

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In the contemporary digital world, the relationship between consumer identity and brand marketing is more complex and intertwined than ever before, especially in industries where personal identity is shaped by brand loyalty. This study examines how digital marketing strategies shape consumer identities within the competitive market of water bottles, focusing on three major brands: Stanley, Owala, and Hydro Flask. Over a four-month period, Instagram posts were analyzed to reveal how these brands construct distinct personas and position themselves in the minds of consumers. By exploring the imagery, visual styles and recurring themes, observations into the unique brand personalities and promotional tactics each brand employs were revealed. Ultimately, this study provides fresh insights into the ways digital marketing shapes consumer identity, offering key perspectives for brands seeking to enhance their engagement and foster strong connections with their target audiences.

Mentor: Laura Lacy

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Social media has transformed activism, especially in environmental issues, with platforms like Instagram serving as central hubs for awareness and action. This study employs a 3×3 between-participants experiment to examine the effects of advocate type and image type on perceptions of environmental advocates on Instagram. The findings showed that the intellectual advocate was perceived more authentic and more credible than both the celebrity advocate and the ordinary person advocate. The text-only graphic led to more perceptions of authenticity, credibility, homophily, and likability of the advocate than the pictures featuring the event scene, regardless of whether the advocate was present in the pictures or not. There were also interaction effects of advocate type and image type on perceived homophily and likability of the advocate.

Mentor: Qian Xu

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A breadth of past research has identified a pattern of conflict that typically arises in Hispanic and Latin American immigrant families in the United States due to acculturation gaps and linguistic differences caused by Shared Language Erosion. In a distinct, three-generation cycle, the heritage language can be lost within a family as descendants assimilate into their host culture after just a few decades. As a result, strained communication and discrepancies in cultural perspectives tend to ignite frustration, anger, and resentment among family members. In an effort to resolve these issues of separation among parents, grandparents, and children that result from declining heritage language proficiencies, this project investigates the role of board games for educational development in linguistic competency and how they may act as vehicles for interpersonal communication and bonding. Furthermore, the research identifies strategies for second language acquisition through quality time and leisure activities with native speakers of one’s second language. The creative element consists of an excitingly “haunting” dual-language board game called Antes del sol. The game features classic game pieces like cards, tokens, and pawns, but it also utilizes a mobile companion app to facilitate gameplay. Additional promotional and branding materials were also developed to enhance and advertise the project. Ideally, the game will function as an opportunity for family members to connect through gameplay while also helping them become more proficient in the language less comfortable to them. This outcome allows for the project to have additional uses in classroom settings, as well as expansion opportunities for future editions with additional languages or dialects.

Mentor: Rebecca Bagley

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AI-generated deepfake videos contribute to the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive mitigation strategies and enhanced media literacy. Deepfakes continue to erode trust in social media content and contribute to political polarization. An experimental survey was conducted using incomplete disclosure to understand how social media users process and evaluate the videos they watch on social media. Findings reveal a multifaceted relationship between individual cognitive processes, pre-existing political biases, and the persuasive effectiveness of deepfake media. Varying degrees of skepticism were demonstrated toward political deepfake videos. Political bias influences how people judge the authenticity of content, making deepfake technology even more of a concern because of its ability to exploit such biases in our thinking. This necessitates both social media platforms and media consumers to recognize and evaluate deceptive content to uphold democratic functions and integrity.

Mentor: Glenn Scott

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Women are anxious about their menstrual cycle tracking application data getting them into legal trouble. Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, women no longer have the constitutional right to choose whether to continue or end a pregnancy in every state. Conspiracy theories and fears spread through videos and posts on social media to the 50 million women worldwide who use menstrual cycle tracking applications. This caused trust in health data security among women to change drastically. While studies have investigated women’s newfound lack of trust in health data security in a post-Roe world, Black women are often excluded in these research samples. This study solely examines Black college-age women’s perceptions of health data security in the context of using menstrual cycle tracking applications after the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Through eight semi-structured interviews, a connection emerged between Black women’s trust in healthcare providers and menstrual cycle tracking applications. Almost every participant changed the way they used their menstrual cycle tracking application or stopped using one altogether. The findings show Black women’s anxiety about what could happen to personal data from menstrual cycle tracking applications is another layer on top of their preexisting mistrust of the healthcare system.

Mentor: Dan Haygood

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