Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch
Biographic Data
| ID | 307982 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch |
| GIVEN NAMES | Anne |
| FAMILY NAME | Oeldorf-Hirsch |
| SIGNATURE | OELDORF-HIRSCH A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Connecticut |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3961-3766 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 149 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
X to Bluesky platform migration: Governance and community
The results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election led millions of X (Twitter) users to move to other platforms, following Musk’s support for president-elect Trump. Most users fled to Bluesky, driven by a desire for a community space with greater transparency, stronger moderation policies, and less hate speech. While online platform migrations happen regularly, they are not always this acute or this large. Therefore, this migration presents a uni…
Trending women in STEM: Visual space-making on TikTok
While previous research has established foundational knowledge on how women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) social media content creators use digital platforms to combat stereotypes, less is known about how they make space for themselves on visually dominant platforms. We address this gap by theorizing visual space-making as the coordinated use of visual cues into reproducible, platform-legible visual configurations that crea…
The balancing act: User responsibility and platform accountability in the context of mental illness-related content consumption
Although social media platforms provide affirming information and interactions, they might also serve as venues to (re)traumatize individuals through exposure to sensitive content, especially related to mental illness (e.g. suicide, self-harm). Applying the trauma-informed design framework, we employ a two-pronged methodological approach to evaluate (1) what potentially sensitive or traumatizing content relate to mental illness individuals report…
Exploring social media users’ experiences with algorithmic transparency cues
All mainstream social media platforms now use algorithms to display recommended content, and some (e.g. Instagram, LinkedIn) have started showing what we call algorithmic transparency cues about why certain posts are recommended. However, little is known about what cues users see on their own feeds and how they experience them. Thus, using an online survey ( N = 515) of adult U.S. social media users, we gathered data about two research questions:…
Who Is Targeting Me? Privacy Perceptions of and Responses to Commercial and Political Targeted Advertising on Social Media
Social media users are frequently targeted by commercial and political advertisements, which many perceive as a privacy threat. Although commercial and political targeting intend to influence users in different ways, comparative studies about user perceptions and responses to different kinds of targeting are scarce. Moreover, notwithstanding the legal obligation to make people aware of targeting in the European Union, current transparency cues do…
The Influence of Fact-Checking Is Disputed! The Role of Party Identification in Processing and Sharing Fact-Checked Social Media Posts
Social media play an important role in political communication, leading to growing concerns about the credibility of shared information. Attempts to slow the spread of misinformation by platforms such as Facebook and Twitter include adding fact-checking labels to social media posts, the effectiveness of which remains unclear. Using two experiments, we tested the credibility effects of fact-checking labels (confirmed vs. disputed) on graphical pre…
Women in STEM on TikTok: Advancing Visibility and Voice Through STEM Identity Expression
This study investigated portrayals of women in STEM on TikTok focusing on their self-presentation of identity and use of platform features to promote audience engagement. This quantitative content analysis examined TikTok posts ( N = 400) from a 3-month sample of 100 TikTok accounts by individuals identified as women in STEM. Results for STEM-focused posts showed that these content creators provided positive portrayals of their work as women in S…
Attitudinal and behavioral correlates of algorithmic awareness among German and U.S. social media users
With the increase in algorithms on social media, scholarship is increasingly focused on “algorithmic literacy,” or users’ understanding of algorithms. Algorithmic literacy is multi-faceted (knowledge, attitudes, and behavior), and researchers are still uncovering how these facets are connected. This article presents a preregistered survey of social media users from two western countries: the United States (n = 990) and Germany (n = 1117). Results…
What do we know about algorithmic literacy? The status quo and a research agenda for a growing field
The increasing role of algorithms shaping our use of communication technology—particularly on social media—comes with a growth of empirical research attempting to assess how literate users are regarding these algorithms. This rapidly emerging field is marked by great diversity in terms of how it theorizes and measures our understanding of algorithms, due, in part, to the opaque “black box” nature of the algorithms themselves. In this review artic…
What Did They Learn? Objective Assessment Tools Show Mixed Effects of Training on Science Communication Behaviors
There is widespread agreement about the need to assess the success of programs training scientists to communicate more effectively with non-professional audiences. However, there is little agreement about how that should be done. What do we mean when we talk about “effective communication”? What should we measure? How should we measure it? Evaluation of communication training programs often incorporates the views of students or trainers themselve…
Mobile mindfulness: Predictors of mobile screen time tracking
An unavoidable convenience: How post-millennials engage with the news that finds them on social and mobile media
The growing reliance on social media via mobile devices is changing how individuals obtain, engage with, and learn from news content. Based on the cognitive mediation model of learning from the news, this study qualitatively explores this three-step process of news exposure, engagement, and knowledge via digital media. Focus group discussions with post-Millennials ( N = 60) and thematic analysis of the results reveal several tensions. Participant…
Assessment by Audiences Shows Little Effect of Science Communication Training
As the science community has recognized the vital role of communicating to the public, science communication training has proliferated. The development of rigorous, comparable approaches to assessment of training has not kept pace. We conducted a fully controlled experiment using a semester-long science communication course, and audience assessment of communicator performance. Evaluators scored the communication competence of trainees and their m…
The Ineffectiveness of Fact-Checking Labels on News Memes and Articles
With most Internet users now getting news from social media, there is growing concern about how to verify the content that appears on these platforms. Two experiments tested the effects of fact-checking labels (confirmed vs. disputed) by source (peer vs. third-party) on credibility, virality, and information seeking of news posted on social media. Study 1 (N = 312) tested the effects of these labels on memes, and Study 2 (N = 452) tested the same…
The biggest lie on the Internet: Ignoring the Privacy Policies and Terms of Service Policies of Social Networking Services
This paper addresses 'the biggest lie on the internet' with an empirical investigation of privacy policy (PP) and terms of service (TOS) policy reading behavior. An experimental survey (N = 543) assessed the extent to which individuals ignored PP and TOS when joining a fictitious social networking service (SNS), NameDrop. Results reveal 74% skipped PP, selecting the 'quick join' clickwrap. Average adult reading speed (250-280 words per minute), s…
The Clickwrap: A Political Economic Mechanism for Manufacturing Consent on Social Media
The clickwrap is a digital prompt that facilitates consent processes by affording users the opportunity to quickly accept or reject digital media policies. A qualitative survey analysis was conducted ( N = 513), assessing user interactions with the consent materials of a fictitious social media service, NameDrop. Findings suggest that clickwraps serve a political economic function by facilitating the circumvention of consent materials. Herman and…
The Role of Engagement in Learning From Active and Incidental News Exposure on Social Media
The growing reliance on social media as news platforms may lead to more passive news consumption but also offers greater potential for engaging in news. This study investigates the role of engagement with news content on Facebook and Twitter between news exposure and current events knowledge. An online survey (N = 400) tests the relationships between social media news seeking, incidental exposure to news on social media, engagement in shared news…
Identifying the Predictors of Participation in Facebook Pictivism Campaigns
In recent years, several online social campaigns have encouraged individuals to change their Facebook profile pictures for a cause, such as the Human Rights Campaign's red and pink equal sign in support of same-sex marriage. These 'pictivism' campaigns allow individuals to express themselves and participate in a low effort campaign to raise awareness about an issue among their social network. Given the prevalence and potential impact of these cam…
The Biggest Lie on the Internet: Ignoring the Privacy Policies and Terms of Service Policies of Social Networking Services
This paper addresses 'the biggest lie on the internet' with an empirical investigation of privacy policy (PP) and terms of service (TOS) policy reading behavior. An experimental survey (N=543) assessed the extent to which individuals ignored PP and TOS when joining a fictitious social networking service, NameDrop. Results reveal 74% skipped PP, selecting the 'quick join' clickwrap. Average adult reading speed (250-280 words per minute), suggests …
Social and Technological Motivations for Online Photo Sharing
The popularity of social media sites for posting pictures has given rise to a new form of mediated communication: online photo sharing. This article explores motivations for sharing photos online, using the 2-step procedure common in Uses and Gratifications research. Focus groups revealed 42 motivations which were rated in importance by survey respondents (N = 460). Factor analysis revealed 4 classes of gratifications: seeking and showcasing expe…
Posting, commenting, and tagging: Effects of sharing news stories on Facebook
The Effects of “Friend” Characteristics on Evaluations of an Activist Group in a Social Networking Context
Research suggests that individuals use cues about the popularity of a cause or group to make judgments. This bandwagon phenomenon has found particular support in online contexts. However, perceptions regarding the group may also depend on the identity of those supporters. We employed a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment to test the effect of number of affiliates and affiliate race and age on feelings toward the group, its page, and intended support. Results su…
Daniel Miller, Tales from Facebook
The Role of Engagement in Learning From Active and Incidental News Exposure on Social Media
The growing reliance on social media as news platforms may lead to more passive news consumption but also offers greater potential for engaging in news. This study investigates the role of engagement with news content on Facebook and Twitter between news exposure and current events knowledge. An online survey (N = 400) tests the relationships between social media news seeking, incidental exposure to news on social media, engagement in shared news…
The biggest lie on the Internet: Ignoring the Privacy Policies and Terms of Service Policies of Social Networking Services
This paper addresses 'the biggest lie on the internet' with an empirical investigation of privacy policy (PP) and terms of service (TOS) policy reading behavior. An experimental survey (N = 543) assessed the extent to which individuals ignored PP and TOS when joining a fictitious social networking service (SNS), NameDrop. Results reveal 74% skipped PP, selecting the 'quick join' clickwrap. Average adult reading speed (250-280 words per minute), s…
What do we know about algorithmic literacy? The status quo and a research agenda for a growing field
The increasing role of algorithms shaping our use of communication technology—particularly on social media—comes with a growth of empirical research attempting to assess how literate users are regarding these algorithms. This rapidly emerging field is marked by great diversity in terms of how it theorizes and measures our understanding of algorithms, due, in part, to the opaque “black box” nature of the algorithms themselves. In this review artic…
The Ineffectiveness of Fact-Checking Labels on News Memes and Articles
With most Internet users now getting news from social media, there is growing concern about how to verify the content that appears on these platforms. Two experiments tested the effects of fact-checking labels (confirmed vs. disputed) by source (peer vs. third-party) on credibility, virality, and information seeking of news posted on social media. Study 1 (N = 312) tested the effects of these labels on memes, and Study 2 (N = 452) tested the same…
Social and Technological Motivations for Online Photo Sharing
The popularity of social media sites for posting pictures has given rise to a new form of mediated communication: online photo sharing. This article explores motivations for sharing photos online, using the 2-step procedure common in Uses and Gratifications research. Focus groups revealed 42 motivations which were rated in importance by survey respondents (N = 460). Factor analysis revealed 4 classes of gratifications: seeking and showcasing expe…
An unavoidable convenience: How post-millennials engage with the news that finds them on social and mobile media
The growing reliance on social media via mobile devices is changing how individuals obtain, engage with, and learn from news content. Based on the cognitive mediation model of learning from the news, this study qualitatively explores this three-step process of news exposure, engagement, and knowledge via digital media. Focus group discussions with post-Millennials ( N = 60) and thematic analysis of the results reveal several tensions. Participant…
Attitudinal and behavioral correlates of algorithmic awareness among German and U.S. social media users
With the increase in algorithms on social media, scholarship is increasingly focused on “algorithmic literacy,” or users’ understanding of algorithms. Algorithmic literacy is multi-faceted (knowledge, attitudes, and behavior), and researchers are still uncovering how these facets are connected. This article presents a preregistered survey of social media users from two western countries: the United States (n = 990) and Germany (n = 1117). Results…
The Biggest Lie on the Internet: Ignoring the Privacy Policies and Terms of Service Policies of Social Networking Services
This paper addresses 'the biggest lie on the internet' with an empirical investigation of privacy policy (PP) and terms of service (TOS) policy reading behavior. An experimental survey (N=543) assessed the extent to which individuals ignored PP and TOS when joining a fictitious social networking service, NameDrop. Results reveal 74% skipped PP, selecting the 'quick join' clickwrap. Average adult reading speed (250-280 words per minute), suggests …
The Clickwrap: A Political Economic Mechanism for Manufacturing Consent on Social Media
The clickwrap is a digital prompt that facilitates consent processes by affording users the opportunity to quickly accept or reject digital media policies. A qualitative survey analysis was conducted ( N = 513), assessing user interactions with the consent materials of a fictitious social media service, NameDrop. Findings suggest that clickwraps serve a political economic function by facilitating the circumvention of consent materials. Herman and…
The Influence of Fact-Checking Is Disputed! The Role of Party Identification in Processing and Sharing Fact-Checked Social Media Posts
Social media play an important role in political communication, leading to growing concerns about the credibility of shared information. Attempts to slow the spread of misinformation by platforms such as Facebook and Twitter include adding fact-checking labels to social media posts, the effectiveness of which remains unclear. Using two experiments, we tested the credibility effects of fact-checking labels (confirmed vs. disputed) on graphical pre…
Assessment by Audiences Shows Little Effect of Science Communication Training
As the science community has recognized the vital role of communicating to the public, science communication training has proliferated. The development of rigorous, comparable approaches to assessment of training has not kept pace. We conducted a fully controlled experiment using a semester-long science communication course, and audience assessment of communicator performance. Evaluators scored the communication competence of trainees and their m…
Identifying the Predictors of Participation in Facebook Pictivism Campaigns
In recent years, several online social campaigns have encouraged individuals to change their Facebook profile pictures for a cause, such as the Human Rights Campaign's red and pink equal sign in support of same-sex marriage. These 'pictivism' campaigns allow individuals to express themselves and participate in a low effort campaign to raise awareness about an issue among their social network. Given the prevalence and potential impact of these cam…
The Effects of “Friend” Characteristics on Evaluations of an Activist Group in a Social Networking Context
Research suggests that individuals use cues about the popularity of a cause or group to make judgments. This bandwagon phenomenon has found particular support in online contexts. However, perceptions regarding the group may also depend on the identity of those supporters. We employed a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment to test the effect of number of affiliates and affiliate race and age on feelings toward the group, its page, and intended support. Results su…
The Effects of “Friend” Characteristics on Evaluations of an Activist Group in a Social Networking Context
Research suggests that individuals use cues about the popularity of a cause or group to make judgments. This bandwagon phenomenon has found particular support in online contexts. However, perceptions regarding the group may also depend on the identity of those supporters. We employed a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment to test the effect of number of affiliates and affiliate race and age on feelings toward the group, its page, and intended support. Results su…
Daniel Miller, Tales from Facebook
Posting, commenting, and tagging: Effects of sharing news stories on Facebook
The Biggest Lie on the Internet: Ignoring the Privacy Policies and Terms of Service Policies of Social Networking Services
This paper addresses 'the biggest lie on the internet' with an empirical investigation of privacy policy (PP) and terms of service (TOS) policy reading behavior. An experimental survey (N=543) assessed the extent to which individuals ignored PP and TOS when joining a fictitious social networking service, NameDrop. Results reveal 74% skipped PP, selecting the 'quick join' clickwrap. Average adult reading speed (250-280 words per minute), suggests …
Social and Technological Motivations for Online Photo Sharing
The popularity of social media sites for posting pictures has given rise to a new form of mediated communication: online photo sharing. This article explores motivations for sharing photos online, using the 2-step procedure common in Uses and Gratifications research. Focus groups revealed 42 motivations which were rated in importance by survey respondents (N = 460). Factor analysis revealed 4 classes of gratifications: seeking and showcasing expe…
The Role of Engagement in Learning From Active and Incidental News Exposure on Social Media
The growing reliance on social media as news platforms may lead to more passive news consumption but also offers greater potential for engaging in news. This study investigates the role of engagement with news content on Facebook and Twitter between news exposure and current events knowledge. An online survey (N = 400) tests the relationships between social media news seeking, incidental exposure to news on social media, engagement in shared news…
Identifying the Predictors of Participation in Facebook Pictivism Campaigns
In recent years, several online social campaigns have encouraged individuals to change their Facebook profile pictures for a cause, such as the Human Rights Campaign's red and pink equal sign in support of same-sex marriage. These 'pictivism' campaigns allow individuals to express themselves and participate in a low effort campaign to raise awareness about an issue among their social network. Given the prevalence and potential impact of these cam…
The biggest lie on the Internet: Ignoring the Privacy Policies and Terms of Service Policies of Social Networking Services
This paper addresses 'the biggest lie on the internet' with an empirical investigation of privacy policy (PP) and terms of service (TOS) policy reading behavior. An experimental survey (N = 543) assessed the extent to which individuals ignored PP and TOS when joining a fictitious social networking service (SNS), NameDrop. Results reveal 74% skipped PP, selecting the 'quick join' clickwrap. Average adult reading speed (250-280 words per minute), s…
The Clickwrap: A Political Economic Mechanism for Manufacturing Consent on Social Media
The clickwrap is a digital prompt that facilitates consent processes by affording users the opportunity to quickly accept or reject digital media policies. A qualitative survey analysis was conducted ( N = 513), assessing user interactions with the consent materials of a fictitious social media service, NameDrop. Findings suggest that clickwraps serve a political economic function by facilitating the circumvention of consent materials. Herman and…
The Ineffectiveness of Fact-Checking Labels on News Memes and Articles
With most Internet users now getting news from social media, there is growing concern about how to verify the content that appears on these platforms. Two experiments tested the effects of fact-checking labels (confirmed vs. disputed) by source (peer vs. third-party) on credibility, virality, and information seeking of news posted on social media. Study 1 (N = 312) tested the effects of these labels on memes, and Study 2 (N = 452) tested the same…
An unavoidable convenience: How post-millennials engage with the news that finds them on social and mobile media
The growing reliance on social media via mobile devices is changing how individuals obtain, engage with, and learn from news content. Based on the cognitive mediation model of learning from the news, this study qualitatively explores this three-step process of news exposure, engagement, and knowledge via digital media. Focus group discussions with post-Millennials ( N = 60) and thematic analysis of the results reveal several tensions. Participant…
Assessment by Audiences Shows Little Effect of Science Communication Training
As the science community has recognized the vital role of communicating to the public, science communication training has proliferated. The development of rigorous, comparable approaches to assessment of training has not kept pace. We conducted a fully controlled experiment using a semester-long science communication course, and audience assessment of communicator performance. Evaluators scored the communication competence of trainees and their m…
What Did They Learn? Objective Assessment Tools Show Mixed Effects of Training on Science Communication Behaviors
There is widespread agreement about the need to assess the success of programs training scientists to communicate more effectively with non-professional audiences. However, there is little agreement about how that should be done. What do we mean when we talk about “effective communication”? What should we measure? How should we measure it? Evaluation of communication training programs often incorporates the views of students or trainers themselve…
Mobile mindfulness: Predictors of mobile screen time tracking
Attitudinal and behavioral correlates of algorithmic awareness among German and U.S. social media users
With the increase in algorithms on social media, scholarship is increasingly focused on “algorithmic literacy,” or users’ understanding of algorithms. Algorithmic literacy is multi-faceted (knowledge, attitudes, and behavior), and researchers are still uncovering how these facets are connected. This article presents a preregistered survey of social media users from two western countries: the United States (n = 990) and Germany (n = 1117). Results…
What do we know about algorithmic literacy? The status quo and a research agenda for a growing field
The increasing role of algorithms shaping our use of communication technology—particularly on social media—comes with a growth of empirical research attempting to assess how literate users are regarding these algorithms. This rapidly emerging field is marked by great diversity in terms of how it theorizes and measures our understanding of algorithms, due, in part, to the opaque “black box” nature of the algorithms themselves. In this review artic…
Who Is Targeting Me? Privacy Perceptions of and Responses to Commercial and Political Targeted Advertising on Social Media
Social media users are frequently targeted by commercial and political advertisements, which many perceive as a privacy threat. Although commercial and political targeting intend to influence users in different ways, comparative studies about user perceptions and responses to different kinds of targeting are scarce. Moreover, notwithstanding the legal obligation to make people aware of targeting in the European Union, current transparency cues do…
The Influence of Fact-Checking Is Disputed! The Role of Party Identification in Processing and Sharing Fact-Checked Social Media Posts
Social media play an important role in political communication, leading to growing concerns about the credibility of shared information. Attempts to slow the spread of misinformation by platforms such as Facebook and Twitter include adding fact-checking labels to social media posts, the effectiveness of which remains unclear. Using two experiments, we tested the credibility effects of fact-checking labels (confirmed vs. disputed) on graphical pre…
Women in STEM on TikTok: Advancing Visibility and Voice Through STEM Identity Expression
This study investigated portrayals of women in STEM on TikTok focusing on their self-presentation of identity and use of platform features to promote audience engagement. This quantitative content analysis examined TikTok posts ( N = 400) from a 3-month sample of 100 TikTok accounts by individuals identified as women in STEM. Results for STEM-focused posts showed that these content creators provided positive portrayals of their work as women in S…
Exploring social media users’ experiences with algorithmic transparency cues
All mainstream social media platforms now use algorithms to display recommended content, and some (e.g. Instagram, LinkedIn) have started showing what we call algorithmic transparency cues about why certain posts are recommended. However, little is known about what cues users see on their own feeds and how they experience them. Thus, using an online survey ( N = 515) of adult U.S. social media users, we gathered data about two research questions:…
X to Bluesky platform migration: Governance and community
The results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election led millions of X (Twitter) users to move to other platforms, following Musk’s support for president-elect Trump. Most users fled to Bluesky, driven by a desire for a community space with greater transparency, stronger moderation policies, and less hate speech. While online platform migrations happen regularly, they are not always this acute or this large. Therefore, this migration presents a uni…
Trending women in STEM: Visual space-making on TikTok
While previous research has established foundational knowledge on how women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) social media content creators use digital platforms to combat stereotypes, less is known about how they make space for themselves on visually dominant platforms. We address this gap by theorizing visual space-making as the coordinated use of visual cues into reproducible, platform-legible visual configurations that crea…
The balancing act: User responsibility and platform accountability in the context of mental illness-related content consumption
Although social media platforms provide affirming information and interactions, they might also serve as venues to (re)traumatize individuals through exposure to sensitive content, especially related to mental illness (e.g. suicide, self-harm). Applying the trauma-informed design framework, we employ a two-pronged methodological approach to evaluate (1) what potentially sensitive or traumatizing content relate to mental illness individuals report…
Psychology (15 works) · Computer Science (14 works) · Social Media and Politics (13 works) · Political science (12 works) · Social media (12 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Business (8 works) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (8 works) · Internet privacy (8 works) · Advertising (6 works)