Y Anthony Chen
Biographic Data
| ID | 759162 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Y Anthony Chen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Y Anthony |
| FAMILY NAME | Chen |
| SIGNATURE | CHEN Y A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6478-6722 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 18 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Adolescents' daily affect predicts their mobile phone use (not the other way around)
Adolescence is a sensitive period of development marked by heightened affective reactivity and shifting sleep patterns. Yet how adolescents' daily emotional states and sleep intersect with their mobile phone use remains poorly understood, partly due to debates about directionality and the reliance on often cross‐sectional and self‐reported global measures of use. The present study advances the field by using objective, naturalistic data to differ…
Uses of media representation in LGBTQ adults’ relationship with their parent
When the Algorithm Understands You (or Doesn’t)
During their daily media use, youth interact with algorithms. Drawing on the algorithm responsiveness process framework, this paper examines the co-construction of identity between youth and algorithmic media, focusing on perceived algorithm responsiveness (PAR), perceived algorithm insensitivity (PAI), and algorithm training as sociotechnical processes that structure how LGBTQ+ youth perceive themselves. Study 1 ( N = 335), using six weekly diar…
Bidirectional relationships of parenting stress, media use for behavior management, and children’s behavior problems from 9 to 30 months
As digital devices permeate the environments of young children, there is growing concern that media use might be displacing very young children's opportunities to cultivate important developmental skills, such as controlling their emotions and behaviors. Further, given the power of devices to capture children's attention, even when emotionally upset, parents might utilize media to both calm and distract their children, even when such use is count…
Media as a Locus for Family Ethnic-Racial Socialization
To examine the role of media in family discussions of race and ethnicity, we surveyed a U.S. sample of 834 Asian/Asian American, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous/Native American, and White 10- to 17-year-olds. Based on social relational theory, we conceived of media as a resource and locus for mutual influence, whereby parents and youth may mediate each other’s exposure to ethnic-racial depictions. Consistent with conceptions of race/ethnicity as vert…
“Anyway, I Love You, Text Me Please”
This study develops an affordance framework of mediated support-seeking that integrates research on affordances, attachment, and mediated support-seeking to explore how adults use texting to seek support from romantic partners in hypothetical stressful scenarios. Through a survey, participants in romantic relationships reported their perceived values of affordance for support-seeking and then composed hypothetical text messages to seek support fr…
Social media self-presentation of LGBTQ+ youth in the United States
For those with marginalized identities, social media may offer opportunities for identity exploration and affirmation but may also pose challenges of context collapse, wherein the presence of multiple audiences makes identity-related posting awkward or dangerous. To probe short-term longitudinal patterns, 337 LGBTQ+ 15- to 22-year-olds completed six weekly surveys during Pride Month. As hypothesized, identity exploration was associated with self-…
The combined well-being effects of social media activities
Social media activities do not occur in isolation, and it is possible that the well-being effects of an initial activity modify the effects of a subsequent one. This article examines this possibility by focusing on a specific, theoretically grounded sequence of social media activities: engaging with one’s own profile self-presentation (i.e., a self-affirmational activity) followed by browsing a superior peer’s profile (i.e., an activity eliciting…
To Text or Talk in Person? Social Anxiety, Media Affordances, and Preferences for Texting Over Face-To-Face Communication in Dating Relationships
Collocated dating couples have the choice between interacting in person or via communication media, inviting theorizing about when and why they gravitate toward mediated communication. Drawing on O’Sullivan’s (2000) model, we investigated young adults’ preference for texting over face-to-face (FtF) communication in situations varying in threat (mundane talk vs. difficult conversations vs. breakups), as a function of individuals’ social anxiety an…
Adolescents' mental health, problematic internet use, and their parents' rules on internet use
The lonely algorithm problem
Many major social media companies have claimed that their social feed algorithms were designed to promote relational well-being and enhance social connection. This project tested part of these claims by investigating if algorithmic personalization predicted social connectedness on TikTok, where connecting with identity-relevant media content is prioritized over interpersonal interaction. Drawing from the algorithm responsiveness process, we ident…
Parental Internet practices in the family system
The current study draws from family systems theory to investigate the relationships between parents’ Internet practices, adolescent age (as a proxy for child development), and adolescents’ perceptions of parent-adolescent relationship quality. Secondary data analysis of 4,592 U.S. parent-adolescent dyads from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey revealed that when parents reported having more problematic Internet use, adolescents (a…
Texting or face-to-face for support-seeking in romantic relationships
Support-seeking, a critical and strategic function of close relationships, is increasingly practiced via texting. Guided by attachment theory and an affordance-centric approach, this study investigated to what extent individuals in a romantic relationship would use texting and face-to-face for support-seeking, and what stimulates their interest in mediated support-seeking. A survey of college students in exclusive romantic relationships ( N = 211…
Mutual socialization during shared media moments
Social relational theory proposes that children and parents socialize each other, particularly when knowledge, beliefs, and identities diverge. For families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) teens, identity-relevant media depictions may spark moments of mutual socialization, including attempts to mediate each other’s viewing and discussions of the teen’s identity. U.S. data from 200 LGBTQ teens (aged 13–18) and one of their …
Disentangling Between-Person Level From Within-Person Level Relationships
A growing body of research supports that publicly displayed alcohol references on social media are positively associated with alcohol use among college students. However, unaddressed questions remain, particularly what types of alcohol references (i.e., alcohol use vs. intoxication) have such influence, and whether the association between sharing alcohol references on social media and drinking behavior is a within-person effect, or rather reflect…
Mutual Influence in LGBTQ Teens’ Use of Media to Socialize Their Parents
Recent theorizing posits that parents and their children influence each other, and that media use is a locus of such mutual influence. Two surveys of LGBTQ 18- and 19-year-olds (N = 276; N = 369, the latter a replication) tested hypotheses that LGBTQ teens use media to socialize their parents about their sexual and gender identities, and that these uses elicit parental responses which have implications for the teen. In both studies, teens reporte…
Parasocial Relationship and Reduction of Intergroup Prejudice against the Chinese LGBT Community
Guided by intergroup contact theory, this survey study investigated whether the formation of pseudo-socioemotional ties with well-known LGBT media personas in China (i.e., parasocial relationships) could reduce cisgender heterosexual Chinese participants’ anxiety toward and prejudice against the LGBT community. Results indicated a significant indirect effect of parasocial relationship with LGBT media personas on prejudice against this community t…
International students’ psychosocial well-being and social media use at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic
The lonely algorithm problem
Many major social media companies have claimed that their social feed algorithms were designed to promote relational well-being and enhance social connection. This project tested part of these claims by investigating if algorithmic personalization predicted social connectedness on TikTok, where connecting with identity-relevant media content is prioritized over interpersonal interaction. Drawing from the algorithm responsiveness process, we ident…
The combined well-being effects of social media activities
Social media activities do not occur in isolation, and it is possible that the well-being effects of an initial activity modify the effects of a subsequent one. This article examines this possibility by focusing on a specific, theoretically grounded sequence of social media activities: engaging with one’s own profile self-presentation (i.e., a self-affirmational activity) followed by browsing a superior peer’s profile (i.e., an activity eliciting…
Texting or face-to-face for support-seeking in romantic relationships
Support-seeking, a critical and strategic function of close relationships, is increasingly practiced via texting. Guided by attachment theory and an affordance-centric approach, this study investigated to what extent individuals in a romantic relationship would use texting and face-to-face for support-seeking, and what stimulates their interest in mediated support-seeking. A survey of college students in exclusive romantic relationships ( N = 211…
Mutual Influence in LGBTQ Teens’ Use of Media to Socialize Their Parents
Recent theorizing posits that parents and their children influence each other, and that media use is a locus of such mutual influence. Two surveys of LGBTQ 18- and 19-year-olds (N = 276; N = 369, the latter a replication) tested hypotheses that LGBTQ teens use media to socialize their parents about their sexual and gender identities, and that these uses elicit parental responses which have implications for the teen. In both studies, teens reporte…
Parasocial Relationship and Reduction of Intergroup Prejudice against the Chinese LGBT Community
Guided by intergroup contact theory, this survey study investigated whether the formation of pseudo-socioemotional ties with well-known LGBT media personas in China (i.e., parasocial relationships) could reduce cisgender heterosexual Chinese participants’ anxiety toward and prejudice against the LGBT community. Results indicated a significant indirect effect of parasocial relationship with LGBT media personas on prejudice against this community t…
International students’ psychosocial well-being and social media use at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic
Mutual socialization during shared media moments
Social relational theory proposes that children and parents socialize each other, particularly when knowledge, beliefs, and identities diverge. For families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) teens, identity-relevant media depictions may spark moments of mutual socialization, including attempts to mediate each other’s viewing and discussions of the teen’s identity. U.S. data from 200 LGBTQ teens (aged 13–18) and one of their …
Disentangling Between-Person Level From Within-Person Level Relationships
A growing body of research supports that publicly displayed alcohol references on social media are positively associated with alcohol use among college students. However, unaddressed questions remain, particularly what types of alcohol references (i.e., alcohol use vs. intoxication) have such influence, and whether the association between sharing alcohol references on social media and drinking behavior is a within-person effect, or rather reflect…
To Text or Talk in Person? Social Anxiety, Media Affordances, and Preferences for Texting Over Face-To-Face Communication in Dating Relationships
Collocated dating couples have the choice between interacting in person or via communication media, inviting theorizing about when and why they gravitate toward mediated communication. Drawing on O’Sullivan’s (2000) model, we investigated young adults’ preference for texting over face-to-face (FtF) communication in situations varying in threat (mundane talk vs. difficult conversations vs. breakups), as a function of individuals’ social anxiety an…
Adolescents' mental health, problematic internet use, and their parents' rules on internet use
The lonely algorithm problem
Many major social media companies have claimed that their social feed algorithms were designed to promote relational well-being and enhance social connection. This project tested part of these claims by investigating if algorithmic personalization predicted social connectedness on TikTok, where connecting with identity-relevant media content is prioritized over interpersonal interaction. Drawing from the algorithm responsiveness process, we ident…
Parental Internet practices in the family system
The current study draws from family systems theory to investigate the relationships between parents’ Internet practices, adolescent age (as a proxy for child development), and adolescents’ perceptions of parent-adolescent relationship quality. Secondary data analysis of 4,592 U.S. parent-adolescent dyads from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey revealed that when parents reported having more problematic Internet use, adolescents (a…
Texting or face-to-face for support-seeking in romantic relationships
Support-seeking, a critical and strategic function of close relationships, is increasingly practiced via texting. Guided by attachment theory and an affordance-centric approach, this study investigated to what extent individuals in a romantic relationship would use texting and face-to-face for support-seeking, and what stimulates their interest in mediated support-seeking. A survey of college students in exclusive romantic relationships ( N = 211…
Media as a Locus for Family Ethnic-Racial Socialization
To examine the role of media in family discussions of race and ethnicity, we surveyed a U.S. sample of 834 Asian/Asian American, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous/Native American, and White 10- to 17-year-olds. Based on social relational theory, we conceived of media as a resource and locus for mutual influence, whereby parents and youth may mediate each other’s exposure to ethnic-racial depictions. Consistent with conceptions of race/ethnicity as vert…
“Anyway, I Love You, Text Me Please”
This study develops an affordance framework of mediated support-seeking that integrates research on affordances, attachment, and mediated support-seeking to explore how adults use texting to seek support from romantic partners in hypothetical stressful scenarios. Through a survey, participants in romantic relationships reported their perceived values of affordance for support-seeking and then composed hypothetical text messages to seek support fr…
Social media self-presentation of LGBTQ+ youth in the United States
For those with marginalized identities, social media may offer opportunities for identity exploration and affirmation but may also pose challenges of context collapse, wherein the presence of multiple audiences makes identity-related posting awkward or dangerous. To probe short-term longitudinal patterns, 337 LGBTQ+ 15- to 22-year-olds completed six weekly surveys during Pride Month. As hypothesized, identity exploration was associated with self-…
The combined well-being effects of social media activities
Social media activities do not occur in isolation, and it is possible that the well-being effects of an initial activity modify the effects of a subsequent one. This article examines this possibility by focusing on a specific, theoretically grounded sequence of social media activities: engaging with one’s own profile self-presentation (i.e., a self-affirmational activity) followed by browsing a superior peer’s profile (i.e., an activity eliciting…
Adolescents' daily affect predicts their mobile phone use (not the other way around)
Adolescence is a sensitive period of development marked by heightened affective reactivity and shifting sleep patterns. Yet how adolescents' daily emotional states and sleep intersect with their mobile phone use remains poorly understood, partly due to debates about directionality and the reliance on often cross‐sectional and self‐reported global measures of use. The present study advances the field by using objective, naturalistic data to differ…
Uses of media representation in LGBTQ adults’ relationship with their parent
When the Algorithm Understands You (or Doesn’t)
During their daily media use, youth interact with algorithms. Drawing on the algorithm responsiveness process framework, this paper examines the co-construction of identity between youth and algorithmic media, focusing on perceived algorithm responsiveness (PAR), perceived algorithm insensitivity (PAI), and algorithm training as sociotechnical processes that structure how LGBTQ+ youth perceive themselves. Study 1 ( N = 335), using six weekly diar…
Bidirectional relationships of parenting stress, media use for behavior management, and children’s behavior problems from 9 to 30 months
As digital devices permeate the environments of young children, there is growing concern that media use might be displacing very young children's opportunities to cultivate important developmental skills, such as controlling their emotions and behaviors. Further, given the power of devices to capture children's attention, even when emotionally upset, parents might utilize media to both calm and distract their children, even when such use is count…
Psychology (13 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (8 works) · Developmental psychology (7 works) · Social media (6 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Anxiety (4 works) · Child Development and Digital Technology (4 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy (4 works)