The project theoretically conceptualizes and empirically investigates how users’ own political expressions in social media and the associated elaboration affect the users themselves (self-effects) and what role expected and received feedback from other users play in this (feedback-effects). Social media give users agency. They can contribute own content and thereby not only seek to influence others, but also develop their personal standpoint on specific issues and find their position as a citizen. The study of self- and feedback-effects is therefore highly relevant for understanding processes of political attitude formation, self-positioning, and self-mobilization. The project complements existing research on self- and feedback-effects in three essential ways: 1) It integrates previously separate strands of research by investigating self- and feedback-effects on the democracy-relevant outcome variables (a) senders’ political self-concept, (b) senders’ attitudes towards political issues, and (c) senders’ subsequent participation in online interactions. 2) The project looks not only at short-, but also at mid- and longer-term self- and feedback-effects of political expressions in social media. 3) The project broadens the perspective by asking how self- and feedback-effects interact. Empirically, the project makes two key innovations: 1) It combines an experience sampling study with experimental studies. Thus, political expressions on different social media platforms, received feedback and self- and feedback-effects are measured with high external validity. At the same time, self- and feedback-effects are tested with high internal validity and causality can be established. 2) A longitudinal approach is used to acknowledge that social media usage for political expression is not a singular act in everyday life but occurs repeatedly. This enables us to analyze cumulative self- and feedback-effects and test the stability and long-term nature of the effects.

• Top Faculty Paper 2023 of the Mobile Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) for the submission “Person- and Situation-Specific Variance in Media Use: A Meta-Analysis” (with Michael Scharkow, Teresa K. Naab, Veronika Karnowski, Daniela Schlütz & Paul Pressmann)
• Top Student-led Paper 2023 of the Mobile Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) for the submission “Who ‘Phubs’? A Systematic Meta-Analytic Review of Phubbing Predictors” (with Anisha Arenz)
• Nominee for the Top Faculty Paper 2020 of the Mobile Communication Interest Group of the International Communication Association (ICA) for the submission “What determines instant messaging communication? Examining the impact of person- and situation-level factors on IM responsiveness and perceived stress” (with Leyla Dogruel)
• Best Proposal Award 2017 of the DGPuK division Methods for the submission “Modellierung von Dynamiken mittels latenter Wachstumskurvenmodelle: eine methodische Erweiterung am Beispiel der Mediennutzung” (with Frank Mangold)
• Research grant from the “Friends of the University of Mainz” for an outstanding dissertation (2017)
• Award for the best dissertation on media convergence, Research Center on Media Convergence, University of Mainz (2016)
• Top Student Paper Award 2013 of the Mass Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) for the submission “Media Habits: The Core of Media Repertoires” at the 63rd Annual Conference of the ICA “Challenging Communication Research” in London (with Cornelia Wolf)
• Poster Award 2013 at the 15th General Online Research Conference (GOR) for the poster “Measuring Media Habits in a Self-Administered Online Questionnaire” (with Teresa K. Naab)
• alumni thesis-award granted by the alumni foundation, 2008
• “Master thesis of the year 2008” granted by the department of communication, University of Mainz

• Since 05/2020: Treasurer of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
• 02/2019 – 01/2021: spokesperson of the division Media Reception and Effects of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) (with Frank Mangold)
• 09/2013 – 08/2015: spokesperson of the young academics‘ group NaRezFo (with Christine E. Meltzer and Julia Niemann)

• Annual conference of the Media Reception and Effects devision of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) from 20.01.-22.01.2027 in Mainz (together with Alicia Ernst, Klara Langmann and Christian Schemer)
• Annual conference of the Media Reception and Effects devision of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) from 31.01.-02.02.2019 in Mainz (together with Christine E. Meltzer and Philipp Müller)
• 58th Annual Conference of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) from 08.-10.05.2013 in Mainz (Member of the Task Force)
• 1st ECR Conference of the DGPuK from 13.-15.09.2012 in Mainz (together with Melanie Magin, Stefan Geiß, Philipp Weichselbaum and Sven Engesser)

• Member of the Editorial Boards of the Journals “Media Psychology”, “Mobile Media & Communication” and “Journal of Media Psychology”
• Ad-Hoc Reviewer for “Journal of Communication”, “Communication Research”, “Communication Theory”, “Human Communication Research”, “Computer in Human Behavior”, “Public Opinion Quarterly”, “Digital Journalism”, “Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking”, “New Media & Society”, “Mass Communication & Society”, “Psychology of Popular Media Culture”, “Annals of the International Communication Association”, “International Journal of Communication”, “SCM Studies in Media and Communication” and “Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft”

• Won “t Stop” Til You Get Enough? Determinants of Disengaging From Mobile Media Apps in Daily Life. Presentation at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Disrupting and Consolidating Communication Research”, Denver, 12. – 16. June 2025. (with Alicia Ernst)
• Experiencing Podcasts in Situ: How the Reception Situation Affects Transportation. Presentation at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Disrupting and Consolidating Communication Research”, Denver, 12. – 16. June 2025. (with Daniela Schlütz, Teresa K. Naab and Veronika Karnowski)
• Establishing a Paradigm of Situational Media Use and Effects. Presentation at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Disrupting and Consolidating Communication Research”, Denver, 12. – 16. June 2025. (with Veronika Karnowski)
• What Triggers Co-Present Smartphone Use in Everyday Life? Presentation at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Disrupting and Consolidating Communication Research”, Denver, 12. – 16. June 2025. (with Anisha Arenz)
• Phubbing on autopilot? An in situ study on the influence of social cues on automatically initiated phubbing . Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Bamberg, 22. – 24. January 2025. (with Anisha Arenz)
• Cumulation and media effect. Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Bamberg, 22. – 24. January 2025. (with Lara Wolfers and Michael Scharkow)
• (Almost) 50 ways to leave an app. Situational Deselection of TikTok . Presentation at the 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communication and Global Human Rights”, Gold Coast, 20. – 24. June 2024. (with Alicia Ernst)
• The Situation in Media and Communication Research. Presentation at the 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communication and Global Human Rights”, Gold Coast, 20. – 24. June 2024. (with Joseph B. Bayer, Gabriella M. Harari and Veronika Karnowski)
• Situational, cumulative and in the aggregate? Self-effects of the use of social media . Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Fribourg, 24. – 26. January 2024. (with Annabell Halfmann and Teresa K. Naab)
• Podcasting in-situ: How does the listening context influence the transportation experience? Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Fribourg, 24. – 26. January 2024. (with Daniela Schlütz, Veronika Karnowski, Teresa K. Naab, Philipp Kübert, Cansin Kuyuköy and Moritz Walvogel)
• (Almost) 50 ways to leave an App. Situative Deselektion von TikTok . Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Fribourg, 24. – 26. January 2024. (with Alicia Ernst)
• Situative TikTok use and the conceptual explication of algorithmic curation: An exploratory primer. Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Fribourg, 24. – 26. January 2024. (with Alicia Ernst)
• Temporal structures of digital entertainment media use: An exploratory analysis of digital behavioral data. Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Fribourg, 24. – 26. January 2024. (with Alicia Ernst, Felix Dietrich, Alicia Gilbert and Michael Scharkow)
• Person- and Situation-Specific Variance in Media Use: A Meta-Analysis. Presentation at the 73rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Reclaiming Authenticity in Communication”, Toronto, 25. – 29. May 2023. (with Michael Scharkow, Veronika Karnowski, Teresa K. Naab, Daniela Schlütz and Paul Pressmann)
• Who “Phubs”? A Systematic Meta-Analytic Review of Phubbing Predictors . Presentation at the 73rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Reclaiming Authenticity in Communication”, Toronto, 25. – 29. May 2023. (with Anisha Arenz)
• Self-effects of Public vs. Private Opinion Expression on Perceived Expertise, Issue Interest and Behavioral Intentions. Presentation at the 73rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Reclaiming Authenticity in Communication”, Toronto, 25. – 29. May 2023. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• Who posted it? A diary study on the influence of parasocial vs. social contacts, perceived opinion leadership and similarity on the intensity of engagement with news articles on Instagram . Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Düsseldorf, 07. – 09. June 2022. (with Sophie Bruns, Katharina Emde-Lachmund, Niels Bolder, Leandra Gutschke and Anica Lammers)
• Routines and the Predictability of Day-to-Day Web Use. Presentation at the 72nd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “One World, One Network?!”, Paris, 26. – 30. May 2022. (with Michael Scharkow and Johannes Breuer)
• Conceptualizing (mobile) media use between the personal and situational level: Theoretical and methodological implications. Workshop as part of the 19th ICA Mobile Pre-Conference “Emerging Trends and Practices Around the Globe in Mobile Media & Communication”, Paris, 25. May 2022. (with Michael Scharkow, Veronika Karnowsi, Teresa K. Naab and Daniela Schlütz)
• Mobile (Self-)Socialization: The Role of Mobile Media and Communication in Autonomy and Relationship Development in Adolescence. Presentation at the 71st Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Engaging the Essential Work of Care: Communication, Connectedness, and Social Justice”, Denver, 27. – 31. May 2021. (with Mathias Weber, Leonard Reinecke, Christian Schemer, Kai Müller, Manfred Beutel and Birgit Stark)
• What determines instant messaging communication? Examining the impact of person- and situation-level factors on IM responsiveness and perceived stress . Presentation at the 70th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Open Communication”, Gold Coast, Australia, 21. – 25. May 2020. (with Leyla Dogruel)
• Always “on answer”? An analysis of person- and situation-related influencing factors on the response speed in messenger communication . Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Würzburg, 23. – 25. January 2020. (with Leyla Dogruel)
• Mobile Devices as Tools for Communication Research: A Scoping Review. Presentation at the 69th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communication Beyond Boundaries”, Washington, 24. – 28. May 2019. (with Veronika Karnowski)
• The Process of Forming a Media Habit: Results From a Longitudinal Study. Presentation at the 68th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Voices”, Prague, 24. – 28. May 2018. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• Modeling dynamics using latent growth curve models: a methodological extension using the example of media use. Presentation at the annual conference of the DGPuK-Fachgruppe Methods “Dynamic Processes in Communication Studies: Methodological Challenges”, Mainz, 20. – 22. September 2017. (with Frank Mangold)
• Experience Sampling, Momentary Assessment or App-based Survey? A Scoping Review on the use of repeated mobile Befragungen in Kommunikationswissenschaft. Presentation at the annual conference of the DGPuK-Fachgruppe Methods “Dynamic Processes in Communication Studies: Methodological Challenges”, Mainz, 20. – 22. September 2017. (with Veronika Karnowski)
• Procrastination out of Habit? The Role of Impulsive vs. Reflective Media Selection in Procrastinatory Media Use . Presentation at the 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Interventions: Communication Research and Practice.”, San Diego, CA, 25. – 29. May 2017. (with Adrian Meier and Leonard Reinecke)
• From Temporal to Social Rhythms. Day-to-Day Media Platform Usage and its Meaning for Society . Presentation at the 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Interventions: Communication Research and Practice.”, San Diego, CA, 25. – 29. May 2017. (with Frank Mangold)
• Habitual Media Selection and Attention to the Content During Exposure. Presentation at the 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Interventions: Communication Research and Practice.”, San Diego, CA, 25. – 29. May 2017. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• Head or belly? Reflective versus impulsive media selection as a central predictor of media use for procrastination . Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Erfurt, 26. – 28. January 2017. (with Adrian Meier and Leonard Reinecke)
• Time as a social pacemaker of media use. Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Erfurt, 26. – 28. January 2017. (with Frank Mangold)
• The relationship between habitual selection and attentive reception of media content. Presentation at the annual conference of the Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung der DGPuK, Erfurt, 26. – 28. January 2017. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• Refining and Validating the Response-Frequency Measure of Media Habit. Presentation at the annual conference of the DGPuK-Fachgruppe Methods “Opportunities and Challenges in the Measurement of Media Use and Exposure”, Amsterdam, 21. – 23. September 2016. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• Why should I help you? Man up! Bystanders’ gender stereotypic perceptions of workplace cyberbullying . Presentation at the 66th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communicating with Power”, Fukuoka, Japan, 9. – 13. June 2016. (with Mathias Weber and Christina Köhler)
• The Role of Habits in Media Genre Selection. Presentation at the annual conference of the subject group Reception and Effects Research of the DGPuK, Amsterdam, January 28 – 30, 2016.
• He should just fight back! Gender-stereotypical perception patterns in cyberbullying incidents. Presentation at the annual conference of the subject group Reception and Effects Research of the DGPuK, Amsterdam, January 28 – 30, 2016. (with Mathias Weber and Christina Köhler)
• Media use as a multi-level problem. An analytical approach for diary data. Presentation at the annual conference of the DGPuK subject group Methods “After Data Collection”, Hohenheim, September 24 – 26, 2015.
• The Influence of Closeness on Cultivation Effects. Presentation at the 65th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communication Across the Life Span”, San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 21-25, 2015. (with Christine E. Meltzer)
• Implicit Measurement of Media Habits: Refinement and Validation of the Response-Frequency Measure of Media Habit. Presentation at the 64th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communication and ‘the Good Life’”, Seattle, WA, May 22 – 26, 2014. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• Habitual Media Selection and Involvement During Reception. Presentation as part of the panel submitted by Anna Schnauber, Teresa K. Naab and Robert LaRose “The Role of Habits in Media Selection: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges to Mass Communication” at the 64th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communication and ‘the Good Life’”, Seattle, WA, May 22 – 26, 2014. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• The Impact of Personal Experience in the Cultivation Process. Presentation at the 64th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communication and ‘the Good Life’”, Seattle, WA, May 22 – 26, 2014. (with Christine E. Meltzer)
• The role of personal experience with violence in the cultivation process. Presentation at the annual conference of the subject group Reception and Effects Research of the DGPuK, Hanover, 23 – 25 January 2014. (with Christine E. Meltzer)
• The future of communication science habit research. Workshop at the annual conference of the subject group Reception and Effects Research of the DGPuK, Hanover, 23 – 25 January 2014. (with Tilo Hartmann, Thomas Koch, Teresa K. Naab and Wolfgang Schweiger)
• Media Habits: The Core of Media Repertoires. Presentation at the 63rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Challenging Communication Research”, London, June 17 – 21, 2013. (with Cornelia Wolf)
• Development and Validation of a Response-Frequency Measure of Media Habit. Presentation at the 63rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Challenging Communication Research”, London, June 17 – 21, 2013. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• Online vs. memory based. Variables explaining and moderating the occurrence and interrelation of first- and second-order cultivation effects. Presentation at the 63rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Challenging Communication Research”, London, June 17 – 21, 2013. (with Christine E. Meltzer)
• The information repertoire of mobile internet users – first hints for the digital transition? Presentation at the ICA Mobile Communication Pre-Conference, London, 16. – June 17, 2013. (with Cornelia Wolf)
• Measuring Media Habits in a Self-Administered Online Questionnaire. Poster at the General Online Research Conference (GOR), Mannheim, March 4 – 6, 2013. (with Teresa K. Naab)
• What holds the information repertoire together? Habitual selection of media. Presentation at the annual conference of the subject group Reception and Effects Research of the DGPuK on the topic of “100 Years of Riepl’s Law: Media Complementarity as a Challenge for Reception and Effects Research”, Vienna, 24 – 26 January 2013. (with Cornelia Wolf)
• Brand transfer in the media repertoire of mobile internet users. The relevance of offshoots of classic mass media for online information. Presentation at the annual conference of the subject group Reception and Effects Research of the DGPuK on the topic of “100 Years of Riepl’s Law: Media Complementarity as a Challenge for Reception and Effects Research”, Vienna, 24 – 26 January 2013. (with Cornelia Wolf)
• Do we overlook Person-Situation Interaction in Media Effects? Presentation at the 4th European Communication Conference of the ECREA, Istanbul, October 24 – 27, 2012. (with Christine E. Meltzer)
• Cyberbullying, Presumed Suffering and Secondary Victimization. The Influence of the Victim’s Extraversion and Self-disclosure. Presentation at the 4th European Communication Conference of the ECREA, Istanbul, October 24 – 27, 2012. (with Mathias Weber and Marc Ziegele)
• Students’ Use and Evaluations of Company Sites on Facebook. Presentation at the 4th European Communication Conference of the ECREA, Istanbul, October 24 – 27, 2012. (with Marc Ziegele)
• Online vs. memory-based – moderating and mediating variables in second-order cultivation. Presentation at the main conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) “South-North Conversations”, Durban, July 15 – 19, 2012. (with Christine E. Meltzer)
• Blaming the victim – the effects of extraversion and information-disclosure on attributions of guilt in Cyberbullying. Presentation at the main conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) “South-North Conversations”, Durban, July 15 – 19, 2012. (with Mathias Weber and Marc Ziegele)
• Need for Cognition – an Elite Concept? Presentation at the main conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) “South-North Conversations”, Durban, July 15 – 19, 2012. (with Christine E. Meltzer and Gregor Daschmann)
• Specific situations or specific people? How situational factors and personal characteristics function as moderator variables in cultivation research. Presentation at the 62nd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) “Communication and Community”, Phoenix,
• 24. – 28. Mai 2012. (with Christine E. Meltzer)
• The Answers of the Silent. Factors Influencing the Willingness to Participate in Telephone Surveys. Presentation at the main conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) “Cities Creativity Connectivity”, Istanbul, July 13 – 17, 2011. (with Gregor Daschmann)
• States or Traits? What influences the willingness to participate in telephone interviews. Presentation at the annual conference of the DGPuK subject group Methods “Research Methods for Market and Organizational Communication”, Salzburg, September 27 – 29, 2007. (with Gregor Daschmann)