SOCIAL X LAB

Here are a list of our on-going projects and some representative publications related to those projects. For a full list of publications, please refer to the publications page.

Content Moderation in Social Media

Supported by the National Science Foundation and Mozilla Foundation, our work focuses on the work of volunteer moderators in live streaming communities and understanding how safe spaces develop online.

• Cai, J., Chowdhury, S., Zhou, H., & Wohn, D. Y. (2023). Hate Raids on Twitch: Understanding Real-Time Human-Bot Coordinated Attacks in Live Streaming Communities.  Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW), no. 342, 1-28
• Cai, J., Wohn, D. Y., & Almoqbel, M. (2021). Moderation visibility: Mapping the strategies of volunteer moderation in live streaming micro communities. In Proceedings of ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (IMX), 61-72. [pdf]
• Cook, C. L., Patel, A., Wohn, D. Y. (2021). Commercial versus volunteer: Comparing user perceptions of toxicity and transparency in content moderation across social media platforms. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 3 [pdf]
• Wohn, D. Y. (2019). Volunteer Moderators in Twitch Micro Communities: How they Get Involved, the Roles they Play, and the Emotional Labor they Experience. In Proceedings of 2019 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’19) [pdf]

Digital Patronage

Digital patronage, a term coined by Dr. Wohn, refers to how fans/supporters support content creators both financially and emotionally through new social media platforms.

We are also conducting a study to better understand how BTS ARMY, one of the biggest international fandoms, uses social media to engage with other members of ARMY and BTS themselves. 

• Naderi, A., & Wohn, D. Y. (May, 2023). Parasocial relationships with idols: Exploring predictors of ARMY’s support of BTS using Social Cognitive Theory. To be presented at the International Communication Association annual conference
• Bonifacio, R., Hair, L., & Wohn, D. Y. (2021). Beyond Fans: The Relational Labor and Communication Practices of Creators on Patreon. New Media and Society [pdf]
  
• Bonifacio, R., & Wohn, D. Y. (2020). Digital Patronage Platforms. In Companion Publication of the 2020 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, 221-226 [pdf]
• Wohn, D. Y., Freeman, G., & McLaughlin, C. (2018). Explaining Viewers’ Emotional, Instrumental, and Financial Support Provision for Live Streamers. In Proceedings of CHI, no. 474, New York, NY: ACM [PDF]

Virtual worlds: Metaverse, games, live streaming, and eSports

Social virtual reality, live streaming and esports are relatively new cultural trends that are recreational activities that require high technology specifications. Current projects are related to entertainment in the metaverse and avatar customization on Roblox.

• Maloney, D., Freeman, G., & Wohn, D. Y. (2020). “Talking without A Voice”: Understanding Non-verbal Communication in Social Virtual Reality. In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., Vol. 4, No. CSCW2, Article 175. [pdf]
• Uttarapong, J., Cai, J., & Wohn, D. Y. (2021). Harassment Experiences of Women and LGBTQ Live Streamers and How They Handled Negativity. In Proceedings of ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (IMX), 7-19 [pdf]
• Mittal, A., & Wohn, D. Y. (2019). Charity Streaming: Why Charity Organizations Use Live Streams for Fundraising. Proceedings of ACM CHIPLAY Extended abstracts, 551-556. [pdf]
• Wohn, D. Y., & Freeman, G. (2019). Live Streaming, Playing, and Money Spending Behaviors in eSports. Games and Culture

Self Presentation on Social Media

This research examines how people engage in self presentation on different social media and how they manage their online identities. We currently have studies related to self presentation on Instagram.

• Wohn, D. Y., Yuan, C. W., Siri, J. S. (2021). The Many Facets of Me: Multiple Account Management on Reddit. In Proceedings of HICSS [pdf]
• Li, L., Freeman, G., & Wohn, D. Y. (2020). Power in Skin: The Interplay of Self-Presentation, Tactical Play, and Spending in Fortnite. In Proceedings of CHI PLAY
• Rios, J. S., Ketterer, D. J., & Wohn, D. Y. (2018). How Users Choose a Face Lens on Snapchat. In Proceedings of CSCW Companion, 321-324

News Consumption in the Age of Social Media

Crystallization is a network model of information flow and reality formation. This model incorporates network theory into the traditional agenda-setting theory and proposes that members of one’s social networks become “neo agenda setters.” We are also doing empirical work on how people consume news through mobile social media and how it influences their political engagement.

• Almoqbel, M., Vanzyl, J., Keaton, M., Desai, M., Padhi, S., Min, S.J., Wohn, D.Y. (2023). Perceptions of accuracy in online news during the COVID-19 pandemic. First Monday
• Almoqbel, M., Wohn, D.Y., Hayes, R.A., Cha, M. (2019). Understanding Facebook news posts comment reading and reacting behavior through political extremism and cultural orientation. Computers in Human Behavior, 100, 118-126. [pre-print]
• Min, S. J., & Wohn, D. Y. (2018). All the News that You Don’t Like: Cross-cutting Exposure and Political Participation in the Age of Social Media. Computers in Human Behavior, 83, 24-31 [PDF]
• Wohn, D. Y., & Bowe, B. J. (2016). Micro Agenda Setters: The Effect of Social Media on Young Adults’ Exposure to and Attitude Toward News. Social Media and Society, 2(1)
• Wohn, D. Y., & Bowe, B. J. (2014). How social media facilitates social construction of reality. In Proceedings of companion publication of CSCW 2014, 261-264. New York, NY: ACM

Are you interested in studying the effects of social technologies? Do you want to build new social applications? There are many opportunities to work with us!

• Are you thinking of doing a PhD? Applicants who are interested in understanding how people interact with social systems (e.g., social media, mobile phones, online games) through empirical research and developing social systems are encouraged to apply. To submit your application, email professor Yvette Wohn at wohn@njit.edu. Submit your CV and statement of your research interest. Applicants with interest in health and education technologies will be given special consideration. Apply by March 31 for full consideration.
• If you are an undergraduate or graduate student and want to learn how to do research or collaborate, send us a letter of interest (why you want to be in our lab) and CV.
• If you are a researcher and would like to collaborate on a research project, please email us your affiliation and proposed project details.
• If you are a company and would like to work with us for usability or user experience studies, please leave your company name, a brief description of the proposed project, and your contact information