In the movie clip on Snowden, you see Snowden question the ethics of where the NSA is getting data from. Though this clip is rather short, you see Snowden question privacy rights and say “how[…]

In Moving towards inclusive design guidelines for socially and ethically aware HCI, Abascal and Nicolle push for inclusive design guidelines to prevent social exclusion, and propose some of these guidelines. The authors argue that one[…]

In “Navigating a social world with robot partners: A quantitative cartography of the Uncanny Valley,” Maya Mathur and David Reichling discuss the potential existence of an Uncanny Valley (UV) where imperfect human-likeness promotes dislike, and[…]

In “Navigating a social world with robot partners: A quantitative cartography of the Uncanny Valley”, Mathur and Reichling designed a lot of experiments to indicate that the Uncanny Valley is a real influence on humans’ perceptions[…]

In Maynard’s Elon Musk’s Tesla Bot Raises Serious Concerns, details on Elon Musk’s humanoid robot are discussed. As Elon Musk has shifted the AI technological world, he is now planning to create and roll out[…]

In Robots in the classroom: Difference in student’s perceptions of credibility and learning between: “teacher as robot” and “robot as teacher”, the author Et. Al discusses that robots as teachers and teachers as robots are[…]

In “Navigating a social world with robot partners: A quantitative cartography of the Uncanny Valley”, Mather and Reichling argue that there is a hypothetical uncanny valley (UV) in which imperfect human-likeness evokes feelings of dislike[…]

In Orphan Risks: Elon Musk’s Tesla Bot Raises Serious Concerns – But Probably Not the Ones You Think, Maynard discusses the ‘orphan risks’ of Tesla’s Bot and the concerns raised from Elon Musk’s latest innovation.[…]

In Orphan Risks: Elon Musk’s Tesla Bot Raises Serious Concerns – But Probably Not the Ones You Think, Andrew Maynard discusses the trajectory of concerns for the newest AI in the technology industry, the Tesla[…]

In “Keeping Together Long Distance Families: Technology as a Social Actor,” independent researcher Madalina Ioescu focuses on families separated by economic migration and argues that children, parents and grandparents feel less separated when using digital[…]

In Robots in the classroom: Differences in students’ perceptions of credibility and learning between “teacher as robot” and “robot as teacher”, Edwards et. al argue that teachers as robots and robots as teachers are both[…]

In Robots in the classroom: Differences in students’ perceptions of credibility and learning between “teacher as robot” and “robot as teacher”, Edwards presents a study in which college students perspectives of robots in the classroom[…]

In Keeping Together Long Distance Families: Technology as a Social Actor, Mădălina Ionescu shows how technology has allowed family members who have been separated due to economic migration or other reasons the ability to stay[…]

In this reading, a researcher whose job is to study unforeseen consequences of developing technology discusses the Tesla Bot. This is a 125 pound humanoid robot designed by Elon Musk to eventually help humans with[…]

In How tech and social media are making us feel lonelier than ever, Katz explains how the use of technology and social media pushes our society to feel lonelier than before. She discusses how people[…]

In both articles Does Technology Make Us More Alone? and Text or Talk: Is Technology Making You Lonely?, Michael Goncharand Margie Warrelltalk about the popular topic about technology and loneliness. First article discussed the smartphone-obsessed[…]

In the TEDxObserver video, “Can the internet buy you more friends?” Robin Dunbar shows that social media platforms such as Facebook have not fulfilled their promises of enlarging the social world. When Facebook was founded,[…]

In “Text or Talk: Is technology making you lonely?” written by Margie Warrell and “Does technology make us more alone?” written by Michael Gonchar, both authors argues that social media has gotten in the way[…]

Connected, But Alone? by Sherry Turkle provides keen insight on a seemingly paradoxical view of technology and the use of cellphones. With the complex nature of the relationship we have with our technological devices, she[…]

In “Connected, but alone?”, Dr. Turkle, a renowned psychologist, argues that technology allows us to connect more easily with one another, but that it takes away from the authentic conversation that leads to meaningful relationships.[…]

In Robin Dunbar’s TED Talk “Can the internet buy you more friends?” Dunbar questions whether the internet can actually enlarge one’s circle of friends beyond what he calls their “local village.” He argues that the[…]

Despite technology’s ability to connect human beings with anyone at any point in time, technology communications can also lead people to feel more lonely and less fulfilled. For class, I read two articles in relation[…]

In “How tech and social media are making us feel lonelier than ever”, Katz argues that virtual connections do not help our mentality on loneliness, but can actually amplify the feeling of loneliness. Similarly, Morris,[…]

In this TED talk, the concept of the illusion of friendship through technology is discussed. At the beginning of the talk, the presenter tells a story about how her daughter texted her to wish her[…]

In his TED talk, Robin Dunbar argues that the internet can not “buy” you more friends due to to a cognitive limit on the amount of close relationships we can have via the internet. Dunbar[…]

Understanding the impact that gender has on user experience for dating apps, can determine who has more success obtaining long lasting relationships from them. Social Dating Apps are designed for individuals to interact with people[…]

The communication technology I chose is WeChat, which is a mobile messaging app developed by the Chinese company Tencent. It was first released in 2011, and now it had over 1.25 billion monthly active users[…]

In an article for Business Insider, Kristine Solomon (2018) argued that a great indicator of company success is when a company name becomes a verb. “Let’s Zoom,” is a phrase heard around the world, especially[…]

For my Mid-Term Project, I chose to analyze Apple CarPlay and its user experience as it relates to user dependency. With a sample size of 20-30 undergraduate students at Lehigh University, the goal was to[…]

For my midterm project, I decided to explore the usability and functionality of LinkedIn. As a college student applying to jobs and trying to navigate the workforce, it is an incredibly useful platform and I[…]

For my midterm project, I focused on Apple’s line of Apple Watches. The Apple Watch is an extension of the iPhone where users connect their watch to their iPhone to perform the same tasks, but[…]

GroupMe: Building Better Groups Max Fern, Lehigh University   Abstract   This study investigates GroupMe’s existing features, potential alternatives, and ways the communication technology can improve. Three Lehigh undergraduate students were interviewed independently and then[…]

Zoom is a communication platform utilizing both audio and video to attend and host meetings for a variety of purposes (E-learning, working from home, connecting with family and friends, etc). Its popularity increased exponentially at[…]

For my midterm project, I focused on Strava. Strava is an app designed for both casual and serious athletes who want to keep track of their training, while also building or maintaining social connections with[…]

Whether you are an Android user, iPhone loyalist, or neither, GroupMe helps to solve the issue of mismatched messaging softwares. GroupMe is a free platform that allows you to join and engage in group messages[…]

The purpose of the following study is to gauge the user experience of the Lehigh University Hawkatch app, including information about user-friendliness and efficiency of the app, and to make recommendations about what app changes[…]

The study I conducted was on virtual assistants, such as the ones found in Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomePod, and Google’s Google Home. The null hypothesis was that the assistants aren’t used often and don’t pose[…]

In “Black Mirror: Nosedive”, the show manufactures a world where social media is so pervasive that people’s account scores become part of their identities. In this alternate reality, individuals are beholden to impress others and[…]

In Digital Fame and Fortune in the Age of Social Media, Gomez discusses the differences between celebrities, and the different types of celebrities. Gomez goes into depth about the new world of influencers and how[…]

In the article, Time’s 25 Most Influential People on the Internet, the writers discuss the ways in which 25 people were able to have a global impact on social media. The article is set up[…]

in the “Black Mirror” episode Nosedive the show discusses an alternate reality where your social media activity and presence determined how you were judged in life as it controlled almost everything. Throughout the episode, we follow a[…]

In 2019 Time’s 25 Most Influential People on the Internet, different writers talk about 25 people who had global impact on social media and all of them had ability to drive news. Lil Nas X is[…]

In “Impression Management 2.0: The Relationship of Self-Esteem, Extraversion, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Presentation Within Social Networking Sites,” Stephan Winter and Nicole C. Kramer explore self-presentation on websites, arguing that self-efficacy with regard to impression management is[…]

TIME Magazine’s 25 Most Influential People on the Internet shows the list of the 25 people that had the greatest impact on social media in 2019. The list included musicians Lil Nas X, BTS, Ariana[…]

In Impression Management 2.0: The Relationship of Self-Esteem, Extraversion, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Presentation Within Social Networking Sites, Nicole C. Kramer and Stephan Winter show how self-efficacy plays a significant role in the online impression management of[…]

In Nicole Kramer and Stephan Winter’s Impression Management 2.0, they assess three personality traits that have been shown to influence how people present themself online. This research study begins by discussing how people can appear[…]

In “Social Media Activism, Self-Representation and the Construction of Political Biographies.”, Barassi argues that social media accounts are effectively “political biographies” and are especially important today due to the audience available to most activists. Barassi[…]

In Digital Fame and Fortune in the age of Social Media, Gomez suggests unified terms to clarify the range of social media fame from traditional celebrities to social media influencers by conducting a review of[…]

In 2019 Time’s 25 Most Influential People on the Internet, a group of writers highlight and discuss the 25 people and celebrities with the biggest glocal impact on social media, as well as their ability[…]

In The Benefits of Facebook ‘‘Friends:’’ Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites, the study addresses the power of Facebook and its impact on the communities within the platform. Specifically, the[…]

In The Social Network directed by David Finch, the story of Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is followed to show how Zuckerberg created a new concept that eventually turned into Facebook.  The Social Network[…]

In George Floyd’s death shows the power of social media as the US continues to grapple with racial tensions, Kathryn Diss argues that social media has played an extremely big role in being able to[…]

The Social Network, directed by David Fincher, recounts the origins of Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin creating the widely known social platform Facebook. It discusses how Zuckerberg adopted this idea of a social platform where[…]

In The Culture of Connectivity (Chapter 1), Jose Van Dijck argues that the history and characteristics of online environments and communities are important to study and understand. Specifically, Van Dijick shows how necessary it is[…]

In “The Benefits of Facebook ‘Friends:’ Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites,” Nicole B. Ellison, Charles Steinfield and Cliff Lampe examine the relationship between use of Facebook and the formation[…]

In “The Social Network”, the directors portray the origin of Facebook.com and play with the crucial theme of ‘privacy’ as Mark Zuckerburg creates what is now one of the largest companies on earth. Privacy comes[…]

Director Jeff Orlowski used The Social Dilemma (2020) to argue that technology, and particularly social media, is catastrophically altering human behavior.  The documentary features many ex-employees of large technology companies such as Facebook, Google, Instagram,[…]

The Social Dilemma is a documentary film released in 2020 to exemplify the ways in which the technological world has taken over the lives of every single person around the world, and that it is[…]

In “Nosedive”, an episode of Black Mirror, an exaggerated version of our current world is displayed. In this dystopian society, in any given interaction, people can rate each other on a 1-5 scale. One’s average[…]

In George Floyd’s death shows the power of social media as the US continues to grapple with racial tensions, Kathryn Diss states several cases of conflict between the police and the black and asserts that social media gives[…]

In this article, the devastating death of George Floyd is discussed specifically in the context of social media’s pivotal role. While, unfortunately, police brutality-inflicted deaths happen often, they are consistently swept under the rug. However,[…]

In George Floyd’s death shows the power of social media as the US continues to grapple with racial tensions, Kathryn Diss argues that social media has been a powerful platform in spreading news about police[…]

In The Social Network, the producers discuss the formulation of Facebook through short vignettes and legal testimony from two lawsuits against Mark Zuckerberg by the Winklevoss twins and Eduardo Saverin for their respective roles in[…]

In the article, “Can Robots Manifest Personality”, Lee et al. discusses the importance for robots to posses human personality traits to have meaningful human-robot interaction. Lee discusses how the success of this interaction relies heavily[…]

In Susan Herring’s Robot-Mediated Communication, she discusses a new concept of telepresence robot-mediated communication (RMC) in which human-human communication is fostered through robots/AI. RMC, more specifically, is defined as “human-human communication in which at least[…]

In “Robot-Mediated Communication,” Susan Herring discussed telepresence robot-mediated communication and key technological properties of telepresence robots. She also evaluated the robots’ advantages and disadvantages, leaving some questions that can be explored by future studies. According[…]

In “Robot-Mediated Communication,” Susan Herring argues that there is a need for a better framework for studying the telepresence of robot-mediated discourse and language use. Robot-mediated communication is defined by Herring as the way humans[…]

In the TedTalk “Why we have an emotional connection to robots,” Kate Darling argues that human biology hardwires us to project intent and life onto anything moving, thereby increasing our emotional attachment to robots.   After[…]

In Virtually Perfect? Telemedicine for Covid-19, Judd E. Hollander, M.D. and Brendan G. Carr, M.D. show the benefits of utilizing technology for delivering and receiving care remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, the authors emphasize[…]

In Robot-Mediated Communication, Herring argues the need for a new framework to guide future study of telepresence robot-mediated discourse and language use. In this study, Herring discusses robot-mediated communication (RMC) and its purpose, the technological[…]

In “Virtually Perfect? Telemedicine for Covid-19,” Judd E. Hollander and Brendan G. Carr argue that telemedicine provides an abundance of benefits to both patients and health professionals, and is increasingly emerging in the medical field[…]

In “Can Robots Manifest Personality”, Lee et al. argue that personality plays a key role in the development of enhanced human-robot interaction (HRI) and that if it were to be adopted there needs to be[…]

In Why we have an emotional connection to robots, Kate Darling argues that as humans continue to place emotions on robots and treat them as beings with emotions, we could actually cause consequences for our[…]

In Can Robots Manifest Personality?: An Empirical Test of Personality Recognition, Social Responses, and Social Presence in Human-Robot Interaction, Lee hypothesizes and analyzes the detection of personality within Human-Robot Interaction, better known as HRI. Of[…]

In the article, “ Can Science-based Video Games Help Kids with Autism?”, Sarah DeWeerdt discusses the remedial impact that technology has on children with autism. DeWeerdt emphasized that children with autism, especially boys with autism,[…]

In the Netflix series Explained eSports, the narrator introduces the phenomenon of eSports and its impact on our society today. As our world is more familiar with physical/in-person sports, the world of eSports is booming.[…]

In Interactive Multimedia-Based E-Learning: A Study of Effectiveness, Dongsong Zhang argues that students in an interactive multimedia-based e-learning environment can achieve higher test scores and report higher levels of satisfaction than those in a traditional[…]

In “Can science-based video games help kids with autism?”, Sarah Deweerdt introduced Jeanne Townsend and Leanne Chukoskie, who work hard to develop video games that help children with autism. Games may improve a range of[…]

In this article, the promising aspects about telehealth are discussed, specifically in the context of Covid-19. Because patients want the most convenient and inexpensive medical care, it is up for debate if perhaps telehealth is[…]

In Sarah DeWeerdt’s Can Science-Based Video Games Help Kids with Autism, lab directors Jeanne Townsend and Leanne Chukoskie are introduced, and their research on video games for autism is shown in detail. The Research on[…]

In Netflix’s “Explained: eSports”, the narrator paints a picture about how much the field of eSports has grown since 2012, with viewership increasing 600% by 2017. Further, she explains that major companies are investing big[…]

In “Can science-based video games help kids with autism?” Sarah DeWeerdt argues that autistic children are more drawn to technology, and thus video games can serve therapeutic purposes for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. […]

In The New York Times articles, the majority of the authors argue that remote learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused students to disproportionately suffer and calls on a variety of people[…]

 Interactive Multimedia-based E-learning: A Study of Effectiveness, Zhang tests a number of hypotheses on the effectiveness of online learning with interactivity as opposed to a traditional classroom setting. This research is extremely prevalent today as[…]

In this research experiment, there are three groups with different controls, with the goal of showing that highly interactive online learning is more effective and brings more satisfaction than less interactive e-learning and even traditional[…]

In COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy, Garcia and Weiss summarize literature done on aspects of education relative to the COVID-19 crisis, and argue that learning time has been interrupted, leading to[…]

In Netflix’s Esports: Explained, the creators argue that esports are not only sports but that they have certain characteristics, which have allowed them to rise rapidly in popularity relative to traditional sports over the last[…]

In the article, “Organizing collective action: Does information and communication technology matter?” by Ana Cardoso, Marie-Claude Boudreau and João Álvaro Carvalho, they analyze how the use of multiple Information and Communications Technology (ICT’s) effect “consensual[…]

In Sarah Stang’s “This Action Will have Consequence” – Interactivity and Player Agency, the interactivity of video games is discussed and two case studies are used to show how agency and interactivity can change based[…]

In Exploring the Relationship between Information and Communication Technology Collective Behaviors and Sense of Community: An Urban Refugee Analysis, Canevez et. al argue that information and communication technologies (ICT) can be advantageous for groups of[…]

In “This Action Will Have Consequences”: Interactivity and Player Agency, Sarah Stang evaluates the assumption that videogames are interactive experiences which allow users to exercise control and agency over their narratives. The article applies two[…]

In Organizing collective action: Does information and communication technology matter? Ana Cardoso, Marie-Claude Boudreau and João Álvaro Carvalho argue that human factors are greatly implicated in the success of collective action supported by Information and[…]