The SML’s Inhwan Bae stops for a picture at the National Communication Association’s 111th Annual Convention.  From left to right: Sohinee Bera, Tianen Chen (PhD 2025), SML lab member Inhwan Bae, and Emma Cox.

SML at NCA

November 2025

This November, SML grad student Inhwan Bae presented “Interplay of Harassment and Objection to Harassment” at the National Communication Association’s 111th Annual Convention. The presentation covered the effects of observing competing behaviors, harassment, and objections to harassment on people’s perceptions of norms in online communities. This work was in collaboration with Natalie Bazarova, Pengfei Zhao, Winice Hui, and Drew Margolin.

Ph.D. student and Librarian Ashley Shea, SML alum Pengfei Zhao, and Lab Manager Isabelle McLeod Daphnis are featured in new publications and articles this Fall 2024.

SML in the Media

October 2025

Our Social Media Lab (SML) members are making waves this fall! The Cornell Chronicle featured two stories highlighting the innovative research coming from our lab members, both written by Tom Fleischman.

Ph.D. student and Librarian Ashley Shea and SML alum Pengfei Zhao (now an assistant professor at Florida State University) were featured in Moral appeals trump hate in tamping down online vitriol. Their research analyzed over 8,500 comment replies on YouTube and X, identifying seven strategies people use to object to online content. While reputational attacks (vinegar) were most common, moral and restorative appeals (honey)which encourage offenders to apologize rather than shaming them were more effective and better received by the online community. Read the article and view Ashley’s paper and Pengfei’s paper.

Next, Isabelle McLeod Daphnis’ research on social virtual reality and pain tolerance was highlighted in Pain tolerance increases during social interaction in VR. Her study found that people tolerate pain better when interacting with others in VR. Read the article and view the paper.

It’s exciting to see our lab’s work reaching the broader community. Stay tuned for more updates!

Image from Freepik; Edited using the AI-generator ChatGPT, in response to the request “Make the patient appear as a woman but keep the rest of the image the same” (Generator: ChatGPT Oct 19, 2025; Requestor: Diana Freed).

Telehealth Study

October 2025

Check out the new paper in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, “Sociotechnical Challenges in Implementing Domestic Violence Screening via Telehealth and In-Person Care: Qualitative Study on Clinicians’ Perspectives,” led by SML alum, Dr. Diana Freed, and co-authored with SML director, Dr. Natalie Bazarova and Marianne Sharko, Royoung Kim, Kelly Bartlett, Ermira Uldedaj, and Lauri Goldkind.

Keep reading for the paper abstract below:

Background:
New York State Public Health Law Section 2805-z (NYSPHL§2805-z) mandates that hospitals implement certain protocols for the identification of domestic violence (DV) to strengthen support for DV survivors. However, there are challenges within our current health care delivery settings that raise critical questions about the effectiveness and adaptability of mandated policies for DV screening. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated the adoption of telehealth services, leading to the widespread use of combined telehealth and in-person clinical care. This shift has brought challenges associated with implementing the mandated DV screening protocols.

Objective:
This study aimed to explore the challenges health care providers face in implementing DV screening that complies with NYSPHL§2805-z to support effective screening practices. Considering both the telehealth and in-person environment, we aimed to identify the challenges that health care providers face in meeting policy requirements, with a focus on the technical, environmental, and social factors impeding effective DV screening. We also explored potential sources of support to address these challenges. This study sought to provide actionable insights for enhancing policy implementation and improving care for DV survivors.

Methods:
We conducted interviews with health care professionals—nurses, social workers, and physicians—across New York City involved in DV screening. These interviews were analyzed using an adapted version of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sociotechnical model to understand how policy, organizational structures, and individual practices intersect and impact the effectiveness of DV screening, especially in telehealth settings.

Results:
Our findings revealed gaps in awareness of the policy and inconsistent DV screening processes. Through our interviews, we identified challenges in effective DV screening and strategies to improve the screening process. We found that the shift to telehealth introduced additional layers of complexity, with challenges in ensuring patient privacy and safety. Our findings revealed a lack of clear guidelines tailored to remote DV screenings and a need for training programs to prepare health care providers for the nuances of telehealth-based DV screening, both of which are crucial for complying with policy mandates. On the basis of this analysis, we developed a list of recommendations to support health care providers in effective screening for DV. Through user feedback, we confirmed that this list is consistent with the application of NYSPHL§2805-z among health care providers.

Conclusions:
As telehealth care is increasingly becoming an integral component of health care, there is an urgent need to refine and reinforce DV screening policies and procedures designed to comply with NYSPHL§2805-z. This study highlights the importance of developing practical and consistent telehealth protocols, enhancing provider training, creating supportive workflows, allotting adequate resources, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders to ensure that DV survivors receive the care they need in both remote and in-person clinical settings.

SML alum Pengfei Zhao joins Florida State University’s School of Communication as an assistant professor in communication & AI.

Congratulations, Professor Pengfei Zhao!

September 2025

SML alum Pengfei Zhao has started her position as an assistant professor in communication & AI in the School of Communication at Florida State University.

Pengfei’s research focuses on the psychological, interpersonal, and socio-technical processes and effects of emerging media and technology, such as social media and artificial intelligence (AI). She develops theory-driven and evidence-based interventions to reduce online harms, foster civil and constructive discourses, and improve digital literacy. She was a recipient of the 2022-2024 Meta Research Ph.D. Fellowship.

Read more on her FSU page or her personal website.

Welcome Mandy Luo, our newest SML member!

Welcome, Mandy Luo!

August 2025

Introducing the SML’s newest Ph.D. student, Mandy Luo!

Mandy is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at Cornell. Her research examines how technology mediation affects the effectiveness of persuasive messages, and how people form trust in machine communicators. She focuses particularly on digital health communication, seeking to identify the psychological mechanisms that influence attitude and behavior changes.