Research

My dissertation work focuses on the intersection of online participation and digital inequalities. The pipeline of online participation inequalities, which describes online participation as a multi-stage process where users have to overcome several barriers before they can contribute to a platform, is a central framework in my research. The following two project form the basis of my dissertation.

In part, my work explores this framework on Pinterest, using survey and interview data in a mixed-method approach. Specifically, I draw on the survey data to confirm that the pipeline of online participation inequalities exists in the case of Pinterest and the interview data to explore why users contribute to the platform as well as reasons not to.

In summer 2022 I led an interview project about online participation across social media platforms. I received funding from the WUP-Project and interviewed 23 young adults in Switzerland. The interviews covered questions about devices, platforms and different forms of participation to uncover potential skill and device related inequalities as well as patterns of participation.

In another project, my co-authors and I explore how people in Italy, the United States and Switzerland shared content about COVID-19 on social media in the early days of the pandemic. We launched the three surveys in Spring of 2020 and included questions about the most popular social media apps in those countries. We evaluate if there are differences when it comes to sharing content within as well as across countries. We also investigate if are differences when it comes to a particularly affected group – people with ah higher COVID-19 risk – and their online participation.  

For an overview of all my work, please consult my CV.