Abstract:

Social and economic inequality are urgent problems in the United States, affecting outcomes in health, education, finance, and civic engagement. This study examines issues of inequality and social injustice in the digital landscape, using a novel ecological research design called Screenomics. Focusing on payday loan ads delivered via smartphones, I will discuss how individuals of different income classes encounter payday lenders’ appeals as they navigate digital spaces and what their smartphone use reveals about how they react cognitively and emotionally to these messages. The talk will discuss how the Screenomics interdisciplinary effort can help capture the breadth of life experiences reflected on our screens and provide insights for researchers, users, information professionals, and policymakers.

Bio:

Jihye Lee is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication at Stanford University. Her dissertation explores information inequality, focusing on how marginalized groups navigate the digital landscape with large, complex data collected from smartphones. Her work has been supported by multiple awards, including a Computational Social Science Fellowship from the Stanford Institute for Research in the Social Sciences and Magic Grant from the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Stanford University’s School of Engineering and Columbia Journalism School. Her prior research has appeared in journals such as The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, and Pacific Affairs.

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