Ruoyun Lin, PhD Student
Hometown: Ningbo, China
Affiliation: Leibniz-Insitut für Wissensmedien (IWM), Social Media Group
What are you working on?
I am working for a European Research Council (ERC)-funded project called ReDefTie: redefining tie strength. It explores how social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, can help us gain informational and emotional benefits. I mainly do research on the psychological effects of social media usage. Besides this, I am also interested in how social media usage can influence consumer behavior.
Why is it interesting?
As a social media user, I am quite fascinated by the questions such as whether browsing social media can bring us more positive or negative emotions, whether using social media makes us feel less or more lonely. Actually, both positive and negative emotions can be triggered or intensified by the use of social media. It mainly depends on how you use it and what kind of information you receive on social media.
How are you going to find out?
I mainly do quantitative research such as experiments and surveys. Sometimes I also conduct face-to-face interviews in order to find out how people feel after using Facebook, and how they think about the public information on Facebook.
Your favorite thing outside of science?
I also love a bunch of other stuff, such as reading, hiking, dancing, jogging, shopping, and hanging out with friends. Tübingen, with its beautiful natural environment, well-equipped sport facilities, and lovely clubs, is a place for living.
Follow Ruoyun @RuoyunLin and her colleagues' research on Twitter: @ReDefTie
Follow the IWM on Twitter: @IWMtue
Photo credit: Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM)/ Research Group photo: Paavo Ruch
