A Social Media Initiative

About Us

Expert-Led

Founder: Michael Carter is a recognized scholar studying social media. His research has received awards at international conferences and he has published across top peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Communication Research, Current Opinion in Psychology). Check out his credentials at michaelccarter.info.

Project Manager: Pamela Hernandez is a Southern California native who recently moved to the Bay Area at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. She currently works as an Administrative Assistant at the Department of Biology at Stanford. Formerly, Pamela helped oversee STEM Strategies's Snap the Gap program, an initiative launched by the University of California, Davis to disseminate over 15K project kits to help give underrepresented youth an opportunity to get more involved in STEM. Check out Pamela on LinkedIn.

Advisor: Drew P. Cingel is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis and Director of the Human Development and Media Lab. Dr. Cingel's research focuses on the intersection of media effects and human development. During his career, he has worked with media companies like Common Sense Media, in addition to Netflix. Dr. Cingel is a leading expert in his field and is extensively published in prominent peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Journal of Children and Media, Journal of Media Psychology, Computers in Human Behavior, New Media & Society, Journal of Communication). Check out Dr. Cingel's most recent work here: Google Scholar.

Community Driven

The founder of aSocialMediaInitiative is a Bay Area local and is currently looking to partner with local stakeholders in the area. While working to complete his dissertation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael began to identify ways to adapt his research on social media among youth to help advocate for parents and his community. Specifically, in recognition of how complex social media has become, community stakeholders will need tools to better intermediate how youth use media to keep them safe and themselves informed--especially, as platforms change over time.

Growing Daily

Advocating to improve social media design and advancing ways to educate the public about emerging media and technology is difficult. In fact, it is impossible without community support. If you believe in our mission, don't hesitate to join our community.

Join the Movement