🎓Last Monday, @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social successfully defended her PhD dissertation “Politics Undercover: Understanding the role of social media personalities in adolescents’ development of the political self,” supervised by @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social and funded by @erc.europa.eu👏Congrats!

I’m excited to share two pieces of good news: 🌻 Last week, a 300+ page baby was born as I submitted my PhD dissertation! 🌞 And from Oct, I’ll start a one-year postdoc to continue my research on adolescents, influencers & morality at the @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social. Now on to quieter summer days!

The MIMIc project, led by @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social‬, investigates how ‘malleable ideals’—the constantly shifting portrayals of success & perfection in media—influence teenagers’ well-being, identity, and life aspirations. Discover more 👉 buff.ly/jLuzdnI

By unpacking the impact of social media-driven pressures, #MIMIc aims to foster a healthier, more grounded digital culture for future generations. 👉 buff.ly/aMHbznT #TeenMentalHealth #FrontierResearch @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social‬

Excited to share some conclusions of our research on youth and well-being @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social @jasminarosic.bsky.social @luca-carbone.bsky.social @gvanhoffelen.bsky.social @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social

🔓New open access publication alert! My latest article, "The Values of Fame: Exploring the Visual and Textual Representations of Basic Values in Influencers’ Instagram Content", w/ @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social & I. Akgün is just out in Social Media + Society. (1/8) 🔗 doi.org/10.1177/2056...

Commission d’enquête sur les effets psychologiques de TikTok et des influenceurs sur les mineurs www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/17/organ...

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to represent the @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social at the SSH Research Day of @kuleuven.bsky.social on 'AI in and for Humanities and Social Sciences' with a poster on two research projects within the lab.

#ICA25 FoMO is definitely real with all these stunning hiking pictures and inspiring presentations. Wishing everyone an amazing conference! I, myself, will be enjoying the calm at the @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social to wrap up my PhD and get ready to submit by the end of the month. #AlmostPhDone 🙃🌞

This research was conducted as part of the ERC-funded MIMIc project at the @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social, and I’m grateful to my brilliant co-authors @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social @laraschreurs.bsky.social @Caroline Giraudeau and @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social for their collaboration on this work ✨

New pub! 📈 Can picture-perfect social media posts make adolescents more perfectionistic? Using a 3-wave panel design, we examined the reciprocal links between exposure to positive content on social media and perfectionism among 1,697 adolescents from Belgium, France, and Slovenia. Read more:

🥳 New publication on the links between social media use and perfectionism in adolescence, as part of Prof. @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social 's MIMIc project (www.projectmimic.eu/)

We’re excited to welcome Anaëlle Gonzalez @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social to the team as our new Social Media Editor! She’s the talent behind the great content you’ve seen recently, and we’re looking forward to what’s ahead. Welcome, Anaëlle!

Excited to be back in Buffalo NY for the Moral Media Conference! I’ll be presenting my last PhD chapter on the longitudinal links between adolescents’ moral values and exposure to influencers’ moral content together with @lindsayhahn.bsky.social and @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social ✨ #moralmedia25

Excited that our MIMIc Project, (team members @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social , @jasminarosic.bsky.social , @gvanhoffelen.bsky.social and @luca-carbone.bsky.social ) on social media uses and teen's well-being and success beliefs will be featured at Osaka #EXPO2025! Many thanks to @erc.europa.eu !

We're proud to announce that the MIMIc Project, led by @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social alongside team members @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social, @jasminarosic.bsky.social, @gvanhoffelen.bsky.social, and @luca-carbone.bsky.social will be featured at Osaka #EXPO2025! www.projectmimic.eu @erc.europa.eu

🚨 #callforpapers! With Esther Martinez Pastor, Marian Blanco Ruiz & Jasmina Rosič, we invite scholars to submit their work for a special issue in the journal Doxa Communicación on Digital Environments and Mental Health in Young People: Challenges and Opportunities. Details here: bit.ly/4hJTdG5

We hope you have enjoyed our presentations at #Etmaal2025. This year, we presented a record number of papers. Check out the full list on our website. Interested in knowing more? Feel free to reach out! soc.kuleuven.be/smc/news/ove...

Follow social scientists at KU Leuven. go.bsky.app/AKcqGke (pack still incomplete, pls send suggestions)

On the last day of another inspiring & fun #etmaal2025, I presented a paper together with @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social based on the ERC MIMIc project on the longitudinal associations between exposure to influencers and political interest in adolescence @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social

Unpacking the longitudinal links between political influencers and youth's political socialization with @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social @darianharff.bsky.social @margotlissens.bsky.social @desireeschmuck.bsky.social looking forward to continue the conversation in future research 📱📳 #etmaal2025

In the spirit of new beginnings, both on BlueSky and in this New Year, I am happy to share that I am taking on the role of Social Media Editor for the Journal of Children and Media @journalcam.bsky.social. 🥳 Excited to promote the hub of brilliant and important scholarship published in this journal!

🎉 The special issue celebrating JoCAM’s 18th birthday it out! The issue brings together 16 commentaries showcasing the incredible diversity and creativity of CAM research and practice from all over the world. 🔓Open access for six months! (1/3) www.tandfonline.com/journals/rch...