Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor University of Connecticut

  • Storrs CT

Dr. Oeldorf-Hirsch's research focuses on information sharing on social media, particularly in the areas of news, science, and well-being.

Contact

University of Connecticut

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Biography

Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at University of Connecticut, where she conducts research in the Human-Computer Interaction lab. Broadly, her research interest is on the benefits of social media in terms of learning new information, civic engagement, and well-being. Specifically, her work focuses on the features of these communities that shape how we communicate with and through them. Her main line of research aims to understand the effects of the shift to engaging with news content via social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter on knowledge about and involvement in current events. Other projects include understanding the technology choices we make for diverse communication needs, the effects of information disclosed about us by others online, the use of social media platforms for seeking information, and the role of self-tracking apps in our health and our communication with online social networks.

Areas of Expertise

Science Communication
News Engagement
Computer-mediated communication
Communication Technology
Social Media
Media Effects
Human-Computer Interaction
Health Communication

Education

Pennsylvania State University

Ph.D.

Mass Communications

2011

Portland State University

B.A. magna cum laude

Psychology

2005

Accomplishments

Recognition of Teaching Excellence

Awarded by the Office of the Provost, University of Connecticut.

Most Innovative Professor

Awarded by the Communication Society, University of Connecticut.

Most Valuable Professor

Awarded by UConn Athletics, University of Connecticut.

Social

Media Appearances

UConn professors research social media’s role in health sharing

The Daily Campus  online

2018-10-15

The study was led by Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, assistant professor of Communication and John Christensen, associate professor of Communication, as well as Penn State University professor Andrew High.

“If users share tracked health information and receive supportive comments, particularly [social] network support, they can improve their health outcomes,” researchers said in an interview with UConn Today.

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The Role of Feedback in Health Information Sharing

UConn Today  online

2018-10-04

The study, “Count Your Calories and Share Them: Health Benefits of sharing mHealth Information on Social Networking Sites,” was led by UConn researchers Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, assistant professor of communication, and John Christensen, associate professor of communication, and their colleague Andrew High, associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State University.

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Episode 17: A Visit From Miss Connecticut

UConn Podcast  radio

2018-10-03

This week, we sit down with Bridget Oei ’18 (CLAS), aka Miss Connecticut, and talk about her experience in the Miss America pageant. We also learn from Prof. Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch about how mobile apps can help (or hinder) personal fitness goals, and we find out where we kept all the books before the Homer Babbidge Library was built.

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Event Appearances

Kids and teens on social media

Presentation to residents at Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital - 2017  Hartford, CT

Sozialen medien (social media)

Lesson for students at Kirchbergschule - 2018  Bensheim, Germany

How to be a good digital citizen

Assembly presentation to Dolan Middle School - 2018  Stamford, CT

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Research Grants

Training STEM Graduates to Communicate in the Digital Age, and Measuring Whether It Works

National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) Program

2015-2018
$500,000
Role: Senior Personnel; PI: Rubega

Faculty Research Award

Facebook Research and Academic Relations Program

2016
$25,000

Articles

For the birds: Media sourcing, Twitter, and the minimal effect on audience perceptions

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies

Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, et al.

2018

Twitter has emerged as a key news source, but questions remain about the ethics of relying on it as a source and the implications of such reliance for audience impressions. Two experiments test perceptions of news attributed to Twitter. Study 1 (N = 699) tests the effects of quoting from Twitter and showing actual tweets.

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Count Your Calories and Share Them: Health Benefits of Sharing mHealth Information on Social Networking Sites

Health Communication

Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, Andrew C. High, John L. Christensen

2018

This study investigates the relationship between sharing tracked mobile health (mHealth) information online, supportive communication, feedback, and health behavior. Based on the Integrated Theory of mHealth, our model asserts that sharing tracked health information on social networking sites benefits users’ perceptions of their health because of the supportive communication they gain from members of their online social networks and that the amount of feedback people receive moderates these associations.

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There is Something I Need to Tell You: Balancing Appropriateness and Efficiency in Modality Choice for Interpersonal Disclosures

Communication Studies

Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, Kristine Novak

2018

An array of communication technology, such as text messaging, social networking sites, and mobile apps, have become the platforms through which many self-disclosures take place. This brings forth questions about which factors determine media selection for self-disclosure, such as media appropriateness and efficiency.

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