Student Collaborations

A key goal of the Youth, Media, and Wellbeing Research Lab is to involve undergraduate students in the research process. Dr. Charmaraman’s research receives funding through the National Institutes of Health R15 AREA program and Wellesley College internship programs that support undergraduate research. This funding allows students to make significant contributions to social and behavioral research and allows the Lab to increase the range and quality of meaningful research exposure. The National Institutes of Health funding also provides an opportunity for students to present work at campus-based, regional, and national conferences, which is a key stepping-stone to broadening graduate and professional school networks.

Wellesley College students involved with the project can enroll in independent study courses tied to their role with the project, (i.e., psychology, statistics, etc.), participate in a monthly writing group at the Wellesley Centers for Women, and present alongside Dr. Charmaraman during public events hosted by the Wellesley Centers for Women.

In addition to supporting social science majors, one objective of the Research Lab is to expose natural science and humanities majors to applied behavioral science research. Undergraduate students who have worked with Dr. Charmaraman in the past have come from wide-ranging disciplinary backgrounds, including over 19 different majors - Psychology, Sociology, Neuroscience, Media arts & sciences, Computer Science, Data Science, Women's and gender studies, English literature, Education, Cognitive & Linguistic sciences, International Relations, Political Science, Biology, American Studies, Spanish, Africana Studies, Economics, Theatre Studies, and Latin American Studies. Many reflected on their internship experience as an indispensable way to broaden their worlds by going beyond the theoretical and hypothetical lessons learned from the classroom to apply their scientific explorations in real-world settings and make community connections.

Blog Posts

Mentored Campus Presentations by Students

Quichimbo Augui, J., Bilyalova, Z., Li, A., Levette, Z., Hodgden, G., & Nallbani, A. (2024, April). Youth, Media, Well-Being Lab: Creating Channels for Different Stakeholders. Panel presented at the Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Gu, Quan, Whalen, P., Hodgden, G., Nallbani, A., & Papgelis, C. (2023, April). Navigating the intersection of AI and body image: Digital wellbeing workshop for adolescent girls. Poster presented at the Wellesley College summer science research poster session.
Quan. (2023, July). Navigating the intersection of AI and body image: Digital wellbeing workshop
for adolescent girls. Presented at the Social Sciences Summer Research Series.
Bacaj, C. (2023, April). Early adolescent body image and social media use over time:
Online network size, appearance-related self-consciousness, and age of SM initiation. Panel
presented at the Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Gu, Q. (2023, April). Working for youth, with youth: Youth advisory boards co-designing more positive
digital wellbeing workshop experiences. Panel presented at the Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley
College.
Kiel, E., & Ribeiro da Silva, L. (2023, April). Teens’ best friend: Adolescent-pet relationships from parent perspectives. Panel presented at the Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Andersonn, M. (2023, April). McNair Scholars Research panel. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley, MA.
Gu, Connie Quan (2023, April). Learning UX leadership and exploring careers in remote participatory
design workshops. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley, MA.
Kim, C. (2023, April). Longitudinal analysis of young adolescents’ relationships with family members. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley, MA.
Zhang, A. (2023, February). Covid-19’s impact on teenagers’ relationships with family members. STAT318.
Andersonn, M. (2022-2023). Senior Thesis entitled, “Social media is an easy way to start being more
involved in our community and activism and sharing our thoughts”: Analyzing Political
Attitudes, Behavior, and Identity of Women of Color on Social Media
Charmaraman, L., Cobas, S., Weed, J., Gu, Q., Kiel, E., Chin, H., Gramajo, A., and Mueller, M. K. From regulating emotions to less lonely screen time: Parents’ qualitative perspectives of the benefits and challenges of pet companionship. Poster presented at the Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Andersonn, M. (2022). Digital wellbeing & STEM workshops for adolescents. Summer Social Science Research Program poster session, Wellesley College.
Bacaj, C. (2022). Calderwood seminars in public writing: Engaging interviews. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College
Jordan, K. (2022). Blurring the boundaries between home and school: Adolescent social media literacy and digital social-emotional learning. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Kapoor, J. (2022). The role of parents, other adults, peers, and informal learning communities in shaping positive social media use. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Weed, J. (2022). Working for youth, with youth: Lessons from the Inaugural Youth Advisory Board of the Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Weed, J., & Charmaraman, L. (2022). Mentoring panel for Class of ’67 reunion, Wellesley College.
Xiao, L.F. T. & Gu, C. Q. (2021). Making a difference in the lives of youth: Facilitating a summer digital workshop for middle school girls. Tanner Conference, Wellesley College.
Xiao, L.F. T., Gu, C. Q., Durrani, S., Hainzl-Fernandez, M. & Delcourt, C. (2021). Girls in STEM & social media. Poster presented at Social Sciences Summer Internship Program, Wellesley College.
Xiao, L. F. T. (2021). Evaluating a STEM identity and digital wellbeing workshop for girls. Presentation
at Social Sciences Summer Internship Program, Wellesley College.
Reeves-Miller, T., Xiao, T., Zhai, E., & Jordan, K. (2021). Self-care and wellbeing on social media for adolescents of color. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Smucker, R., Hodes, R., Cromwell, J., Sjoblom, G. (2021). YouTube in middle school: Implications for
parental monitoring and mental health. Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College.
Hodes, R. (2021). Social isolation and self-expression online for LGBT+ youth. Ruhlman Conference,
Wellesley College.
Hodes, R. (2021). Class of ’67 Internships at Wellesley Centers for Women. Ruhlman Conference.
Charmaraman, L., Delcourt, C., Serrano, C., Vandergriff, P., & Kim, A. (2019, October). Meeting them where they are: Designing an app for adolescents’ early social media use. Presented at the Social Change Dialogues speaker series, Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley, College, MA.
Serrano Najera, C. (2019, July). Summer app development workshop. Presented at the Social Sciences Summer Research program. Wellesley College, MA.
Cobas, S. (2019, May). How do middle school youth use Snapchat? Presented at Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
Serrano Najera, C. (2019, May). Online gaming: Implications for adolescent health and social interactions. Presented at Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
Sode, O. (2019, May). The intersection of social media, sexual behavior, substance use, & self-harm in middle schoolers. Presented at Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
Unni, S. (2019, May). Practices in ethical research methods in the social sciences. Presented at Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
Charmaraman, L., Cobas, S., Serrano Najera, C., Unni, S., & Sode, O. (2018, October). Digital citizenship, health, and wellness. Paper presented at the Wellesley Centers for Women Lunchtime Seminar Series, Wellesley College.
Charmaraman, L., DeSouza, L., Madsen, L., and Leu, R. (2017, November). Life in the Trump era: A look at gender, culture, and civic engagement. Paper presented at the Wellesley Centers for Women Lunchtime Seminar Series, Wellesley College.
Madsen, K. (2017, July). Social identities and conflicting connotations: “Make America Great Again” and our relationship with the past. Presented at the Social Sciences Summer Research Program, Wellesley College, MA.
Madsen, K. (2017, April). “Make America Great Again”: Slogans and the power of nostalgia. Presented at Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
Charmaraman, L., Arimoro, F., Ruffin, B., Madsen, K., & Ramanudom, B. (2017, April). Media use,civic engagement, and health. Paper presented at the Wellesley Centers for Women Lunchtime Seminar Series, Wellesley College.
Charmaraman, L., Ramanudom, B., Chan, H. B., & Richer, A. (2015, October). Risk and resilience of online social media relationships and networks. Paper presented at the Wellesley Centers for Women Lunchtime Seminar Series, Wellesley College.
Chan. B.Y. (2015, April). "It made me feel like I had a support system even though I felt alone in that moment": Exploring ways women of color cultivate online social networks to survive and thrive in the real world. Presented at Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
Keane-Lee, J. A. (2015, April). Looking like me on TV: How mainstream racial representation impacts civic engagement. Presented at Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
Charmaraman, L., Ramanudom, B., Chan, H. B., & Richer, A. (2015, October). Risk and resilience of online social media relationships and networks. Paper presented at the Wellesley Centers for Women Lunchtime Seminar Series, Wellesley College.
Chan, B., Andriulli, G., Saladi, N., & Sarwar, P. (2014, April). Wellesley Centers for Women Student Research Interns. Presented at Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
Charmaraman, L., Chan, B., & Ericksen, B. (2013, October). Stereotypes, stigma, and status: Results from the Adolescent Media & Identity Project. Paper presented at the Wellesley Centers for Women Lunchtime Seminar Series, Wellesley College.
Ericksen, B. (2013, July). LGBT youth engaging with identity online. Presented at the Social Sciences Summer Research Program, Wellesley College, MA.
Charmaraman, L., Low, B., & Bloomfield, K. (2010, March). Teen Voices: Identity development in a community-based media internship. Paper presented at the Wellesley Centers for Women Lunchtime Seminar Series, Wellesley College.

Student Co-authored Publications and Academic Conferences

Hernandez, J. M., Charmaraman, L., & Schueller, S. (in press). The contribution of digital ecosystems to adolescent wellbeing. In Flourishing in Contexts: Sociocultural Perspectives on Promoting Youth Wellbeing. Information Age Publishing.
Charmaraman, L., Hernandez J. Maya, Weed, J., Durrani, S., Gu, Q., Xiao, L. F., Andersonn, M., Joby, J., Gramajo, A., Grevet Delcourt, C., and members of the Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab Youth Advisory Board ’21-22. (forthcoming). Youth co-designing more positive digital ecosystems: An action research journey via a Youth Advisory Board. Book chapter for HX Essay Collection, Connected Learning Alliance. MIT Press.
Charmaraman, L., Grevet Delcourt, C., Pearl Ben-Joseph, E., Smucker R. (forthcoming) Social media and adolescent mental health. Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Health. Elsevier.
Charmaraman, L., Kiel, E., Richer, A.M., Gramajo, A., & Mueller, M. (2022). Associations between pet care responsibility, companion animal interactions, and family relationships during COVID-19. Animals (10th Anniversary edition), 12(23), 3274; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12233274
Charmaraman, L., Grevet Delcourt, C., Durrani, S., Kapoor, J., Richer, A. M., & Xiao, L. F. (2022). The role of parents, other adults, peers, and informal learning communities in shaping positive social media use. Information and Learning Sciences, 123(7/8), 399-420. https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-03-2022-0034
Charmaraman, L., Hernandez, J. Maya, & Hodes, R. (2022) Marginalized and understudied populations using digital media. In J. Nesi, E. H. Telzer, & M. J. Prinstein (Eds.), Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health. Cambridge University Press. https://www.teensandtech.org/handbook
DeSouza, L. M., Charmaraman, L., Vargas, E., & Hall, G. S. (2022). Social media friends from afterschool are associated with positive youth development in digital settings. Journal of Youth Development, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2022.1173
Charmaraman, L., Cobas, S., Weed, J., Gu, Q., Kiel, E., Chin, H., Gramajo, A., & Mueller, M. (2022). From regulating emotions to less lonely screen time: Parents’ qualitative perspectives of the benefits and challenges of adolescent pet companionship. Behavioral Sciences, 12(5), 143. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12050143
Delcourt, C. G., Charmaraman L., Gu, C., Durrani, S, and Xiao, T (2022). Innovating novel online social spaces with diverse middle school girls: Ideation and collaboration in a synchronous virtual design workshop. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 248, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3517576
Charmaraman, L., Lynch, A. D., Richer, A. M., & Zhai, E. (2022). Examining early adolescent positive and negative social technology behaviors and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology, Mind, & Behavior, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000062
Charmaraman, L., Hodes, R., & Richer, A.M. (2021). Young sexual minority adolescent experiences of self-expression and isolation on social media: A cross-sectional survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research Mental Health, 8(9):e26207, https://doi.org/10.2196/26207 PMID: 34524107
Charmaraman, L., Grevet Delcourt, C., Serrano Najera, C., Vargas, E., Gramajo, A., Richer, A. M., & Adachi-Mejia, A., &. (2021). Disconnecting and reconnecting: A summer workshop photovoice project to support healthy social media use in early adolescence. Afterschool Matters, 34, 1-10. https://www.niost.org/Afterschool-Matters-Spring-2021/disconnecting-and-reconnecting
Charmaraman, L., Bickham, D., Sode, O. (2020). Adolescent mental health challenges in the digital world. In M. Moreno and A. Hoopes (Eds.), Technology and Adolescent Health Behavior: In School and Beyond (pp. 283-304). Elsevier Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2017-0-04667-0
Charmaraman, L., Chan, H. B., Chen, S., Richer, A., & Ramanudom, B. (2018) Asian American social media use: From cyber dependence to cyber harassment to saving face.Asian American Journal of Psychology, 9(1), 72-86.
Charmaraman, L., Richer, A., Ruffin, B, & Ramanudom, B., Madsen, K. (2017). Escaping from worries or facing reality: A survey study of adolescent attitudes about sexist and homophobic stereotypes in mainstream US media. In D. Lemish & M. Götz (Eds.), Beyond the Stereotypes: Boys, girls, and their images (pp. 213-224). Sweden: The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth, & Media at Nordicom.
Charmaraman, L., Chan, H., Price, T., & Richer, A. (2015). Women of color cultivating virtual social capital: Surviving and thriving. In K. E. Tassie and S. M. Brown (Eds.), Women of color and social media multitasking: Blogs, timelines, feeds, and community (pp. 1-19). New York: Lexington Books.
Charmaraman, L., Woo, M., Quach, A, & Erkut, S. (2014). How have researchers studied multiracial populations: A content and methodological review on 20 years of research. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Journal, 20(3), 336-352.
Charmaraman, L., & Low, B. (2013). From media propaganda to de-stigmatizing sex: A teen magazine by, for, and about girls. In K. Harper, Y. Katsulis, V. Lopez, and G. S. Gillis (Eds.), Girls’ Sexualities and the Media (pp. 245-261). New York: Peter Lang.

Peer-reviewed Academic Conferences

Durrani, S., Bacaj, C., & Schaefer, H. (2023, March). Longitudinal effects of social media behaviors on adolescent body image. Research poster presented at the annual Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Andersonn, M. & Xiao, T. (2023, March). Youth advisory boards co-designing more positive digital wellbeing workshop experiences. Undergraduate research poster presented at the annual Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Anthony, J., Estrada, M., Hodes, R., & Dam, S. (2023, March). What motivates youth to watch popular YouTube influencers. Undergraduate research poster presented at the annual Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA and annual Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley, MA.
Zhang, A., Wang, K., Hodes, R., Chen, B., & Richer, A. (2023, March). Understanding significant factors of social media behavior that promote LGBTQ youth well-being. Undergraduate research poster presented at the annual Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA and annual Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley, MA.
Kiel, E., Gu, Q., & Ribeira daSilva, L. (2023, March). Youth’s best friend: Social-emotional benefits and challenges to adolescent pet companionship. Undergraduate research poster presented at the annual Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Wang, K., Gonzalez, S. M., Zhang, A., Kiel, E., & Hernandez, J. M. (2023, March). Online hate messaging during the pandemic: Impact on Asian American teens. Undergraduate research poster presented at the annual Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA and annual Ruhlman Conference, Wellesley, MA.
Charmaraman, L., Schaefer, H., Bacaj, C., Harvey, R., & Jordan, K. (2022, November). How are social media behaviors and attitudes related to depression over time? Examining the mediating factor of early adolescent peer victimization. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, Boston, MA.
Delcourt, C. G., Charmaraman L., Gu, C., Durrani, S, and Xiao, T (2022, May). Innovating novel online social spaces with diverse middle school girls: Ideation and collaboration in a synchronous virtual design workshop. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 248, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3517576
Hernandez, J. M., Ben-Joseph, E., & Charmaraman, L. (2022, May). Reevaluating parental monitoring behaviors of early adolescent social technology use in the US: A mixed-methods approach. Paper presented at the 72nd annual International Communication Association Conference, Paris, France.
Hernandez, M., Ben-Joseph, E., & Charmaraman, L. (2022, April). Influences of Parental Monitoring Styles and Technoference on Early Adolescent Social Technology Use. Paper presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
Zhai, E., Jordan, K., Reeves-Miller, T., Xiao, T., & Charmaraman, L. (2020). Self-care and wellbeing on social media for adolescents of color. Panel presented at the Diversity Challenge, Boston College, Boston, MA.
Ben-Joseph, E. P., Hernandez, J. M., & Charmaraman, L. (2020, March). Restriction to communication: A mixed-method study of parental monitoring style, family closeness, and adolescent screen behaviors. Paper accepted to the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.
Charmaraman, L., Serrano Najera, C., Adachi-Mejia, A., & Delcourt, C. (2020, March). Disconnecting and reconnecting: A Photovoice project to support healthy social media use in early adolescence. Poster accepted to the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.
Charmaraman, L., Richer, A., Unni, S., Serrano Najera, C., Cobas, S. (2019, August). Playing violent and mature online games: Implications for adolescent health and social interactions. Poster presented at the APA annual meeting, Chicago, IL.
Charmaraman, L., Richer, A., DeSouza, L., & Madsen, K. (2019, May). Analyzing liberal voter interpretations of Trump’s "Make America Great Again": Implications for race, gender, and political identity. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Washington, DC.
Charmaraman, L., Madsen, K., Richer, A., & DeSouza, L. (2018, August). How liberal voters interpreted the 2016 trump media campaign: Race, gender, age, and civic issues. Poster presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
Charmaraman, L., Richer, A., Leu, R., Suleyman, N., & Moreno, M. (2018, August). Adolescent social media use and body image: Associations with depression, social anxiety, and peers. Poster presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
Charmaraman, L., Ramanudom, B., Chan, H. B., Richer, A., & Tracy, A. (2016, October). Asian American social media use: From cyber dependence to cyber harassment. Poster presented at the Society for Research on Child Development Special Topic Meeting: Technology and media in children’s development. Irvine, CA.
Price, T., & Charmaraman, L. (2016, August). Social media: a potential tool for Black women’s mental health. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Association of Black Psychologists, Arlington, VA.
Charmaraman, L., Notsu, H., & Richer, A. (2016, June). Parents and peers on Facebook: Longitudinal associations with sexual activity and definitions of sex. Presented at the 2016 Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT) conference, Seattle, WA.
Charmaraman, L., Notsu, H., Richer, A., & Parmelee, K. (2016, April). How early adolescents define sex: Longitudinal associations with Facebook friendship networks and sexual activity. Poster presented at Society for Research on Adolescence, Baltimore, MD.
Price, T., Charmaraman, L., Chan, H. B., & Richer, A. (2015, November). Women of color and social media multitasking: Blogs, timelines, feeds, and community. Chapter presented at the National Communication Association, Las Vegas, NV.
Charmaraman, L., Notsu, H., & Richer, A. (2015, May). Young adolescents on Facebook: parents, peer sexual norms and knowledge about sex. Paper presented at the International Communications Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA.
Charmaraman, L., Richer, A., & Chan, B. (2015, March). Do age and SES matter? A mixed-method exploration of social media use during good and bad times. Paper presented at Society for Research on Child Development, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Chan, B., & Charmaraman, L. (2014, October). Impact of Stereotyped Media Portrayals on Asian American and Latina Women. Poster presented at the annual Diversity Challenge, Boston College, MA.
Charmaraman, L., Price, T., & Lau, R. (2014, August). The educational opportunity gap for girls of color – a media-messaging strategy. Paper and documentary presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Charmaraman, L., & Chan, B. (2013, October). Televised images and social networking: Asian American media habits and attitudes. Poster presented at the Diversity Challenge, Boston College, MA.
Charmaraman, L., Tracy, A., Price, T., Grossman, J., & Erkut, S. (2013, June). Preliminary results from a web-based recruitment study on Media & Identity of vulnerable young people. Poster presented at the Seventh Annual Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections Symposium, Princeton University

Videos

STUDENT COLLABORATORS SAY

“I participated in my first conference because of the lab -- I was given the opportunity to present on self care, motivations, and wellbeing for adolescents of color and how this is related to how they access and use social media!”

Emily Zhai, Wellesley College Class of 2021
Major: Neuroscience and Women's and Gender Studies
STUDENT COLLABORATORS SAY

“I have learned so much working in the lab—everything from how to interview adolescent participants, to coding and analyzing qualitative data, to writing peer-reviewed publications.”

Ramona Smucker, Wellesley College Class of 2021
Major: English and Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Psych Concentration
STUDENT COLLABORATORS SAY

“While working for the lab, I learned what it’s like to do social science research and design infographics!”

Tulani Reeves-Miller, Wellesley College Class of 2021
Major: Media Arts and Sciences
STUDENT COLLABORATORS SAY

“As an intern for the lab this year, I’ve loved learning more about how marginalized populations use social media, and gaining experience conducting literature reviews and writing up research findings!”

Rachel Hodes, Wellesley College Class of 2021
Major: Sociology