New technologies are omnipresent. They accompany us on the train, in the waiting room, sometimes even at the dinner table. In addition, technologies such as TikTok, Instagram or YouTube have a social function: they connect us with many other people, give us insights into their lives and allow us to exchange information with them about current events. We also lead a "social life" via new communication technologies. Accordingly, it is reasonable to assume that these social technologies and the interactions within them shape us beyond adolescence in our self-perception, moral values, worldview, or sense of group membership. From a psychological perspective, these potential socialization and learning processes are highly exciting and can be addressed by asking different questions:

• Under what circumstances do interactions via social media shape our self-concept (e.g., as a politically engaged person)?
• When can social technologies shape, reinforce, or weaken the moral values of their users?
• To what extent do social media contribute to the reinforcement and spread of tendencies such as "cancel culture" in our society?
• When can central actors in social media (e.g., influencers, food bloggers, mom/dad bloggers) teach us worldviews, concepts of nutrition and parenting, and sustainably shape our actions in everyday life?
• How can new technologies activate new group identities or make existing ones more salient?

Selected publications:

Neubaum, G., & Lane, D. S. (accepted in principle). Nevertheless, it persists: Political self-effects in the context of persistent social media [Registered Report]. Journal of Media Psychology.

Krämer, N. C., Eimler, S. C., Neubaum, G., Winter, S., Rösner, L., & Oliver, M. B. (2017). Broadcasting one world – How watching elevating online videos can trigger a sense of universal orientation and a reduction of social stereotypes. New Media & Society, 19, 1349–1368. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816639963