Nikhila Natarajan studies youth media habits and practices as it relates to the role of Artificial Intelligence in teens’ everyday media use. She approaches these topics through a mix of naturalistic observation, in-depth interviews and surveys both in person and online. Natarajan’s early work while at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information has won awards at important media conferences such as the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the New York State Communication Association. Her current research includes how teens and families use AI-infused media. Natarajan is the lead instructor for the Digital Communication and Information minor titled Digital Technology and Disruptive Change since Fall 2023. When she finishes work each day, she can be found at the local tennis courts—a sparring partner for high school tennis hopefuls.
Education
Northwestern University
MS, Integrated Marketing Communications
Times School of Journalism
Diploma in Journalism
Madras University
BA, Economics
Selected Publications
Jhaver, S., Zhang, A. Q., Chen, Q. Z., Natarajan, N., Wang, R., & Zhang, A. X. (2023). Personalizing content moderation on social media: User perspectives on moderation choices, interface design, and labor. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 7(CSCW2), 1-33.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3610080
Natarajan, N. (2024). Do They Stop? How Do They Stop? Why Do They Stop? Whether, How, and Why Teens Insert “Frictions” Into Social Media’s Infinite Scroll. International Journal of Communication, 18, 20.
https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/21618
Jordan, A., & Natarajan, N. (2024). From TV to social media to “ambient” AI: Insights from 30 years of children’s media policy in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 1-8.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2024.2345530
Awards & Recognitions
"Promising Professor" Award 2024
Selected by the Mass Communication and Society Division, Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (AEJMC) annual conference, Philadelphia.
Top Graduate Student Paper 2024
Peer reviewed journal article published in the International Journal of Communication (IJoC), selected as top graduate paper by the New York State Communication Association.
Article: ("Do They Stop? How Do They Stop? Why Do They Stop? Whether, How, and Why Teens Insert "Frictions" Into Social Media’s Infinite Scroll")
Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, Rutgers SC&I 2023
Awarded by the Media Studies PhD faculty at Rutgers SC&I, at the annual Honors Day.
Best Student Paper Award, AEJMC 2023
Awarded by the Media Management, Economics and Entrepreneurship Division. Paper: “How does email newsletter use affect paid news subscription and customer retention?”
Doctoral Student Representative, Research & Development Committee 2022-2024
Selected by the Rutgers SC&I PhD Program leadership to serve on the school’s Research and Development Committee.