About

Joseph Bayer is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. He holds a PhD from the University of Michigan and is affiliated with the Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI) and the Department of Psychology. He directs the Mobile Social Cognition (MSC) Lab, which specializes in using mobile methods—collecting digital and survey data through mobile devices—to study the mental processes that underlie social connection. His research focuses on how our minds are changing due to smartphone and social media habits, as well as how people move between online and offline spaces in daily life. His work addresses societal concerns related to digital well-being and technology addictions.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Human–computer interaction
• Social psychology
• World Wide Web
• Mathematics
• Data science
• Aesthetics
• Cognitive psychology
• Internet privacy

Selected publications

• Which platforms count? The diverse meanings of “social media” in the United States.

  Psychology of Popular Media · 2026-03-26

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Does Longer Phone Use Always Feel Worse? Examining How Intention and Duration Shape Evaluations of Time Use

  2026-04-13 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Prior work has examined how users judge their smartphone use, typically focusing on either usage duration or intention. How these two factors jointly shape such evaluations remains unclear. We conducted a two-week study with 104 participants, who reviewed their screenshots and provided labels of both usage intention and evaluation of time use. Across 73,000 sessions (6.1M screenshots), the relationship between duration and evaluation was initially linear but then bounded: positive evaluations declined and negative ones rose with longer phone use duration but both eventually stabilized, most often judged neutral. Trajectories varied by intention. Entertainment mirrored the overall trend; functional use continually lost positive evaluations, whereas information-seeking became increasingly positive during the first half hour before later declining; messaging-based connections slowly lost positive evaluations, while social media–based connections declined more quickly; finally, “no specific intention” unfolded in phases—from short positive use to regret-prone mid-length episodes to neutral long sessions.

  PublisherDOI

• The Right Fit: When Socially Anxious Individuals Gain the Most From Social Interactions

  Social Psychological and Personality Science · 2026-02-09

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Social interactions are crucial for social connection and well-being, yet individuals differ in how much they benefit from them. This two-week experience sampling study ( N = 157; 10,547 social interactions) explored how trait social anxiety shapes interaction quality (i.e., pleasantness, playfulness, and meaningfulness) and momentary energy. We also examined the moderating roles of interaction channel (face-to-face vs. mediated), group size (large vs. small), and familiarity (familiar vs. unfamiliar). Dimensions of interaction quality were robustly positively associated with increased momentary energy at both the within- and between-person levels. Social anxiety was negatively related to energy. For interaction quality, the social context mattered: the negative effect of social anxiety on playfulness was attenuated in small (vs. large) group interactions, and the negative effect on meaningfulness was weaker in mediated (vs. face-to-face) interactions. The findings suggest that more controllable and close-knit social contexts better align with the psychological needs of socially anxious individuals.

  PublisherDOI

• Connecting and Disconnecting in Daily Life: An Integrative Model of (Dis)Connection Norms, Needs, and Habits

  2026-03-25

  articleOpen access

  In a world with the potential to constantly connect via mobile media, it can be hard to disconnect. Studies have increasingly documented how people take “detoxes” from mobile media, but few have examined the moment-to-moment processes underlying disconnection and connection in everyday life. The current paper extends the Connection Cues framework to create an integrative model of connection and disconnection norms, habits, and needs in the context of mobile messaging. An experience sampling study in the United States and Germany (Total N = 243; n = 10,631 surveys) found that connection and disconnection behavior were largely shaped by norms, especially in the U.S. sample. Habits were more associated with connection behavior in the German sample. Unexpectedly, needs were largely unrelated to subsequent connection and disconnection behavior. These findings clarify the distinct but interwoven processes of connection and disconnection in daily life, with implications for balancing the competing pressures of (dis)connection.

  PublisherDOI

• Social media vs. messaging: using GPS data to explore social app ecologies in context

  Behaviour and Information Technology · 2026-02-05

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Connecting and Disconnecting in Daily Life: An Integrative Model of (Dis)Connection Norms, Needs, and Habits

  MediArXiv (OSF Preprints) · 2026-03-19

  preprintOpen access

  In a world with the potential to constantly connect via mobile media, it can be hard to disconnect. Studies have increasingly documented how people take “detoxes” from mobile media, but few have examined the moment-to-moment processes underlying disconnection and connection in everyday life. The current paper extends the Connection Cues framework to create an integrative model of connection and disconnection norms, habits, and needs in the context of mobile messaging. An experience sampling study in the United States and Germany (Total N = 243; n = 10,631 surveys) found that connection and disconnection behavior were largely shaped by norms, especially in the U.S. sample. Habits were more associated with connection behavior in the German sample. Unexpectedly, needs were largely unrelated to subsequent connection and disconnection behavior. These findings clarify the distinct but interwoven processes of connection and disconnection in daily life, with implications for balancing the competing pressures of (dis)connection.

  Publisher

• Zooming in on Smartphone Habits: Identifying Behavioral Indicators of Perceived Automaticity

  2025-09-13

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Research suggests that a large portion of media use is driven by habit. Yet our ability to measure habitual processes directly remains limited, suggesting that more naturalistic methods are needed. Leveraging a deep mobile event log and experience sampling dataset of German Internet users (N = 889), we probe the situational dynamics of smartphone habits. We investigate how moment-to-moment smartphone behavior corresponds to the perception of automaticity, with implications for the measurement of habitual behavior more generally. Contrary to expectations, duration – rather than frequency – of smartphone behavior emerged as the more consistent predictor of situational habit perception at both within- and between-person levels. However, these links varied by the type of behavior, with sessions and episodes (but not glances) relating to perceived automaticity. Additionally, home screen and gateway app use were not associated with perceived automaticity. Our results generate new insights – and deep questions – into the nature of real-world media habits.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Zooming in on Smartphone Habits: Identifying Behavioral Indicators of Perceived Automaticity

  2025-09-11

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Research suggests that a large portion of media use is driven by habit. Yet our ability to measure habitual processes directly remains limited, suggesting that more naturalistic methods are needed. Leveraging a deep mobile event log and experience sampling dataset of German Internet users (N = 889), we probe the situational dynamics of smartphone habits. We investigate how moment-to-moment smartphone behavior corresponds to the perception of automaticity, with implications for the measurement of habitual behavior more generally. Contrary to expectations, duration – rather than frequency – of smartphone behavior emerged as the more consistent predictor of situational habit perception at both within- and between-person levels. However, these links varied by the type of behavior, with sessions and episodes (but not glances) relating to perceived automaticity. Additionally, home screen and gateway app use were not associated with perceived automaticity. Our results generate new insights – and deep questions – into the nature of real-world media habits.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The four conceptualizations of social connection

  Nature Reviews Psychology · 2025-06-16 · 5 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Reflecting on Dunbar’s numbers: Individual differences in energy allocation to personal relationships

  PLoS ONE · 2025-03-11 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Past studies have investigated the variability in how people engage with their personal networks, yet less is known about how people perceive their energy allocation to different ties. Drawing on an online survey sample (N = 906), we tested whether subjective perceptions of energy allocation conform to so-called Dunbar's Number(s). In addition, we evaluated the predictive roles of Big Five personality traits and self-esteem while controlling for differences in network structure. Results revealed significant heterogeneity in perceived energy allocation to different layers of personal networks (i.e., inner 5 vs. middle 15 vs. outer 150 relationships). In contrast to expectations, extraversion was not associated with perceived energy allocation, whereas self-esteem was associated with greater energy allocation to the middle (vs. inner) network layer. Our findings add to our knowledge of how people perceive relationship maintenance across their personal networks, along with the links to key psychological traits. More broadly, the findings suggest that more attention should be paid to psychological implications of the middle layer of personal networks. To conclude, we discuss the importance of studying individual differences in how people prioritize - and reflect on - different relationships in their networks.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Emily B. Falk

  20 shared

• Jean M. Vettel

  DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory

  13 shared

• Morgan Quinn Ross

  The Ohio State University

  12 shared

• Matthew Brook O’Donnell

  National Museums Liverpool

  12 shared

• Christopher N. Cascio

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  11 shared

• Scott W. Campbell

  The Ohio State University

  9 shared

• Nicole B. Ellison

  8 shared

• Sarita Schoenebeck

  7 shared