Research Associate
Email: alicia.ernst@uni-mainz.de
Alicia Ernst is a research associate at the Computational Communication Research Group at the Department of Communication since September 2022.
In 2022, she received her M.A. in Communication with a focus on Corporate Communication with the thesis “Connected or Drained? Informal Communication and Well-Being During Work from Home” from Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and the University of Gothenburg. From 2016-2019 she completed her Bachelor´s studies in Communication (major) and Film Studies (minor) at Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz with a thesis on the process of finding inspiration on Instagram.
She worked in various positions as a research assistant during her studies at the Department of Communication (Media Effects and Media Psychology Research Group; Corporate Communication Research Group). As a student, she gained experience in several fields of media such as being a PR intern at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt/Main and an editorial associate at the Department of New Media at Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) in Mainz.
Research focus
- Media selection in algorithmically curated environments
- Digital media and well-being (e.g., social media, mobile media use, computer-mediated communication)
- Digital media and entertainment experiences
- Intensive longitudinal/in-situ survey designs and digital trace data approaches
Awards
- 2025 – Top Paper Award (2nd place) of the media use and effects division of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) (with Felix Dietrich, Benedikt Rohr, Leonard Reinecke, & Michael Scharkow)
- 2023 – Paul Lazarsfeld Stipend of the Paul Lazarsfeld Association and the methods division of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) for methodologically sophisticated and innovative student theses
- 2022 – Top Poster Award of the Communication & Technology Division at the 72nd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) (with Leonard Reinecke)
- 2022 – "Master-Award Corporate Communication" sponsored by LAUTENBACH SASS and organized by the Alumni Foundation of the Department of Communication University of Mainz