Gina studied under the mentorship of cognitive psychologist Robert Kubey, Ph.D., whose research on television addiction and screen dependency inspired her dissertation, and continues to inform her focus on fostering cognitive engagement, epistemic awareness, and healthy screen behaviors. 

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Her current teaching and research bridge media studies, cogntive psychology, human communication, media ecology, learning sciences, and socio-technical systems theory. The ubiquity of screens and more recently artifical intelligence places human communication in the crosshairs of algorithmic persuasion and platform logics  demanding a deeper understanding of how the invisible elements of the media environment intentionally hijack and manipulate human emotions at scale.  Since discovering a student deployed an artifical intelligence agent in one of her asychnous courses, she is most concerned with the profound negative effect AI is having on higher education, learning, and student engagement. 

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Her teaching aims to encourage students to choose deep learning over efficiency, human presence over constant distraction, and to actively choose mindful strategies for managing screen time. ​

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For more information

gm@comminfo.rutgers.edu

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