Jess Maddox
@jessmaddox.bsky.social
Social media expert. Media studies prof, University of Georgia. Thoughts mine.
👇🏻👇🏻
Subscribe to my free Substack newsletter on all things social media!
https://bythewaysocial.substack.com
https://buymeacoffee.com/jessmaddox
👇🏻👇🏻
Subscribe to my free Substack newsletter on all things social media!
https://bythewaysocial.substack.com
https://buymeacoffee.com/jessmaddox
I'm slowly pivoting to holiday time off - my next Substack post drops the Monday after American Thanksgiving and contains all of my thoughts about "parasocial" as Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year.
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
BTW: We Are All Parasocial Now
You, me, and your friend obsessed with Taylor Swift
open.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM
I'm slowly pivoting to holiday time off - my next Substack post drops the Monday after American Thanksgiving and contains all of my thoughts about "parasocial" as Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year.
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
I was listening to a podcast of authors talking about "bad review" parties where everyone brings their most brutal review to try to win a predetermined prize.
Academics should do this with peer reviews.
I think my "amusing at best, waste of academic time at worst" is a strong contender.
Academics should do this with peer reviews.
I think my "amusing at best, waste of academic time at worst" is a strong contender.
November 24, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I was listening to a podcast of authors talking about "bad review" parties where everyone brings their most brutal review to try to win a predetermined prize.
Academics should do this with peer reviews.
I think my "amusing at best, waste of academic time at worst" is a strong contender.
Academics should do this with peer reviews.
I think my "amusing at best, waste of academic time at worst" is a strong contender.
Recent adventures in cooking.
November 24, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Recent adventures in cooking.
Reposted by Jess Maddox
“I watched as Bobby cut nearly a half billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers.” Heartbreaking piece by Tatiana Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s granddaughter and RFK Jr.’s cousin.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:10 PM
“I watched as Bobby cut nearly a half billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers.” Heartbreaking piece by Tatiana Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s granddaughter and RFK Jr.’s cousin.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
A hard, beautiful read that shows Jack Scholssberg was being diplomatic about RFK jr’s comments on cancer.
My mom died of this same type of leukemia. It’s a brutal, highly aggressive form of cancer…that is absolutely not cause by vaccines.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
My mom died of this same type of leukemia. It’s a brutal, highly aggressive form of cancer…that is absolutely not cause by vaccines.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:14 PM
A hard, beautiful read that shows Jack Scholssberg was being diplomatic about RFK jr’s comments on cancer.
My mom died of this same type of leukemia. It’s a brutal, highly aggressive form of cancer…that is absolutely not cause by vaccines.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
My mom died of this same type of leukemia. It’s a brutal, highly aggressive form of cancer…that is absolutely not cause by vaccines.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
“Other examples…included Lily Allen's breakup album West End Girl, which leaned into a parasocial interest in her love life, and the emergence of parasocial relationships with AI bots, which saw people treat them as a confidant, friend or romantic partner.”
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Parasocial is named as Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year
Examples include the parasocial interest shown by fans to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement.
www.bbc.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:48 PM
“Other examples…included Lily Allen's breakup album West End Girl, which leaned into a parasocial interest in her love life, and the emergence of parasocial relationships with AI bots, which saw people treat them as a confidant, friend or romantic partner.”
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Tomorrow in my newsletter: Vine is back. Here's what it means for the creator economy.
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
BTW: Vine Is Back.
But nostalgia can only make it so successful
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Tomorrow in my newsletter: Vine is back. Here's what it means for the creator economy.
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
When I talk about us all being casually parasocial with each other, this is what I mean.
Online spaces have invited us to decimate our boundaries and social etiquette and then try to write it off as normal. It invites us to treat everyone as friend - even when they’re a stranger.
Online spaces have invited us to decimate our boundaries and social etiquette and then try to write it off as normal. It invites us to treat everyone as friend - even when they’re a stranger.
November 20, 2025 at 2:21 PM
When I talk about us all being casually parasocial with each other, this is what I mean.
Online spaces have invited us to decimate our boundaries and social etiquette and then try to write it off as normal. It invites us to treat everyone as friend - even when they’re a stranger.
Online spaces have invited us to decimate our boundaries and social etiquette and then try to write it off as normal. It invites us to treat everyone as friend - even when they’re a stranger.
It warms my heart that my students this semester are extremely anti-AI
November 19, 2025 at 10:53 PM
It warms my heart that my students this semester are extremely anti-AI
Reposted by Jess Maddox
1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
September 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
Reposted by Jess Maddox
If you're not devastated by this news, please read some of Alice's work.
She was a champion for justice, lifting the voices of a broad array of disabled people, and disabled joy ❤️
disabilityvisibilityproject.com/book/
She was a champion for justice, lifting the voices of a broad array of disabled people, and disabled joy ❤️
disabilityvisibilityproject.com/book/
November 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM
If you're not devastated by this news, please read some of Alice's work.
She was a champion for justice, lifting the voices of a broad array of disabled people, and disabled joy ❤️
disabilityvisibilityproject.com/book/
She was a champion for justice, lifting the voices of a broad array of disabled people, and disabled joy ❤️
disabilityvisibilityproject.com/book/
Reposted by Jess Maddox
Nine percent fewer international students have applied to study at U.S. colleges next year.
The largest drops occurred among applicants from Asia and Africa.
The largest drops occurred among applicants from Asia and Africa.
How foreign student enrollment is shifting in the U.S., in 6 charts
Foreign student enrollment in U.S. colleges has stalled, with a 17 percent decline in new students this fall after Trump policy changes, a key survey shows.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Nine percent fewer international students have applied to study at U.S. colleges next year.
The largest drops occurred among applicants from Asia and Africa.
The largest drops occurred among applicants from Asia and Africa.
I don't think I've ever been this excited about my career.
November 17, 2025 at 3:49 PM
I don't think I've ever been this excited about my career.
Reposted by Jess Maddox
Calling all humilitainment scholars:
I'm putting together a panel for the Canadian Communication Association's 2026 conference on humilitainment, pleasure, & media industries with @krystenstein.bsky.social and @jessmaddox.bsky.social.
We need 1 more panelist. Is this you? DM me by 11/24!
I'm putting together a panel for the Canadian Communication Association's 2026 conference on humilitainment, pleasure, & media industries with @krystenstein.bsky.social and @jessmaddox.bsky.social.
We need 1 more panelist. Is this you? DM me by 11/24!
November 14, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Calling all humilitainment scholars:
I'm putting together a panel for the Canadian Communication Association's 2026 conference on humilitainment, pleasure, & media industries with @krystenstein.bsky.social and @jessmaddox.bsky.social.
We need 1 more panelist. Is this you? DM me by 11/24!
I'm putting together a panel for the Canadian Communication Association's 2026 conference on humilitainment, pleasure, & media industries with @krystenstein.bsky.social and @jessmaddox.bsky.social.
We need 1 more panelist. Is this you? DM me by 11/24!
Sitting on big exciting news sucks because I’m the type of person who buys my husband a great gift, tells him I bought him a great gift, and then five minutes later tells him what I got him.
Big academic news coming in January.
Big academic news coming in January.
November 13, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Sitting on big exciting news sucks because I’m the type of person who buys my husband a great gift, tells him I bought him a great gift, and then five minutes later tells him what I got him.
Big academic news coming in January.
Big academic news coming in January.
“The rise of the creator economy has blurred the line between the personal and the performative…For many creators, the more intimate the moment, the more lucrative the post. The financial incentive to share has turned the private self into an asset class.”
time.com/7332708/crea...
time.com/7332708/crea...
We’re All Working for the Algorithm Now
In a world where every moment can become content, intimacy has become the price of visibility.
time.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:37 PM
“The rise of the creator economy has blurred the line between the personal and the performative…For many creators, the more intimate the moment, the more lucrative the post. The financial incentive to share has turned the private self into an asset class.”
time.com/7332708/crea...
time.com/7332708/crea...
Yesterday a student called me "the cringe millennial professor of their dreams" and I guess that's a good thing
November 13, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Yesterday a student called me "the cringe millennial professor of their dreams" and I guess that's a good thing
Reposted by Jess Maddox
BOSTON (AP) — Judges order the federal government to use contingency funds for SNAP food aid payments during the shutdown.
October 31, 2025 at 6:07 PM
BOSTON (AP) — Judges order the federal government to use contingency funds for SNAP food aid payments during the shutdown.
Memes I made while procrastinating writing my "Is Taylor Swift a trad wife?" talk
October 31, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Memes I made while procrastinating writing my "Is Taylor Swift a trad wife?" talk
A hard part about being a media studies professor is my personal and professional opinions on media don’t always align.
How do I reconcile that? Carefully. Deliberately. The same way I enjoy social media and also write extensively on social media. It takes time and practice
How do I reconcile that? Carefully. Deliberately. The same way I enjoy social media and also write extensively on social media. It takes time and practice
October 28, 2025 at 12:22 PM
A hard part about being a media studies professor is my personal and professional opinions on media don’t always align.
How do I reconcile that? Carefully. Deliberately. The same way I enjoy social media and also write extensively on social media. It takes time and practice
How do I reconcile that? Carefully. Deliberately. The same way I enjoy social media and also write extensively on social media. It takes time and practice
Reposted by Jess Maddox
The NY Times and WaPo may be lost causes but holy shite look at PEOPLE out here absolutely killing it with 100% unvarnished truths 🌟
October 28, 2025 at 1:09 AM
The NY Times and WaPo may be lost causes but holy shite look at PEOPLE out here absolutely killing it with 100% unvarnished truths 🌟
All these universities hastily hiring for AI positions when the bubble is going to burst in a year or two is like if they’d hired for website professors in 2000 before the dot-com crash
October 23, 2025 at 2:06 AM
All these universities hastily hiring for AI positions when the bubble is going to burst in a year or two is like if they’d hired for website professors in 2000 before the dot-com crash
Reposted by Jess Maddox
Save the date! @jessmaddox.bsky.social (Zoom) talks about Taylor Swift on Oct. 31 in Tucker 127A, William & Mary
October 23, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Save the date! @jessmaddox.bsky.social (Zoom) talks about Taylor Swift on Oct. 31 in Tucker 127A, William & Mary
Against my better judgement I wade into the discourse. Monday in my newsletter.
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
Is Taylor Swift a Racist?
Encoding/Decoding Media, Algorithmic Outrage, and Problematic White Women
open.substack.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Against my better judgement I wade into the discourse. Monday in my newsletter.
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
open.substack.com/pub/bytheway...
Academic friends - if journals had, say, a code of ethics for peer review, what would you want to see included?
October 9, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Academic friends - if journals had, say, a code of ethics for peer review, what would you want to see included?