The Amplifier Magazine
“Our organization remains a leading voice in the application of psychology to emerging media, technological, and social shifts” – Perry Reed, Editor
From Our President:
What the Media Does to the Mind—And What Psychology Must Do About It
By Lawrence M. Drake II, PhD
Imagine two people receive the same news alert. The first reads the headline, forms an opinion, and shares it within seconds. The second pauses—questions the source, considers the narrative frame, wonders who benefits from their reaction—and only then decides what, if anything, to do. Both are intelligent. Both are informed. But only one is media fluent. And in the AI era, that difference may be the most consequential capability gap of our time.
More Updates from Leadership
Before the House Is Built: Psychology’s Narrowing Window in the Age of AI
Past President’s Column, by Kristian A Alomá, PhD
From Facilitator to Participant: Our Evolving Relationship with Media and Technology
President-Elect’s Column, by Christopher L. Heffner, PsyD, PhD
Social Media and the Shifting Semiotics of the Tiny Microphone
Editor’s Column, by Perry A. Reed, PhD
Featured Article:
Consumption at Its Finest!: The Mental Health Risks Promoted by Social Media Fast Fashion
By Abbigail McGee & K. Meghan Hopper, PhD
Popular fast fashion companies Shein and Temu have been extending their user base over the past few years, taking advantage of trends, cheap materials, and the environment to become top competitors in the clothing industry. Fast fashion can be understood as a method to get ahead of competing brands by “compress(ing) production cycles and turn(ing) out up-to-the-minute designs, enabling shoppers to not only…
Book Review:
Review of Understanding Parasocial Relationships
By Jessie Buttafuoco, MA
In the crowded landscape of media psychology, parasocial relationships continue to command the spotlight. Scholars have spent decades researching how audiences form meaningful connections with celebrities, fictional characters, and other mediated figures across a variety of mediated domains. In Understanding Parasocial Relationships, Gayle Stever presents a comprehensive and accessible review of parasocial relationships, synthesizing decades of research while highlighting contemporary developments in our ever-changing digital media landscape.
What We’re Missing About Age, Race and Polarization
By Scott M. Debb, EdD
Imagine coming of age in a world surrounded by vitriolic semi-anonymous and often deindividualized voices that try to consume you, whether you are on or offline. Racial tensions and political divisiveness have created a culture defined by chronic stress for many, contrasted with overwhelming insulation from the deleterious impact of this, a privilege afforded to the few. A global pandemic that disproportionately impacted…
The Cloud is a Media Psychology Marketing Metaphor
By Bernard Luskin, EdD, MFT
The term cloud computing helps shape how people think. Cloud computing is actually a media psychology marketing metaphor. What is called “the cloud” actually means transferring information stored on your computer to a remote computer owned and managed by someone else.
The Verdict That Named Developmental Vulnerability as Corporate Responsibility
By Melinda Karth, PhD & Kate Blocker, PhD
In 2025, Kaley’s experience became the basis for K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms Inc. et al., a landmark case that formally recognized this link between early social platform use and clinical harm. A U.S. jury concluded that Kaley’s condition was not simply an outcome of media exposure. Rather, it found that Meta and Google, despite knowing the risks, had deliberately engineered their platforms, through algorithmic recommendations, infinite scroll, autoplay, and visible engagement metrics, to maximize user engagement…
