ADPR Assistant Professor, Mengyan Ma, Ph.D., Says Social Media Shapes Adolescents’ Well-being
Ma examines influencer marketing’s impacts on young audiences and calls for more ethical, empathetic communication
By: Yuxuan Zhu
For ADPR assistant professor, Mengyan Ma, research is more than data and theories — it’s a reflection of personal experience and social concern. Ma studies how social media and influencer marketing affect adolescents’ awareness, choices and mental well-being. Her project explores how digital influence shapes young people’s minds and how communicators can guide that influence in a more positive and ethical direction. It began in early 2025 and was inspired by what she observed in her own family.
She says watching her two children grow up surrounded by digital media made her realize how deeply online content can shape young audiences’ perceptions. She says she noticed that even at an early age, children start forming ideas about what is “cool,” “healthy,” or “trendy” based on what they see on screens. That realization led her to study the negative effects of influencer marketing and social media on adolescents, and how they and their parents build awareness of the content they encounter online.
In her recent interviews with families and adolescents about young people’s attitudes and behaviors on influencer marketing, Ma found that many adolescents develop strong trust in the influencers they follow. It is a level of credibility that demands a proportional sense of responsibility from the influencers.
“They have particular influencers they like to follow, and whatever those influencers are talking about, they really trust them,” she said.
Ma highlights the need for ethical responsibility and transparency in influencer marketing. She says she believes that policymakers, influencers, advertisers and brands should all take part in this discussion.
“If people trust you, you should provide complete information, not just what’s great about a product but also its risks and side effects,” said Ma.
She says there is a gap between the information received by adolescents and their parents. Many young people learn about trends online while their parents remain unaware of what they are exposed to. This gap shows the need for better collaboration and communication among parents, schools and teachers, who play a key role in guiding children’s understanding of online content.
For AD+PR students, Ma’s perspective serves as a reminder that strategy and empathy go hand in hand. She encourages future communicators to think not only about reach and engagement, but also about the long-term impact of their messages. To her, effective communication is not just about creativity or data but about understanding the responsibility that comes with influence. She says she hopes students will learn to approach campaigns with both ambition and awareness, and try their best to use persuasive storytelling with ethical intent.
“When we make our messages engaging, we also need to think about how they might influence a generation,” said Ma.
Learn more about Ma and her work online.
