Inhwan Bae

she/her

Graduate Student, Department of Communication

About

Inhwan is a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at Cornell University. She is a member of the Cornell Social Media Lab, advised by Dr. Natalie Bazarova. Her research examines how user-driven platform governance can foster online communities that are sustainable, prosocial, and engaging for all, especially as emerging technologies reshape online behaviors. She investigates the psychological mechanisms underlying civic engagement on social media and works to cultivate deliberative conversations. In her research, she employs simulated social media platforms and multi-agent discourse built specifically for experimental study. Inhwan's work has been featured in PNAS Nexus, Journal of Medical Internet Research, and Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Her interdisciplinary work on developing a digital literacy program for older adults can be found at the DART Collective. Her work has been supported by NSF and the President's Council of Cornell Women.

Inhwan holds an MA and a BA in Communication from Seoul National University and worked at the Institute of Communication Research at Seoul National University.

Education

B.A., Communication, Seoul National University
M.A., Communication, Seoul National University

Interests

AI and Emerging Technologies; Civic Engagement; Human-AI Interaction; Media Psychology; AI for Social Science; Computational Social Science

Courses Taught

COMM 2820 Research Methods in Communication Studies (Summer 2025)

Contact Information

ib295 [at] cornell.edu

- Personal website

Selected Publications

Journal Publications

Zhao, P., Bazarova, N. N., Bae, I., Hui, W., Kizilcec, R. F., & Margolin, D. (2025). Restorative justice appeals trump retributive vigilance on social media. PNAS Nexus, 4(9), pgaf255. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf255
Ahn, S., Lee, C., & Bae, I. (2024). Patients’ use of electronic health records facilitates patient-centered communication: Findings from the 2017 health information national trends survey. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e50476. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/50476
Lee, E.-J., Lee, W., & Bae, I. (2023). What is the draw of the metaverse? Personality correlates of Zepeto use motives and their associations with psychological well-being. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 26(3), 161–168. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2022.0164

Book Chapter

Lee, E.-J., & Bae, I. (2023). Misinformation and communication authenticity crisis. S. M. Yoon (Eds.) Misinformation and fact check journalism(pp 239-284). Seoul National University Press.

Inhwan in the news

6 individuals stand and smile in front of Cornell CALS poster

News

March 4, 2026

COMM Updates - 3/4/2026

March 4, 2026 Events Join us for COMMColloquium Monday, March 23, 2026, 3:00 pm, in 102 Mann Library Building with graduate student Bya Rodrigues (title TBD). The colloquium is followed by a reception located in The Hub of the Department of...

four people stand in front of a sign that reads I heart NCA

News

December 3, 2025

COMM Updates - 12/3/2025

December 3, 2025 Awards Assistant Professor Monica Cornejo et al., received the Top Paper Award in the Interpersonal Communication Division from the National Communication Association. Their paper, titled “Exploring the Effects and Content of...