Megan Sawey

Lecturer, Department of Communication

Megan's research explores media, technology, identity, and undergraduate culture. Megan has also studied the creator economy, with a particular focus on creators' and influencers' identities, labor conditions, and experiences with social media platforms.

Education

Ph.D., Communication, Cornell University
M.S., Communication, Cornell University
B.A., Advertising, Temple University

Courses Taught

COMM 4300/INFO 4301: Ethics in New Media, Technology, and Communication
COMM 3065: Sports Communication
COMM 1300: Visual Communication
COMM 3200: New Media and Society
COMM 2200: Media Communication

Contact Information

mes476 [at] cornell.edu

Selected Publications

Journal Publications

Sawey, M. (2025). Mediating the sugar baby imaginary: Popular narratives about gender and sexuality in sugar dating. Media and Communication, 13, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.8811
Duffy, B. E., Anonye, A., & Sawey, M. (2023). The politics of vulnerability in the influencer economy. European Journal of Cultural Studies.
Duffy, B. E., & Sawey, M. (2022). In/visibility in social media work: The hidden labor behind the brands. Media and Communication.
Duffy, B. E., Pinch, A., Sannon, S., & Sawey, M. (2021). The nested precarities of platformized creative labor. Social Media + Society.
Duffy, B. E. & Sawey, M. (2021). Value, service, and precarity among Instagram content creators. In S. Cunningham & D. Craig, (Eds.) Creator culture: Studying the social media entertainment industry. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Megan in the news

Graduate student Julia Sebastien (left) is pictured with Cornell Professor JoAnn Difede and Cornell Associate Professor Malte Jung at the “Human Psychology, Purpose and Social Life in the Age of AI and Ubiquitous Computing.”

News

May 6, 2026

COMM Updates - 5/6/2026

May 6, 2026 Check out our final COMM Updates for the 2025–2026 academic year—and what a year it’s been! We’ll be back at the beginning of the fall 2026 semester. Awards Graduate student Margaret (Maggie) Foster received the Christine Ye...

News

November 5, 2025

COMM Updates - 11/5/2025

November 5, 2025 Grants Associate Professor Neil Lewis, Jr. received a $1,694,600 grant as Principal Investigator for his project, “Evaluating New York State Early Childhood Programs and Policies” from the New York State Council on Children and...