About Pam Rutledge

Pamela Rutledge, PhD, is a scholar-practitioner, integrating her expertise in media psychology with 20+ years as a media producer. A member of the faculty at Fielding Graduate University since 2008, Dr. Rutledge teaches in the areas of brand psychology, audience engagement and narrative meaning. Dr. Rutledge consults with entertainment companies, such as 20th Century Fox Films and Warner Bros., on data strategies and audience narratives. Dr. Rutledge has published both academic and popular work, including a text on positive psychology and psychological appeal for fans of the Twilight Saga and resilience in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She has also written book chapters on meaning-making and fandom, transmedia narrative engagement, and positive media psychology. She authors “Positively Media” for Psychology Today and is also a frequent expert source on media use and popular culture for media outlets such as The NY Times, The BBC World and ABC News. She holds a PhD and an MBA.
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Why Is Digital Literacy So Often Overlooked as a Solution?

2023-09-11T15:47:29-07:00

Digital literacy builds protective internal strengths for every tech use.KEY POINTSParents are very concerned about media's impact on kids' mental health.Digital literacy builds protective factors for healthy media engagement.Digital literacy is often overlooked as a solution despite the psychological benefits.Whether it's AI, social media, or video games, the headlines are dire about the threats that media poses to our kids' mental health. In fact, in a 2023 Pew Research Center study, parents' main post-pandemic concern was their kids' mental health (Minkin & Horowitz, 2023), and fingers often point to media use. With so much concern over the negative impact of media on [...]

Why Is Digital Literacy So Often Overlooked as a Solution?2023-09-11T15:47:29-07:00

A Celebrity With a Stress Patch Was Big News: Do They Work?

2023-08-29T05:47:01-07:00

Celebrity endorsements change product desirability but do not guarantee results. KEY POINTS Celebrity endorsements enhance perceptions about product desirability but are not evidence for efficacy. A placebo effect can impact well-being, even if an intervention can’t be “clinically proven” to work. Any tools that increase our mindfulness and self-awareness can help decrease stress. Nothing raises the visibility of a product faster than seeing it on a celebrity. When Meghan Markle was photographed wearing a NuCalm stress patch, it got a lot of attention on social media and the popular press. Many theories circulated about why Markle was wearing the patch, but aside from all [...]

A Celebrity With a Stress Patch Was Big News: Do They Work?2023-08-29T05:47:01-07:00

Why Did Influencer Kai Cenat’s Live NYC Meetup Turn Ugly?

2023-08-10T04:45:31-07:00

Influencers have no experience translating online audiences into live events. KEY POINTS Young influencers don't have relevant experience understanding influence or managing fame. Gen Z and Millennials relate more to influencers than to traditional celebrities. Parasocial attachment increases an influencer's persuasiveness because they feel like a friend. The popular social media streamer Kai Cenat and fellow streamer Fanum announced to their followers that they would give away electronics, including PlayStation 5 consoles, on Friday, August 4, at 4 p.m. Thousands of fans showed up to get the prizes, filling the street, stopping traffic, and becoming increasingly unruly. Police were [...]

Why Did Influencer Kai Cenat’s Live NYC Meetup Turn Ugly?2023-08-10T04:45:31-07:00

How Social Media Turned the Titan Tragedy into Entertainment

2023-06-26T06:41:59-07:00

What empathy? The Titanic, a lost sub, and wealthy explorers—it's too good a story. KEY POINTS Disasters capture attention but stories keep us coming back. The Titan incident had all the elements of a blockbuster movie, it was too much for social media to resist. Social media is attention-driven and rewards extreme content and conspiracy theories. Continued speculation perpetuates the increasingly archetypal narrative, independent of actual facts. The Titan submergible went missing on its way to take five people to see the wreckage of the Titanic. The navy reports it suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion,’ and the five passengers are [...]

How Social Media Turned the Titan Tragedy into Entertainment2023-06-26T06:41:59-07:00

Why Proposed Social Media Bans Won’t Keep Your Kids Safe

2023-05-05T03:55:09-07:00

Social media bans ignore the need for digital literacy and self-regulation KEY POINTS Proposed legal bans on social media for kids are based on moral panics, not research. The preoccupation with social media use ignores the needed skills to safely navigate the digital world. Not only will the laws be difficult to enforce but verification proposals raise serious privacy issues for sensitive information. Lawmakers could help kids more by funding digital literacy programs. Politicians can't get their pens out fast enough to draft laws to regulate social media use by kids. Advertised as "child protection" laws, the proposed bans [...]

Why Proposed Social Media Bans Won’t Keep Your Kids Safe2023-05-05T03:55:09-07:00

Why Were We Glued to the Murdaugh Murders?

2023-03-07T16:03:24-08:00

Wealth, murder and abuse of privilege; the true crime story with a moral. Key Points The Murdaugh case has had the appeal of true crime, amplified by wealth and privilege. True crime can increase perceptions of efficacy by providing strategies for protection and survival. The guilty verdict after the trial elicited cheers, confirming the "just world hypothesis," that bad deeds are punished. Between true crime documentaries, TV shows, podcasts, and the sleuthing of “internet detectives,” people can’t seem to get enough true crime. While several real-life murder mysteries have captured our attention, few stories have the deception, wanton disregard, and jaw-dropping plotlines of the [...]

Why Were We Glued to the Murdaugh Murders?2023-03-07T16:03:24-08:00

ChatGPT: Why Is It Making People So Nervous?

2023-03-01T11:25:39-08:00

AI is here to stay. Rather than fear it, we need to learn how to use it. Key Points ChatGPT gained 57 million users in the first month and now has well over 100 million users globally. Potential positives of ChatGPT use include brainstorming, quick research, language translations, support for special needs, and entertainment. Potential negatives of ChatGPT use are lack of critical thinking, plagiarism, bullying, misinformation, and dependence on technology. ChatGPT is the new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI that can write essays, solve complex problems, compose song lyrics, do homework, and more. It has launched a new moral panic as [...]

ChatGPT: Why Is It Making People So Nervous?2023-03-01T11:25:39-08:00

Why Christmas Movies Make Us Feel Good

2022-12-07T15:25:24-08:00

The health benefits of nostalgia, romance, family, snowflakes, and miracles. Key Points The familiar tropes, and simple, predictable, and non-stressful stories of Christmas movies deliver comfort and improve mood. Recurring themes of romance, family, and friendship reflect and satisfy our deep-seated need for social connection. Holiday movies build bonds across generations and feel like visiting old friends. Feel-good holiday films provide a welcome escape from the pressures of real-world demands. There's no better way to start the holidays than with a Christmas or Holiday movie. Lists of the "Best Christmas Movies" are everywhere, and Hallmark Channel launched its Countdown to [...]

Why Christmas Movies Make Us Feel Good2022-12-07T15:25:24-08:00

Text Messaging Wars: Apple Makes Android Green

2022-10-11T10:16:17-07:00

Apple is a master of using symbols to create social identity. KEY POINTS Throughout its history, Apple has sold identity, not products Message color has become a social categorization tool used to define “in” vs. “out.” Biologically and psychologically, people instinctively want to be "in." The Apple blue versus Android green messaging war isn’t about color. It is about membership and identity. All powerful brands rely on symbolic meaning drawing on universal and cultural archetypes that reflect social values. Some rule through success (Mercedes) or celebrate the hard-fought victories of warriors and heroes (Nike). Apple is no different. They have [...]

Text Messaging Wars: Apple Makes Android Green2022-10-11T10:16:17-07:00

Why Do We Watch Shows About Work After Work?

2022-09-13T14:08:03-07:00

Themes. emotions, and characters drive programming choice—not settings. KEY POINTS TV programs reflect deeper themes beyond the show's setting: Shows about work are really about relationships, power dynamics, and moral values. In times of disruption, TV shows can provide comfort, escapism, and reaffirm order. Connecting with TV characters can help people reflect on what they find meaningful in their own lives. Between ratings and Emmy awards, it seems like Americans are obsessed with shows about work. Just as many return to the office, new hit shows, such as Succession, Severance, Industry, The Bear, Inventing Anna, and The Dropout, are all about [...]

Why Do We Watch Shows About Work After Work?2022-09-13T14:08:03-07:00

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