Biography
Tobias Dienlin is Full Professor for Media Psychology and Methods at the Department of Communication at the University of Zurich. His main research interests include media effects, privacy, and well-being, with a focus on social media. Tobias is also also strongly committed to Open Science.
Having graduated from Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Tobias Dienlin is a trained psychologist. He received his PhD from the University of Hohenheim, Department of Communication. Afterward he worked first as an Assistant Professor and then as an Associate Professor at the University of Vienna, Department of Communication. Tobias visited both Ohio State University in Columbus and the University of California in Santa Barbara for extended research stays.
Tobias received several grants: During his PhD, he won a full PhD scholarship by the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. In 2025, Tobias was awarded the PROMISE project by NORFACE CHANSE, a multinational project featuring several international partners with a total volume of €1.5 Million.
His work is published in journals such as PNAS, Journal of Communication, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, or Media Psychology. He has taught several courses in the field of Media Effects, Media Psychology, and Methods and Statistics. Tobias won the University of Vienna teaching award in 2021. For more information, visit his website at tobiasdienlin.com
Research Interests
- Effects of social media use on well-being
- General effects of media use
- Digital, new, or social media
- Online privacy
- Open science
Academic Positions
| 2025 | Full Professor of Empirical Communication and Media Studies, University of Zurich |
| 2024 | Associate Professor of Interactive Communication, University of Vienna |
| 2020 | Assistant Professor of Interactive Communication, University of Vienna |
| 2017 | Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Hohenheim |
| 2014 | Visiting Scholar, University of California, Santa Baraba |
| 2013 | Visiting Scholar, Ohio State University |
| 2013 | Research & Teaching Assistant, University of Hohenheim |
| 2012 | Research & Teaching Assistant, Hamburg Media School |
Education
| 2017 | Doctor Rerum Socialium (Ph.D. in the social sciences), University of Hohenheim |
| 2012 | Diplom in Psychologie (~ M.A. in Psychology), Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz |
| 2008 | Vordiplom in Psychologie (~ B.A. in Psychology), Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz |
Research Grants
| 2025 | PROMISE: Promoting Well-Being in Preteens, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Toward Improved Social Media Policies; CHANSE NORFACE; € 1,500,000 overall; € 483.812,52 ad personam; role: project leader |
| 2024 | Freiräume Schaffen; Faculty of Social Sciences, Vienna; €3,850. |
| 2021 | Study grant; Department of Communication, Vienna; €3,200. |
| 2016 | Travel Grant by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); €1,452. |
| 2015 | Travel Grant by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); €1,430. |
| 2013 | Full Ph.D. Scholarship by the German National Academic Foundation for 3 years (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes); €43,000. |
| 2013 | Travel Grant by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); €577. |
Awards
| 2021 | University of Vienna Teaching Award, category “Promoting Activation and Course Completion“, €3,000. |
| 2017 | Top Paper Award: “Dienlin, T., Trepte, S., & Scharkow, M. (2017). Self-disclosure and the affordances of SNSs: Testing the privacy calculus within an experimental framework, ICA’s 67th Annual Conference, Division Communication and Technology. |
| 2016 | Promising Student Paper Award: „Bartsch, M. & Dienlin, T. (2016). Control your Facebook: An analysis of online privacy literacy“. ICA’s 66th Annual Conference, Division Information Systems. |
| 2012 | Best Diploma Thesis Award: “Dienlin, T. (2012). What is the Best Design for Online Adverts?” Association for Business Psychology, School of Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, €500. |
Publications
You can download a pdf of the most recent list of publications here.