Howdy! I’m Aaron Pope, a computational social scientist currently pursuing a PhD in Social Data Science at the University of Copenhagen. I’m interested in big, ambitious research projects that use new sources of data and computational methods to answer broad questions about society and human behavior. I’m less attached to any one disciplinary tradition than to finding the right combination of methods and perspectives for the question at hand. My work draws from Political Science, Communication Studies, Psychology, and Data Science, and often combines surveys, experiments, and large-scale digital trace data.

My current research focuses on how digital technologies shape what people know, believe, and experience. Together with Pia Deshpande at UC Berkeley, I am leading a large-scale field experiment (N = 2,148) examining what happens when people stop using TikTok for a month. We combine experimental deactivation with surveys and participants’ TikTok watch histories—covering more than 130 million video exposures—to study how the platform affects political attitudes and knowledge, attention, and well-being. More broadly, I’m interested in what these kinds of data can tell us about the information environments people actually experience and how those environments shape their lives.

Before beginning my PhD, I was a researcher at NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP), where I’m still a Graduate Research Affiliate. At CSMaP, I managed the Bilingual Election Monitor, which combined survey and digital trace data to study online media consumption and misinformation beliefs among U.S.-based Latinos. My circuitous road to research included stops at an arts non-profit, the New York Public Library, as a research assistant studying sex and theology, and the Iowa State Senate. I hold an MPA from NYU, where I concentrated on Public Policy, and a Bachelor’s in Literary Studies (Medieval literature) from The New School.

Outside of research, I enjoy art, live music, bouldering, and competitive pool. Drop me an email if you want to talk about social media—or play a game of 9-ball.