Jason Cain
Interim Chair of Integrated Marketing Communication and Associate Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication
Research Interests
Dr. Cain’s primary area of research is digital media culture and information sharing habits, with a specific interest in why people share what they do online and how involvement in online communities shapes social identity.
Additionally, Dr. Cain is interested in how different information diets affect a person's perceptions of what is and isn’t true, along with the societal implications of a stratified information ecosystem where points of agreement on what is objectively real become harder to find.
Biography
Dr. Cain originally set out with ambitions of being a professional musician, eventually finding himself playing in a band and doing studio work around Nashville, Tennessee, from 2000-2004. Witnessing the disruption of the music industry first hand during these years sparked his interest in what other ways digital communications might upset traditional media industries.
After spending time in Austin, Texas, and earning an M.A. in mass communication at Texas State University - San Marcos, Dr. Cain studied at the University of Florida as an alumni fellow, where he finished his Ph.D. in 2014. Over this time, his interest in digital disruption grew into an interest in the information being shared online and how it shaped community and identity, noting early on that the notion of an “online” and “offline” world seemed a poor description given how quickly the two were merging in a social media landscape.
Dr. Cain is still an active musician in the Oxford Area and has twice won “Favorite Guitarist” in The Local Voice’s annual “Townies” awards.
Courses Taught
- IMC 404 Integrated Marketing Communications Research
- IMC 571 Internet and Mobile Media
- IMC 325 Data Literacy
Education
Ph.D. Mass Communication, University of Florida (2014)