Janaki Nair

Doctoral Advisor: Nick Bowman, Ph.D.

Education:
M.A., Emerging Media Studies, Boston University
M.A., Society and Culture, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar
B.A., Economics, Stella Maris College

Areas of Research: Media Psychology, Virtual Reality, Human-Computer Interaction

Presentations & Publications:

Riji Nair, J., Zhao, E.Y., Bowman, N. D. (2025, November 20-23). From Play to Flourishing: The Centrality of Narratives in Fostering Eudaimonia in Video Games. National Communication Association Convention, Denver, CO, United States. [Top Paper Award]

Riji Nair, J., Bowman, N. D., Possler, D. & Bowsher, K. (2025, September 10-12). Repairing Mood or Restoring Meaning? How Disruptions in Worldviews Shape Entertainment Motives. MediaPsych Conference, Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Bowman, N. D., Riji Nair, J., & Possler, D. (2025, June 12-16). Journey into Meaningfulness? How Manipulating a Need for Meaning-making Impacts Eudaimonic Gaming Experiences. International Communication Association Conference, Denver, CO, United States.

Riji Nair, J., & Bowman, N.D. (2025, April 11-13). Does NEAR explain the appreciation of co-created video game narratives?. Moral Media Conference, Buffalo, NY, United States.

Nani, J., & Riji Nair, J. (2025, April 3). Influencer and Audience Perceptions of AI Filters on TikTok. Student Research in Communication Conference, Rochester, NY, United States.

Riji Nair, J., Bowman, N.D., & Banks, J. (2025, March 26-30). Social Robots Increase Perceived Effort at Video Games: Exploratory Study of Perceived Demands of Co-Playing Video Games. Eastern Communication Association Convention, Buffalo, NY, United States. 

Riji Nair, J., & Bowman, N.D. (2025, March 3-6). Intuition vs. Deliberation: Understanding Players’ Appreciation of Interactive Video Game Narratives with Moral Intuition Conflicts. International Conference on Games and Narrative, Waterloo, ON, Canada. 

Riji Nair, J. (2024, June 20). Virtual Saviors and Deluge of Information: Understanding Digital Humanitarianism in South India. International Communication Association Conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Wen, C. H. R., Leahy, K., Gratch, L., Yao, S., Green, K., Cirasuolo, S., Harper, R., Peters, D., Lee, H., Lee., Y., Riji Nair, J., & Chock, T. M. (2024, May). Media Literacy and The Metaverse. Meaningful XR Conference, Stanford, California, United States.

Chaikulngamdee, C., Riji Nair, J., Li, Y., Zhao, Y., Cusachs, C., Martinez, D., Duan, Y., Chen, Z., Prena, K. (2022, October 14). Learning through gaming: Examining the learning outcomes of EEK! Game [Presenting author]. International Conference on Meaningful Play, East Lansing, MI.     

Riji Nair, J. (2018). Rethinking internationalization of post-secondary education in Canada: Exploring the potential of PICT Model”, SURI Symposium, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon.

Book Chapters:

Riji Nair, J., Zhao, E.Y., Bowman, N. D. (In press). Reflective play: Narrative and Eudaimonia in Video Games. Games and Cognition. Routledge. 

Zhao, E.Y., Riji Nair, J., Bowman, N. D. (In press). The Rise of the New ‘Folk Devil’: Examining Moral Panics about Social Media. De Gruyter. 

Bio: Janaki Riji Nair is a media psychology scholar who works at the Extended Reality Lab in the Newhouse School. She researches the effects of interactive and immersive media, including video games, AI-driven apps, social robots, and mixed reality technologies on users’ cognition and emotion. She is currently an Instructor of Record in the Department of Public Communications and teaches the undergraduate course on Communications and Society. Prior to joining Syracuse University, Janaki was a Writing Fellow and Teaching Assistant at Boston University, where she was a recipient of the Emerging Leaders Scholarship, Spirit Award, and the Prize for Academic and Professional Achievement.