The recent growth of mobile channels has provided steadily increasing opportunities for individuals to access news and other mass-mediated content. Media ecological perspectives argue that the introduction of such new technologies can shift the existing biases in prevailing social systems. According to one ecological perspective, the theory of the niche, when new media technologies are successfully introduced into a domain, displacement may occur unless some alteration is made to the resource base. Interstices are conceptualized as the gaps in the routines of media users between scheduled activities. Through the use of a diary method, participants logged access to news using a variety of communication technologies, including mobile channels. Results indicated that traditional media occupied traditional niches with little evidence of displacement, while mobile channels occupied a new niche: access in the interstices.

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Based on gender schema theory, social role theory, and social-cognitive theory, this study investigated whether biological sex and gender conformity (femininity and masculinity) predict selective exposure to gender-typed magazines and whether this exposure, in turn, reinforces gender conformity. Participants browsed full issues-three women's magazines, three associated with male readers, and three news magazines-while being taped. Before and after browsing, participants indicated their femininity and masculinity. Results show a strong impact of biological sex on selective magazine reading, resulting in gender-typed media use. However, gender conformity also influenced exposure. Moreover, mediation analyses showed that selective exposure to gender-typed magazines had a reinforcing effect on the gendered self-concept.

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The social identity framework suggests that exposure to high-status ingroup or low-status outgroup portrayals enhances self-esteem through positive ingroup distinctiveness. In this study, the effects of racial group portrayals in print advertisements on Blacks' and Whites' self-esteem and advertising responses were investigated in an experiment. A series of mock ads were pretested and developed manipulating character race (Black, White) and social status (high-status, low-status), resulting in four conditions. Blacks higher in ethnic identity reported enhanced self-esteem when exposed to lower-status White characters (negative outgroup portrayal), whereas Blacks lower in ethnic identity reported enhanced self-esteem when exposed to higher-status Black characters (positive ingroup portrayal). Advertising outcome measures (attitude toward the ad, purchase intentions) also revealed that level of ethnic identity moderates responses by Black subjects. White subjects reported lower self-esteem after exposure to lower-status Black characters. White participant responses suggest Blacks are not viewed as a competing outgroup, whereas Black participant responses indicate Blacks do not respond to race or social status in advertising uniformly, but rather their level of ethnic identity moderates self-esteem and attitudinal responses to ingroup and outgroup portrayals.