Nikhila Natarajan

Nikhila Natarajan is an award-winning youth and media researcher who examines how teens navigate Artificial Intelligence in their everyday media environments. Her work focuses on youth media practices, AI-infused platforms, and the ways adolescents exercise agency, craft “frictions,” and make choices within algorithmic systems. She approaches these questions through naturalistic observation, in-depth interviews, and mixed-method studies designed to center the realities of young people’s daily lives.

Natarajan brings a developmental perspective to understanding how adolescents interpret and respond to new technologies. She has contributed new conceptual vocabularies (e.g., “Ambient AI”, “frictions”) and frameworks that help researchers, families, and policymakers better recognize the cognitive and social dimensions of youth engagement with AI. Her work highlights how teens and families interact with AI-powered tools and how these interactions shape autonomy, media practices, and the broader ecosystem of youth well-being.

With a background in journalism, Natarajan approaches her scholarship from a cross-domain vantage point—combining insights from media studies, youth development, and technology research. Her work has been recognized at major academic gatherings, including the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the New York State Communication Association. Her interests span youth media practices, adolescent cognition, AI-driven platforms, audience research, and the social and technological environments in which young people grow, connect, and imagine their futures.

Ph.D., Rutgers School of Communication and Information
M.S., Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University 
Diploma in Journalism, Times School of Journalism 
B.A., Economics, Madras University