Beyond Digital Trends: Reflections on Finding Research in Everyday Life

Research often starts with a simple observation.

Every day, people scroll through social media, ask generative AI for advice, share environmental campaigns, or exchange messages with family and colleagues. These routines feel ordinary because they have become part of modern life. Yet they also reveal how people build trust, interpret information, and respond to change. For a communication scholar, these everyday interactions are often where the most interesting questions emerge. Looking back, I realise that this has shaped much of my research journey. While the topics have changed over time, the starting point has remained remarkably consistent, such as paying attention to how people navigate an increasingly digital world.

From AI in Journalism to Ecomedia Literacy

One of my early interests was the growing influence of artificial intelligence on communication. As AI entered journalism, education, and content creation, public discussions largely focused on technological innovation. I found myself drawn to a different set of questions. How does AI change the way people judge credibility? What happens to media literacy — the kind explored in AI literacy as a boost to career potential — when information can be generated instantly? More importantly, how should communication education respond to this changing landscape? These questions gradually expanded beyond AI itself. They opened a broader conversation about how people engage with information online and how digital media shape public understanding of complex issues.

Environmental communication became one of those conversations. Climate change is supported by extensive scientific evidence, but science alone rarely changes public behaviour. As we know that Indonesia experiences frequent natural disasters. People's understanding of environmental issues is shaped by news, social media, online communities, and increasingly by AI-generated content. This led me to explore ecomedia literacy and the challenges of navigating environmental information in an increasingly complex digital environment.

Although these projects focused on different topics, they pointed to a similar insight. Technology was never the real subject. It simply provided the context. The more compelling questions were always about how people interpret messages, build trust, and adapt to social change.

What a Tsunami-Ready Village Taught Me About Technology

This became even clearer during a recent study in Sidaurip, a coastal village in Indonesia recognised by UNESCO as a Tsunami Ready community. At first glance, disaster preparedness seemed unrelated to AI or media literacy. Fieldwork suggested otherwise. Women in the village were using familiar platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp to organise preparedness activities, share local knowledge, and support one another. Digital media were not merely tools for exchanging information. They had become part of everyday community life, strengthening participation and collective resilience. The study reinforced an important lesson: technology matters because of what people do with it.

Research becomes truly valuable when it informs teaching, supports communities, and creates knowledge that people can use.

Research as an Ongoing Conversation

Viewed together, these studies reveal a common thread. Whether exploring AI, climate communication, or disaster resilience, the central concern has remained the same on understanding how people make sense of a rapidly changing world. This perspective has also influenced the way I approach research. Rather than starting with technology or trends, I begin with observation. Small moments often reveal larger questions. A classroom discussion about AI, an online conversation about climate change, or a community meeting in a coastal village can all become the starting point for academic inquiry.

Fieldwork has reinforced another lesson, like listening is just as important as analysing. Researchers often arrive with assumptions shaped by existing literature, yet communities frequently offer different perspectives. In Sidaurip, for example, Facebook was considered more effective than WhatsApp for sharing disaster information because important messages were easier to locate and revisit. It was a simple observation, but one that challenged common assumptions about digital communication in Indonesia.

Perhaps this is why I see research as an ongoing conversation rather than a collection of separate projects. One study rarely provides a final answer. Instead, it opens new directions and new questions. Curiosity moves the work forward. It has also shaped how I think about impact. Publications remain an important part of academic life, but they are not the destination. Research becomes more valuable when it informs teaching, contributes to public discussions, supports communities, or provides evidence for better decision-making. The goal is not only to explain the world but also to generate knowledge that people can use.

Today's challenges, from artificial intelligence and misinformation to climate change and disaster resilience, are often discussed as separate issues. In practice, they are deeply connected. Each requires us to understand how people communicate, interpret information, and work together in uncertain situations. For early-career researchers, this offers an encouraging reminder. Valuable research ideas do not always come from extraordinary events or sophisticated technologies. They often begin with paying closer attention to ordinary experiences. Everyday conversations, digital interactions, and local communities continue to offer rich opportunities for asking better questions.

Looking back, the most rewarding part of this journey has not been moving from one topic to another. It has been discovering that seemingly unrelated questions are often connected by a shared purpose: understanding people. As technologies evolve and societies change, that purpose remains constant. The next research question may already be present in the ordinary moments we encounter every day, we simply need to notice it.

1. What inspired you to pursue research in communication and media studies, and how has your research focus evolved over the years?

Communication has always interested me because it connects technology, culture, and society. It is one of the few disciplines that allows us to understand not only how information is shared but also how people make sense of change. My earlier work focused on digital media, and the implications of artificial intelligence for communication. Over time, that interest naturally expanded to environmental communication, ecomedia literacy, and disaster risk reduction. While the contexts have changed, the underlying question has remained remarkably consistent: how does communication shape the ways people understand, respond to, and adapt to an increasingly complex world?

2. Many of your studies draw inspiration from everyday digital behaviour. What attracts you to researching these seemingly ordinary aspects of society?

Everyday life is often where broader social change first becomes visible. The ways people use social media, search for information, or interact with AI may appear routine, yet they reveal changing patterns of trust, participation, and decision-making. These ordinary moments are valuable because they capture communication as it naturally unfolds. They also remind me that major societal transformations often begin with small shifts in everyday practices.

3. How do you transform observations from everyday life into meaningful academic research questions?

The process usually begins with observation rather than theory. When a recurring behaviour or unexpected pattern emerges, the next step is to ask why it matters and whether existing research adequately explains it. Reviewing the literature helps identify where knowledge is still limited, while theory provides a framework for interpreting what has been observed. In this way, everyday experiences become the starting point for questions that are both academically relevant and socially meaningful.

4. In your opinion, what makes communication research relevant beyond academia?

Communication is central to how societies respond to contemporary challenges, whether related to artificial intelligence, climate change, public health, or disaster preparedness. Research becomes relevant when it helps explain how people interpret information, build trust, and make collective decisions. Beyond contributing to academic knowledge, it can inform education, support evidence-based policymaking, and strengthen community engagement. Ultimately, its value lies in helping people communicate more effectively in an increasingly complex world.

5. Which research project has been the most personally meaningful to you, and why?

Among the projects I have undertaken, the study on women's roles in disaster risk reduction has been particularly meaningful. As we know that Indonesia experiences frequent natural disasters. It highlighted how everyday communication practices—using familiar platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp—can strengthen community resilience. More importantly, it demonstrated that communication is not simply about the exchange of information. It is also about fostering trust, participation, and collective action. That perspective continues to shape how I approach subsequent research.

6. What challenges have you encountered while researching rapidly evolving digital communities and communication trends?

One of the greatest challenges is the pace of change. Digital platforms, user behaviours, and communication practices evolve much faster than the research process itself, requiring the same kind of adaptability explored in skills that shape our future. Rather than concentrating solely on specific technologies, I have found it more valuable to focus on the broader communication processes that remain relevant across different technological contexts. This approach allows research findings to retain their significance even as digital environments continue to evolve.

7. As an educator and researcher, how do your teaching and research influence one another?

Teaching and research are closely connected. Classroom discussions often reveal emerging issues that deserve further investigation, while ongoing research provides contemporary examples that enrich teaching. Students also bring fresh perspectives and critical questions that encourage me to reconsider existing assumptions. The relationship is therefore reciprocal, with each continuously informing and strengthening the other.

8. What advice would you offer to young researchers who aspire to produce impactful and socially relevant scholarship?

Remain curious about the world around you. Meaningful research does not always begin with extraordinary events; it often starts with careful observation of everyday life, the same spirit behind global pathways to reskill, upskill, and stay relevant. Ask questions that matter to communities, be willing to listen before drawing conclusions, and do not be afraid to work across disciplines. Most importantly, remember that impactful research is not defined solely by publication metrics, but by its ability to contribute knowledge that is useful, relevant, and responsive to society's changing needs.