Associate Professor

About

  • Find Me On:

    linkedintwitter

  • Website

    http://www.nataliepennington.com

  • Role

    Faculty

  • Position

    • Associate Professor
    • Director of Undergraduate Studies

  • Concentration

    • Interpersonal Communication
    • Communication Technology

  • Department

    • Communication Studies

  • Education

    • Ph.D. in Communication Studies, University of Kansas
    • M.A. in Communication Studies, Kansas State University
    • B.S. in Communication Studies, Missouri State University

Biography

Natalie Pennington is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Communication Studies department and an Associate Professor of Applied Interpersonal Communication with specific interests in friendship and the use of communication technology. Dr. Pennington’s research focuses primarily on meeting social connection needs and friendship, and how different modalities can be used to meet those needs. She co-leads the American Friendship Project, which is focused on assessing the wellness of friendship in the United States.

Dr. Pennington's work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Communication Research, and Computers in Human Behavior. She primarily teaches the introductory foundations of human communication course, as well as classes in  interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, career communication, research methods, and persuasion.

Publications

Recent Publications:

Buzzetta, A., Pennington, N., & Holmstrom, A. J. (2026). Starting a new job is supposed to be exciting: An exploration of friendship and well-being following employment change. Communication Reports. Online first. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2026.2670264

Hall, J. A., Pennington, N., & Holmstrom, A. J. (2025). Lonely and connected: The ambivalence of sociality in a time of transitions. PLoS ONE, 20(11), e0334787. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0334787

Hall, J. A., & Pennington, N. (2025). How change in sociality over time moderates the association between mobile and social media use and well-being. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 30(6), zmaf019. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmaf019

Hu, J., Holmstrom, A. J., Pennington, N., & Hall, J. A. (2025). What friendship characteristics are associated with well-being among unpartnered individuals in the United States? Personal Relationships, 32(2), e70012. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.70012

Pennington, N., Wolfe, B. H., Hall, J. A., Holmstrom, A. J., Schaffer, S. T. (2025). What’s in a label? Exploring the intersection of best friends and romantic partners and well-being. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 42(8), 2055-2077. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075251336872

Corder, M., Hall, J. A., Pennington, N., & Holmstrom, A. J. (2024). Adult sibling relationships and media multiplexity theory. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 43(1), 181-200. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075241299463

Pennington, N., Hall, J. A., & Holmstrom, A. J. (2024). The American Friendship Project: A report on the status and health of friendship in America. PLOS ONE, 19(7), e0305834.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305834

Rice, R. & Pennington, N. (2024). Involuntary adoption of ICTs during emergencies: Temporality of technology use in virtual collaborations. Management Communication Quarterly, 38(3), 651-676.  https://doi.org/10.1177/08933189241226717

Pennington, N. & Palagi, J. (2023). Examining how social and emotional factors inform response to cross-cutting political views on social media. Social Media + Society, 9(4), 1-11. https://doi.org/10/1177/20563051231207851

Barney, J., & Pennington, N. (2023). An exploration of esports fan identity, engagement practices and motives. Telematics & Informatics Reports, 11, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teler.2023.100081

Pennington, N. & Dam, L. (2023). Social interaction, support preference, and the use of wearable health trackers. Frontiers in Communication, 8, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1256452

Hall, J. A., Holmstrom, A. J., Pennington, N., Perrault, E., & Totzkay, D. (2023). Quality conversation can increase daily well-being. Communication Research. Online First, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502221139363

Hall, J. A., Pennington, N., & Merolla, A. J. (2023). Which mediated social interactions satisfy the need to belong? Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 28(1), 1-12. Lead article. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmac026

Holmstrom, A., Hall, J. A., & Pennington, N. (2022). Thriving or struggling? Social energy expenditure and patterns of interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communication Studies, 73(2), 101-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2021.2018000

Pennington, N., Holmstrom, A., & Hall, J. A. (2022). The toll of technology while working from home during COVID-19. Communication Reports, 35(1), 25-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2021.1993947