Krysten Stein

Dr. Krysten Stein is an Assistant Professor of Communication in the Department of English & Communication at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College. A qualitative and ethnographic researcher, her work examines digital culture, media industries, and platform governance, with a focus on how systems of power shape identity, labor, and everyday life.

Her research centers on creator economies, reality television, and the platformization of care, particularly how mental health discourse is produced, circulated, and monetized online. She is the author of AND HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL? Theratainment and the Digital Commodification of Mental Health (under contract with University of California Press), which theorizes “theratainment” as the transformation of care into content, entertainment, and cultural labor within platform economies. More broadly, her work explores how influencers, algorithms, and platform infrastructures shape visibility, credibility, and responsibility in digital media systems.

Stein’s scholarship appears in journals including Feminist Media Studies, Gender & Society, and International Journal of Communication, and her work has been featured in outlets such as NBC News, The Guardian, Business Insider, and CNN. She has also served as an invited consultant on social media and digital platforms, contributing expertise on issues including influencer culture, digital labor, and the broader societal impacts of platformed media. She is a Research Affiliate with the Intersectional Technology Lab at the University of Michigan and the Center on Digital Culture and Society at the University of Pennsylvania, serves as Social Media Editor for Feminist Media Studies, and is an editorial board member for Creator and Influencer Studies. She is also a co-founder of the Content Creator Scholars Network.

Across her research, teaching, and public engagement, Stein advances care-centered and justice-oriented approaches to understanding and reshaping contemporary media and platform systems.