Human relationships have always been shaped by communication technologies, from speech and writing to social media, dating apps, and online communities. Today, digital technologies influence how we meet partners, maintain friendships, express emotions, and engage in public debate. Yet because these technologies evolve so rapidly, their broader social consequences often remain poorly understood. My research examines how digital media shape both romantic and non-romantic relationships, focusing on phenomena such as online dating, social interaction, online hostility, and the changing dynamics of human connection in the digital age.
Together with my collaborators, I have investigated how online communication affects the quality of interpersonal relationships across cultures. Among our most intriguing findings is that relationships initiated online tend to report lower levels of relationship satisfaction and romantic love than those that begin offline. We have also shown that online hating constitutes a distinct form of behavior that often involves hostility expressed for its own sake, setting it apart from related phenomena such as online hate speech and political extremism. More recently, we found that perceiving both news media and fictional media as having a negative influence during the war in Ukraine was associated with higher levels of anxiety and distress and lower psychological resilience, highlighting the important role media play in shaping responses to major social crises.
Selected Publications
Kowal, M., Sorokowski, P., Bode, A., Misiak, M., Malecki, W., Sorokowska, A., & Roberts, S. C. (2025). Meeting partners online is related to lower relationship satisfaction and love: Data from 50 countries. Telematics and Informatics, 102309.
Featured in the media: ABC News, The Times, Australian Financial Review, VICE, Psychology Today, and others.
Eastwick, P. W., Sparks, J., Finkel, E. J., Meza, E. M., Adamkovič, M., Adu, P., Ai, T., Akintola, A. A., Al-Shawaf, L., Apriliawati, D., Arriaga, P., Aubert-Teillaud, B., Baník, G., Barzykowski, K., Batres, C., Baucom, K. J., Beaulieu, E. Z., Behnke, M., Butcher, N., Coles, N. A., … Malecki, W. P. (2025). A worldwide test of the predictive validity of ideal partner preference matching. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 128(1), 123–146. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000524
Malecki, W. P., Bilandzic, H., Kowal, M., & Sorokowski, P. (2023). Media experiences during the Ukraine war and their relationships with distress, anxiety, and resilience. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 165, 273–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.07.037
Malecki, W. P., Kowal, M., Dobrowolska, M., & Sorokowski, P. (2021). Defining online hating and online haters. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 744614. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.744614