As a TRIO Upward Bound participant, Alex Paredes Rivera ’25 (psychology) received what she described as an “extra push” to take dual enrollment classes at Fernley High School. As a result of her efforts, when she received her high school diploma, she had already earned an associate’s degree and was positioned to excel at the University. At the First-Gen Student Center, she was made aware of how few Latina students earn a Ph.D.
“That’s when I got the idea that I want to get a Ph.D.,” Paredes Rivera said with a smile. “I joined the McNair Scholars program and, through it, got involved with Undergraduate Research.”
Finding purpose through research
Under the guidance of Associate Professor Sam Ehrenreich in the College of Education and Human Development and with the support of the McNair Scholars program, Rivera found her calling as a researcher. Through Undergraduate Research, she received a Nevada Undergraduate Research Award to work alongside Ehrenreich. Together, they studied patterns in so-called passive and active social media usage to determine their impact on romantic relationships.
“Passive social media use refers to users who scroll through social media but do not necessarily engage through comments, liking and sharing,” she explained. Meanwhile, “active social media use” is marked by “commenting and sharing and can result in positive side effects,” she added. For active social media use, Rivera said, “We found no significant findings.” But according to the research, passive social media use inspires negative comparisons between oneself and others and “predicts anxious attachment in relationships.”
With Ehrenreich, in addition to participating in Wolf Pack Discoveries, Rivera was able to present her findings at a conference at the University of California, Berkeley. The working relationship between Ehrenreich has continued now into Rivera’s master’s program. The two have pursued research on the impact of “doomscrolling,” which she will present in Toronto this year, and Ehrenreich has supported Rivera’s pursuit of related but independent research that is at the heart of her career pursuits: suicide prevention.
Exploring the human impact of social media
With an eye toward understanding motivation, Rivera pursued a research project with the Washoe County Coroner’s Office in which she evaluated 725 autopsy reports, including 19 in which individuals had used more than one method to complete suicide. Through this research, Rivera became more interested in understanding the potential connections between social media use and suicide. As a master’s student, she has focused on “upward” and “downward” comparison in social media, with a particular interest in “pro suicide communities.”
“‘Upward’ and ‘downward’ comparison refers to social media users who compare themselves to people they perceive as being worse off than yourself [downward] and better off than yourself [upward],” Rivera said. These kinds of comparisons come to a head in certain online communities: “Pro suicide communities are online communities where members talk about suicide, often including their own plans for committing suicide. In these communities, members will sometimes actually encourage each other to follow through on their plans.”
While Rivera is still analyzing the data in preparation for her upcoming thesis defense, she is putting her desire to improve the world into practice. Informed both by her work with the coroner’s office and analyzing social media and suicide, Rivera has served as a Youth Suicide Prevention Specialist for the state of Nevada, providing community trainings to help participants identify the signs of suicidal intention. Putting her research to work, she has helped expand the offerings in the LivingWorks program, which is a free virtual course for suicide awareness offered by the Nevada System of Higher Education.
“I noticed that there was a gap in our Spanish-speaking communities,” Rivera said. “So I helped develop the curriculum for those communities, and this year will be the first time we offer the trainings in Spanish. I am passionate about improving suicide prevention training and helping bilingual providers.”
Rivera speaks of her research with precision, explaining complicated concepts with the ease of someone who has gained true mastery in her discipline. For her, passion is the operative word.
“What makes someone an expert is motivation and passion,” she said. “You have to have the will and drive to learn.”
For Rivera, the University is an ideal place to learn because of its array of opportunities and support.
“Everyone has been super welcoming,” Rivera said. “The First-Gen Center has helped me seek out opportunities and, with their help, I was able to find things I was drawn to and have the courage to advocate for my thesis project in grad school.”
She added, “Professor Ehrenreich has been such an asset, such a support system. He has provided incredible mentorship and helped me find my community.”
As she approaches the conclusion of her master’s program, she is herself contributing to that community of support by offering guidance to students following in her footsteps: “I try to put myself in their shoes and remember how scared I was,” she said. “There is so much fear, but there is so much for them in their futures. I know they will accomplish it.”
“I try to put myself in their shoes and remember how scared I was,” she said. “There is so much fear, but there is so much for them in their futures. I know they will accomplish it.”
Her message to them is simple, one she embodies through her work ethic every day: “If you believe in it, even if it’s hard, don’t give up trying.”