{"id":1211,"date":"2026-03-13T13:13:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T13:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/?p=1211"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:16:53","slug":"more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/","title":{"rendered":"More to group chats than you might think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <em>Hamilton County Herald<\/em> highlights Brandon Bouchillon, West Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, for his research on digital communication and well-being. His work examines how group texting can foster connection, trust and emotional support, challenging narratives that technology only harms social interaction. By emphasizing the positive social impact of everyday digital exchanges, Bouchillon\u2019s research showcases UTC\u2019s role in advancing communication scholarship. &gt;&gt;&gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hamiltoncountyherald.com\/Story.aspx?id=25895&amp;date=3%2F13%2F2026\" id=\"https:\/\/www.hamiltoncountyherald.com\/Story.aspx?id=25895&amp;date=3%2F13%2F2026\">Read More<\/a>&gt;&gt;&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hamilton County Herald highlights Brandon Bouchillon, West Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, for his research on digital communication and well-being. His work examines how group texting can foster connection, trust and emotional support, challenging narratives that technology only harms social interaction. By emphasizing the&hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><span><a class=\"more-link button text\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/\"><span>Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2031,"featured_media":87,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,76,48,581,22],"tags":[346,582],"class_list":{"0":"post-1211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-college-of-arts-sciences-topic","8":"category-hamilton-county-herald","9":"category-media","10":"category-subject-matter-expert","11":"category-topic","12":"tag-department-of-communication","13":"tag-dr-brandon-bouchillon","14":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>More to group chats than you might think - UTC in the Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More to group chats than you might think - UTC in the Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Hamilton County Herald highlights Brandon Bouchillon, West Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, for his research on digital communication and well-being. His work examines how group texting can foster connection, trust and emotional support, challenging narratives that technology only harms social interaction. By emphasizing the&hellip; Continue Reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UTC in the Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-13T13:13:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T13:16:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"475\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"JAy Blackman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hamilton County Herald\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"JAy Blackman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3\"},\"headline\":\"More to group chats than you might think\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-13T13:13:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T13:16:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":89,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/162\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Department of Communication\",\"Dr. Brandon Bouchillon\"],\"articleSection\":[\"College of Arts &amp; Sciences\",\"Hamilton County Herald\",\"Media\",\"Subject Matter Expert\",\"Topic\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/\",\"name\":\"More to group chats than you might think - UTC in the Media\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/162\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-13T13:13:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T13:16:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/162\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/162\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1\",\"width\":475,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Hamilton County Herald\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/13\\\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"More to group chats than you might think\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/\",\"name\":\"UTC in the Media\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3\",\"name\":\"JAy Blackman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"JAy Blackman\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hamiltoncountyherald.com\\\/Story.aspx?id=25895&date=3%2F13%2F2026\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More to group chats than you might think - UTC in the Media","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"More to group chats than you might think - UTC in the Media","og_description":"The Hamilton County Herald highlights Brandon Bouchillon, West Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, for his research on digital communication and well-being. His work examines how group texting can foster connection, trust and emotional support, challenging narratives that technology only harms social interaction. By emphasizing the&hellip; Continue Reading","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/","og_site_name":"UTC in the Media","article_published_time":"2026-03-13T13:13:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-24T13:16:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":475,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"JAy Blackman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hamilton County Herald","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/"},"author":{"name":"JAy Blackman","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#\/schema\/person\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3"},"headline":"More to group chats than you might think","datePublished":"2026-03-13T13:13:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T13:16:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/"},"wordCount":89,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","keywords":["Department of Communication","Dr. Brandon Bouchillon"],"articleSection":["College of Arts &amp; Sciences","Hamilton County Herald","Media","Subject Matter Expert","Topic"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/","name":"More to group chats than you might think - UTC in the Media","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-03-13T13:13:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T13:16:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#\/schema\/person\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","width":475,"height":400,"caption":"Hamilton County Herald"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/03\/13\/more-to-group-chats-than-you-might-think\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More to group chats than you might think"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/","name":"UTC in the Media","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#\/schema\/person\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3","name":"JAy Blackman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"JAy Blackman"},"url":"https:\/\/www.hamiltoncountyherald.com\/Story.aspx?id=25895&date=3%2F13%2F2026"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?resize=475%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?resize=475%2C400&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Hamilton County Herald","author_link":"https:\/\/www.hamiltoncountyherald.com\/Story.aspx?id=25895&date=3%2F13%2F2026"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/Hamilton-County-Herald.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1212,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211\/revisions\/1212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}