Justin Van Ness, PhD

Sociologist | UX Research

I am a UX Researcher at Meta working with content creators to inspire and shape new experiences across Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram. I earned my PhD in Sociology specializing in Social Psychology and Cultural Cognition.

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What I Do

Understanding people

My work has produced in-depth understanding of the attitudes, behaviors, and social experiences of audiences to inform new product development. I have worked extensively with content creators, media publishers and businesses, and youth.

Creators

Social media is in transformation and content creators are driving the change. Through my work, I've understood the motivations, goals, needs, and social experiences of creators from around the world, and used this understanding to reimagine social media and shape new product experiences on the largest social networks.

0 to 1 products

I have led research on multiple company priority initiatives including broadcast channels on Instagram and Facebook, creator messaging on Instagram and Facebook, and new Youth products tailored to developmental needs. I have also led pathfinding work to evolve utilitarian product use cases into new social use cases.

Methods Expertise

My methodological expertise has improved company-wide research guidelines and hiring processes. I've also conducted hundreds of candidate interviews and successfully onboarded junior and senior UX Researchers.