Tilo Hartmann is Professor for Virtual Reality and Communication at the Department of Communication Science at the VU Amsterdam. He studied Communication Science and obtained his PhD in 2005 at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. He has worked at the Annenberg School for Communication at University of Southern California Los Angeles, and communication departments at the University of Erfurt, and University of Zurich.
In his work, Hartmann applies media psychology and related approaches of Communication Science. In the past, he examined users' subjective experience of media, and particularly their perceptual illusions (presence, parasocial interaction and relationships, social perceptions of video game characters, media awareness) and their sometimes biased sense of reality (e.g., hostile-media bias, cyberchondria, online credibility). Extending this work, Hartmann now focuses particularly on Immersive Technologies like Virtual Reality in his research. His core aim is to understand the determinants and effects of the experience of presence in highly immersive media like Virtual or Augmented Reality.
In a second line of research, Hartmann examines how people use media for entertainment and their personal wellbeing.
He published in the major scientific journals of the field (e.g., Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Media Psychology), and several books, including "Media Choice: A theoretical and empirical overview." He served as member of the editorial boards of “Journal of Communication”, “Media Psychology”, “Human Communication Research”, as elected co-chair of the “Audience and Reception Studies Division” of the German Communication Association DGPuK, ECREA's audience and reception studies division, and as secretary of ICA's game studies interest group. Hartmann is also co-founder of the Immersive High Tech Group at the VU's Network Institute.
