He holds a PhD in Communication Science from the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover. In his research he applies media-psychological approaches and methodology to study people's experience of mediated illusions (e.g., parasocial interaction, presence, virtual violence), media choice, and health communication behavior. Tilo Hartmann is editor of the book Media Choice: A theoretical and empirical overview, and editorial board member of Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, and Media Psychology.