Research Interests and Methodologies

My work centers around how people sort through their identity and perceptions of authenticity on social media. More specifically, I’m interested in the new forms of sociality that are emerging on these platforms and how offline social dynamics are being reshaped and recreated online.

My work is informed by Science and Technology Studies (STS) as a framework - I see social media platforms as sociotechnical assemblages that both shape us and are shaped by us. Most of my research concerns Instagram and/or TikTok.

Plus, lots of fun stuff: memes, online humor, and niche Instagram pages.

I’m a mixed-methods researcher with experience in a wide range of advanced quantitative methods. I primarily work in R and use Python for some of my data wrangling and API interactions. Qualitatively, I primarily use (multimodal) critical discourse analysis, case studies, and interviews.

Ongoing Work

(Last updated 3/12/2024)

• Dissertation Work: Platforms, Practices, and Flows: Memetic Practices on TikTok and Instagram (committee: Dr. Patrick Rafail, Dr. Stephen Ostertag, Dr. Peter Kunze, and Dr. Crystal Abidin)
• Co-authored paper with Dr. Crystal Abidin, “KidTok: ‘TikTok famous’ children, Community norms, and Deviance” (in progress)
• "'Policies that protect young people but also enable them to find a voice': Reading Latent Values and Priorities in TikTok's Community Guidelines for Youth" (in progress)
• Co-authored paper with Dr. Crystal Abidin and Dr. Jing Zeng: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Parasitic Platformization" (in progress)
• During the Summer of 2023, I’ll be engaged in a fellowship with Curtin University working on TikTok-related research
• PhD Qualifying Exam 1: Negotiating Identity and Authenticity on Social Media (click to download)
• PhD Qualifying Exam 2: Enacting Identity via Memes and Everyday Politics on Instagram and TikTok (click to download)

Publications

Presentations

• AoIR 2023 National Conference: Potholes and Power
• TikTok Cultures Research Network: TikTok & Children Symposium (Early Career Researchers Panel)
• ASA 2023 Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology section of the American Sociological Association Roundtable
• LePage ‘Counting the Costs’ Presentation and Community Roundtable: Identifying and Describing Racial Disparities in New Orleans Cultural Funding: Consistent Disparities and COVID-Related Changes
• Tulane CCC 2020 Symposium

Media

• Washington Post: Why we can’t stop watching terrible TikTok cooking videos
• Forbes: 17 years of your adult life may be spent online: Expert Screen Time Tips
• Times-Picayune: Is the 'Look At This F___in Street' Instagram account becoming an institution?
• The Verge: The End of the Googleverse
• Verite News: ‘Potholes and Power’: How the city’s roadwork woes get fixed via Instagram
• WWL First News with Tommy Tucker: How a local Instagram account is helping fix potholes
• Digital Void Podcast
• Washington Post: Henry Kissinger is turning 100. A long-running meme wishes otherwise.
• Washington Post: @Dril Speaks on Musk and Twitter
• Fast Company: MrBeast’s Feastables’ tidy-up campaign shows the power of social media celebrity
• Wired: Why Adam Levine’s Cringe DMs Are Perfect for the Meme Machine
• Gizmodo: Thousands of People Are Tweeting the Exact Same Joke About Elon's Twitter Fiasco
• WIRED: All Hail Charles: the Unmemeable King

Experience

All of the nitty-gritty is documented on my LinkedIn page, but prior to my academic career I worked in K-12 education and operations. I have lots of experience with community-engaged work and with large-scale operations, financial and facilities management, project management, and event planning and execution.