Overview

I am an early career researcher in Socio-Informatics with interests in Communication Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Media Psychology. I am currently employed as a senior lecturer (equivalent to an assistant professor) in the Department of Information Science at Stellenbosch University (SU) in South Africa, and am part of the Cognition and Technology Research Group (CTRG). I hold a bachelors degree majoring in Socio-Informatics and Economics, and Honours, Masters and Doctoral degrees in Socio-Informatics. At SU, Socio-Informatics takes the form of a blend of the fields of Communication and Information Systems, with the emphasis falling on both user-oriented aspects of media uses and effects, as well as production aspects of software development in business contexts. This blend has enabled me to develop research interests that center on digital technologies and their places in our lives, across individual, organisational, and societal levels.

My research focuses on a broad spectrum of media uses and effects and generally concerns the interplay between digital technologies, human behaviour, and mental health and well-being. My current research specifically concerns the measurement of media use, the examination of various methodological practices in media effects research, and experiences and practices related to digital wellbeing, self-regulated learning, and family media-use dynamics.

I am an advocate of mixed methods and routinely combine quantitative, qualitative, and computational methods. I also have experience with systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Across these approaches, I follow open science practices and, wherever possible, I aim to make my materials, data, and analyses publicly available. My research has been published in leading journals in Socio-Informatics (and related fields), such as: Nature Human Behaviour; Journal of Communication; Technology, Mind and Behaviour; Information Technology & People; Computers & Education; and Computers in Human Behaviour.

Have any questions or want to collaborate? Email me or send me a message on Twitter.