Digital Society
This theme focuses on interpreting and creatively responding to the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing digitisation of industry, governance, and everyday life. The Digital Society theme examines on the transformations underway in various aspects of social life due to the proliferation of new technologies. In particular, the ‘digital’ relates to the profound shift that has been underway since the mid-2000s whereby much of social life became increasingly mediated by digital platforms such as social media, and digital devices such as the smartphone. This process continued to accelerate during the Covid19 pandemic where learning and working became for many a ‘remote’ experience with lasting effects. Researchers in this theme therefore pay close attention to the relationship between ‘digitisation’ and (1) areas of personal life: from childhood, families and health, to identities, relationships and sexuality; and (2) areas of public life: from communities, leisure activities and consumption, to citizenship, work, and political activism. Research in this theme also examines the ways in which digital technologies are changing the nature of academic research itself, exploring new methodologies and assessing the ethics of Big Data.
Leads
Prof Ben Light (co-Lead),