Finding queer community in digital spaces amidst hostility
21 October - 15 November 2024
Biography
Brady Robards (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Monash University. He bridges media studies and sociology through his research programs on social media use among young people, LGBTQ+ people, and in the context of alcohol consumption, digital advertising, and wellbeing.
Robards completed his PhD at Griffith University in 2012 on the role of social media in young people’s identity-work and experiences of belonging on MySpace and Facebook. Robards’ next program of work based at the University of Tasmania centred on understanding longitudinal social media use in the context of memory, and experiences of transition towards ‘adulthood’ for young people. As part of this work he also developed the ‘social media scroll back method’ with Sian Lincoln, and led the ‘Scrolling Beyond Binaries’ project on social media use among LGBTQ+ people in Australia.
In 2017 Robards commenced at Monash University, where his most recent research program has been supported through more than £1.5m in competitive external grant funding. This has included Australian Research Council (ARC) funding on alcohol promotion on social media, social media use during COVID-19, and a Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) Fellowship on young people’s social media use in the context of imagined employment futures.
Robards has published numerous book chapters and articles in field-leading journals including New Media & Society, Sociology, Media, Culture & Society, Qualitative Research and Social Media + Society. He is the author and co-editor of 8 books, most recently Growing up on Facebook (Peter Lang, 2020) with Sian Lincoln.
Robards is currently the Research Director in the School of Social Sciences at Monash, which is one of the largest comprehensive schools of social science in Australia. Robards is also the Co-Convenor of the Monash Digital Cultures Research Group, Associate Editor for the Journal of Sociology, and on the Editorial Boards for the Journal of Youth Studies and the Journal of Applied Youth Studies. He is an active member of The Australian Sociological Association and the Association of Internet Researchers.
Research Summary
Brady Robards (Monash) and Rosie Nelson (Bristol) will develop their research collaboration during Robards’ visit, further exploring the use of social media among LGBTQIA+ people.
Queer and gender diverse communities face discrimination and queerphobia across social, institutional, and personal spheres, challenging the conventional notion of progressing rights. Contrary to the assumed trajectory of increasing equality, the UK and Australia grapple with growing transphobia and conservative stances, evident in media, government, and education. Drag queen story times in Australia have been cancelled, with librarians receiving death threats, while Pride events encounter protests. In response to this hostility, LGBTQIA+ individuals seek solace, joy, and opportunities for mobilisation and solidarity on digital platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter.
In this collaboration, Robards (Next Gen Researcher) and Nelson (UoB Host) will launch a pilot comparative study between Australia and the UK to explore the research question “how do LGBTQIA+ people find and sustain community through digital spaces in the context of ongoing and resurgent hostility in the UK and Australia?” This qualitative project will involve interviews with LGBTQ+ people in Australia and in the UK, using Robards’ ‘social media scroll back’ method where researchers work with participants as co-analysts of their own digital traces.
Robards looks forward to connecting with the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law including the Centre for Sociodigital Futures, the Digital Societies group, the SPAIS sociotechnical group, and the SPAIS Critically Queer group.
Planned presentations
'Digital research methods and the social media scroll back'
School presentation:
'Understanding the importance of digital media in the lives and futures of young LGBTQ+ people'
Robards will provide a high-level overview of his work (including collaborative work with Nelson) on the use of digital media by young LGBTQ+ people in Australia. He will explore key findings that speak to experiences of learning, community, and global connections, alongside harassment, marginalisation, and exclusion. The emphasis will be on imagining better and more inclusive futures.
Date and Time: Nov 6th, 1-3pm
Venue: TBC
Faculty presentation:
'Young people's social media use in the context of imagined employment futures'
In this presentation Robards will report on his Australian Research Council fellowship project on the impact of social media use on young people’s employment futures. Drawing on focus groups and interviews with 84 participants, he will explore key themes around impression management, privacy strategies, modulating social media use for imagined future employers, and the anxieties young people report around a hidden curriculum of surveillance.
Date and Time: Nov 13th, 1-3pm
Venue: TBC
You can contact Dr Robard's host rosie.nelson@bristol.ac.uk for more information on talks and presentations.
