How do digital technologies shape young people's learning, social interactions, and civic participation?

{Digital Technologies and Youth Engagement} The growing prevalence and adoption of digital technologies have transformed how young people learn, maintain friendships, and engage with society. My research explores how these advancements impact academic and social participation in our rapidly evolving digital world. By examining the transformative potential of emerging technologies like generative AI, I aim to understand their value, use, and impact on students and teachers. This includes questions about responsible AI use in K-12 education, preparing students to work alongside AI systems, and how young people utilize AR/VR for participation and innovation.

{Digital Citizenship and Civic Learning} Understanding the skills youth need to become responsible digital citizens has become increasingly important. My research investigates what meaningful digital engagement and learning opportunities should look like, especially as existing tools and strategies struggle to keep pace with the shifting online landscape. I explore questions about preparing young people for participation in the public sphere within contemporary classrooms, their perspectives on digital literacy, and important considerations for learning opportunities that support meaningful youth engagement online. This work aims to address the myriad of digitally related issues impacting today's youth and to inform educational programs that empower them in the digital age.

{Social Media, Self-Presentation, and Digital Harassment} It has become increasingly clear that online contexts hold potential for inclusivity but are also sites where inequalities can be reinforced. My research explores how new media technologies mirror, magnify, and complicate self-presentation strategies for people at various intersections of gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity/race.  I have extended this scholarship in my research documenting psychological consequences associated with managing sexual identities while online; more recently, my work attends to men’s motivations for perpetrating gender-based harassment in social media contexts.