PhD Candidate
Thesis topic: Identity, affect and recognition online: Finding belonging in virtual publics. A study of young New Zealanders
Qualifications: Master of Politics (Distinction); Graduate Diploma of Science (Psychology); Bachelor of Arts (double major in Philosophy and Art History)
Supervisors: Associate Professor Vicki Spencer and Dr Susan Wardell (Social Anthropology)
Email: rachel.billington@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Topic description: This project seeks to understand how teenagers across Aotearoa find belonging and recognition in online spaces, with an interest in how exposure to particular social networks might contribute to identity formation.