Identity in the age of social media: algorithms, influencers and attention

How has social media reshaped modern identity? From the way we discover new information and form communities to how we present, curate and influence online, our digital lives are constantly evolving. Join our expert panel to explore whether we truly control our digital selves - or if algorithms, data and the attention economy are shaping us more than we realise.

Speakers

Professor Rosalind Gill FBA

Rosalind Gill is Professor of Inequalities in Media, Culture and Creative Industries at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her work focuses on questions of power, inequality and the relationship between culture and subjectivity.

She is the author of numerous books and articles, including Mediated Intimacy: Sex Advice in Media Culture, Confidence Culture and Perfect: Feeling Judged on Social Media.

Professor Yasmin Ibrahim

Yasmin Ibrahim is Deputy Dean for the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University London and is a distinguished scholar and thought leader.

Internationally recognised for her pioneering work in digital sociology, Professor Ibrahim examines how digital technologies reshape contemporary societies - especially in terms of race, trauma, political engagement, and the reconfiguration of the self in digital spaces.

Her research draws from sociology, social psychology, and technology studies, interrogating the power dynamics embedded in data-driven capitalism and algorithmic governance.

Professor Daniel Miller FBA

Daniel Miller currently runs the MSc in Digital Anthropology and is director of the Centre for Digital Anthropology at UCL.

Over 10 years, he directed first the Why We Post project on the use and consequences of social media, followed by the The Anthropology of Smartphones and Smart Ageing (ASSA). The project comprised 11 researchers who conducted simultaneous 16 month ethnographies across nine countries. The two projects have resulted in the publication of 20 volumes.

Chair

Matthew Sweet

Matthew Sweet is a film historian, documentary maker, writer, and broadcaster with a doctorate in Wilkie Collins from Oxford University. He is a columnist for Art Quarterly and Newsweek and is the presenter of 'Free Thinking', 'Sound of Cinema', and 'The Philosopher’s Arms' on BBC Radio 4.

Further information

Free event, donations welcome, booking required.

This event will be recorded and live-streamed via YouTube.

As tickets are free, people sometimes book and don't attend, so we have to issue more tickets than there are seats available to allow for this. Entry into this event is on a first-come, first-served basis, and we recommend arriving in good time to avoid any disappointment.

Registering for a ticket does not guarantee you entrance to the SHAPE Room. If the SHAPE Room reaches capacity, you will be directed to the Wohl Gallery next door to watch a live stream of the event.

This event has live subtitles delivered by 121 Captions.

See information about the accessibility of the venue.

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