4th Annual AHSN Research Webinar
“The Dangers of Online Humour”
Dr Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández, Queensland University of Technology
About this webinar
Join us for an insightful online event featuring guest speaker Dr Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández from the School of Communication at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Based on her recent work, we delve into the intricate interplay between digital platforms, memes, and racial stereotyping. One of the key questions is: How can online humour perpetuate harmful racial narratives?
Drawing from extensive research, Dr Matamoros-Fernández will dissect the unique dynamics of TikTok culture, exploring how its features like “Use This Sound” fuel the creation and dissemination of memes, including those related to historical events like the Covid-19 pandemic. Through real-world examples, she’ll help us uncover how seemingly light-hearted memes can reinforce racial stereotypes, contributing to social inequality and threatening online safety.
This is an opportunity to engage with ground-breaking research that confronts the evolving persistence of racism in digital realms and advocates for a more inclusive and responsible online environment. Join us via Zoom on April 18, 3 PM (AEST) in confronting the challenges posed by the intersection of humour, race, and online platforms.
Location: Zoom, https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/88109190650
When: Thursday, 18 April 2024 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm (AEST)
Co-chairs: Benjamin Nickl benjamin.nickl@sydney.edu.au and Beatriz Carbajal Carrera beatriz.carbajal@sydney.edu.au
Dr Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández researches social media cultures, platform governance, online harms, and algorithmic systems. She is a Senior Lecturer in digital media at the Queensland University of Technology, a Chief Investigator at the Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) and Associate Investigator at the national ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. She is also an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Research (DECRA) Fellow (2023-2026) (DE230101558).
Her DECRA project examines harmful humour’s impact on women’s well-being online and how it is poorly managed by social media platforms and has not been integrated into online safety regulation and policy. The project combines sociocultural theory, social media analysis, and interviews to better understand the dynamics of harmful humour online in Australia.
Ariadna holds degrees in journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), a Master of new media and digital culture from the University of Amsterdam, and a PhD from the Queensland University of Technology. Her doctoral thesis examined the interplay between user practices and platform design and governance in (re)producing structural inequality.
Her research has been published in New Media & Society, Information, Communication & Society, Feminist Media Studies, Internet Policy Review and other international, peer-reviewed journals. She is co-author of a book on WhatsApp (Polity Press, with Amelia Johns and Emma Baulch).
See our events archive page for information and recordings of some of our previous seminars.
Webinar email enquiries: ahsninfo@gmail.com