Studying the impact of digital technologies on intimate relationships
Interests: Gender - Sexuality - Digital Technologies - Intersectionality - Intimate Relationships
Hi! I am an assistant professor of sociology at Utah Valley University. I teach and design courses, including digital technology and society, introduction to sociology, sociology of gender, social inequalities, sexualities and society, and sociology of aging. My research investigates how digital technologies shape intimate relationships. Drawing on rich qualitative data, I reveal how dating apps facilitate intersectional inequalities in various realms of digital dating. My interest in gender and intimate relationships has also informed independent and collaborative research, which has been published in Sociological Perspectives and Criminology.
About
I am a first-generation college student from Staten Island, New York. My academic journey began at the City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn College, through the College Discovery/SEEK program. It was there that I took my first sociology course and began to use my sociological imagination to question the various social structures shaping my personal experiences.
I earned my PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine. In my dissertation research, I employ in-depth interview methods to investigate how digital technologies shape the gendered consequences of relationship ambiguity—feelings of uncertainty regarding the potential progression of an intimate connection. I am building on this line of research to uncover how digital technologies (including dating apps, AI use, social media, and more) structure and transform intimate relationships in young adulthood.
While not teaching or conducting research, I enjoy hiking, rock climbing, watching movies, and cuddling with my two cats: Monterey Jack and Cheddar.
