Crystal Abidin has a PhD in Anthropology & Sociology, and Media & Communications and done extensive research into the practices of internet celebrity. She studies the online practices of youth on various social media platforms and also examines the practices of Influencers who use such platforms to make a living. Using her anthropological methods and knowledge to unravel the practices of young people online, how they express themselves, communicate and create identity online, she conducts research in Singapore, Australia, and Sweden.

In this episode we talk to Crystal about her work on social media, studying the practices of youth and Influencers. We chat about the intersections between social media and traditional media, and her upcoming book on internet celebrity cultures which speaks to these intersections.

Mentioned in Podcast:
Crystals upcoming book is available for pre-order now on Emerald Publishing.
Abidin, Crystal. 2018. Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online. Emerald Publishing.

Link to book here: http://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Internet-Celebrity/?k=9781787560796&loc=us

List of academic works: https://wishcrys.com/academic-publications/

Pieces related to the podcast:
Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “#familygoals: Family Influencers, Calibrated Amateurism, and Justifying Young Digital Labour.” Social Media + Society 3(2): 1-15. DOI: 10.1177/2056305117707191 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305117707191

Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Vote for my selfie: Politician selfies as charismatic engagement.” Pp. 75-87 in Selfie Citizenship, edited by Adi Kuntsman. London: Palgrave Pivot. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-45270-8

Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Sex Bait: Sex talk on commercial blogs as informal sexuality education.” Pp. 493-508 in Palgrave Handbook of Sexuality Education, edited by Louisa Allen and Mary Lou Rasmussen.