Academic interests
I study how users and audiences understand and experience (new) media technologies and messages, and how this influences their media use, engagement with recommendations, and compliance with them. I have studied these issues in the context of music and health recommendations.
Currently, I am part of PREPSHIELD, a project funded by the EU Horizon program, where we research and develop best practices, recommendations, and tools for health crisis preparedness, response, communication, and the simulation of future crises. Within the project, we use interviews and survey experiments to study the role of sources, trust, and uncertainty in health crisis communication. More information is available at PREPSHIELD
In my PhD project, I studied how users understand and use algorithms and algorithmic recommendations on music streaming platforms, as well as the possible effects these systems have on how we think about these technologies and the ways we listen to music. Specifically, I used a critical realist perspective to examine user reflexivity, algorithmic knowledge, and listening modes in the context of music streaming services. I defended my dissertation, Made for Me? Exploring Reflexivity and Uses of Music Streaming Recommendations from a Critical Realist Perspective, in May 2024.
Background
I hold a PhD in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Oslo, a research master’s degree in Communication Science from the University of Amsterdam, and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Costa Rica. Before joining the University of Oslo, I worked as a junior lecturer in Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam, where I taught theory and methods courses at the bachelor’s level.