The DIGS Lab is looking for research participants

Calling LGBTQ+ Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and more!

The DIGS Lab’s on-going project Algorithms and Elderqueers is focused on uncovering how TikTok is shaping dialogue among older and younger LGBTQ+ people. We would like to invite you to participate in a research interview if you:

a)     Use TikTok, especially if you participate through the app by posting videos or commenting, liking, and sharing content;

b)    Are LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, Two Spirit, pansexual, asexual, non-binary, or another diverse gender or sexual identity)

c)     Are over thirty years old, or see yourself as ‘older’ than the large population of young TikTok users (you must be over 18 to participate).

Interviews will take approximately one hour and can be conducted in-person (depending on location), by telephone, or over Zoom. A gift card ($20 CAD or equivalent) will be provided to thank you for your time. To participate, please fill out this form with your contact information, so we can reach out to you and provide further information. If you have any questions regarding participation, don’t hesitate to write to us at digslab@concordia.ca.

DIGS Lab at the Association of Internet Researchers conference in October

Photo by Rob Shenk

We are excited to announce that DIGS Lab researchers will be presenting two papers at the AoIR2023 Conference taking place from 18-23 October in Philadelphia, PA (USA).

The Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) is an international academic association dedicated to the advancement of the cross-disciplinary field of Internet studies. This year’s AoIR conference theme is Revolution, which broadly examines the internet’s revolutionary promises and failures in regard to facilitating political, social, cultural, and technological overturns. The conference will be hosted by Temple University (TU) and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) from October 18-23, 2023.

Participating in the TikTok Panel, Stefanie Duguay, Özgem Elif Acar, and Hannah Jamet-Lange will present the paper titled “Dear baby gays: Investigating the sociotechnical practices of older LGBTQ+ TikTok users” which resulted from DIGS Lab’s ongoing project Algorithms and “Elderqueers”: An Exploration of Intergenerational Exchanges about Sexual Identity on TikTok. This paper contributes to the growing scholarship revolving around issues of LGBTQ+ visibility and censorship on TikTok, by focusing on the self-presentation practices of the under-researched TikTok public of older LGBTQ+ users. Duguay, Elif Acar, and Jamet-Lange will speak about the novel methods of data collection this research employed and findings derived from the visual and textual content analysis. Preliminary insights discuss the recurring topics in videos of older LGBTQ+ TikTokers, as well as how these practices are informed by and negotiated with TikTok’s affordances and platform infrastructure.

The DIGS Lab’s Alex Chartrand and Stefanie Duguay have both contributed to a paper led by Dr. David Myles from Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS). The paper “'If We Look at It from an LGBT Point of View…’ Mobilizing LGBTQ+ Stakeholders To Queer Algorithmic Imaginaries” features in the LGBTQIA+ Internet Studies Panel. It reflects the output of Phase 2 of the collaborative project Queering Algorithmic Governance which examines the social implications that platform algorithms raise for LGBTQ+ communities. Myles, Chartrand, and Duguay will speak about preliminary results derived from interviews with Canadian social media managers of LGBTQ+ non-profit organizations and with Canada-based LGBTQ+ tech workers. The interviews focused on the topics of algorithmic controversies for the LGBTQ+ community, LGBTQ+ algorithmic imaginaries and practices, and pathways of resistance to algorithmic governance.

The rest of the conference program can be found here, and we are looking forward to seeing you in Philadelphia!

DIGS at Spring and Summer Conferences

Exciting news! The DIGS Lab’s core members are gearing up for a series of presentations, readings, and appearances at conferences, symposia, and other outlets this spring and summer. Consider dropping in, especially to the hybrid ones! Here’s where we’ll be:

Jamet-Lange, H. Queer tumblr and the political potential of online counterpublics. Communication Graduate Caucus Conference: Through the Margins: Amplification and Mobilization, March 2-3, 2023, Carleton University, Ottawa (Hybrid).

Chartrand, A. What does it mean for LGBTQ+ users to resist algorithmic bias? A feminist and intersectional approach. Algorithms for Her?, March 23-24, 2023, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom (Hybrid).

Myles, D., Chartrand, A., & Duguay, S. ‘What even is AI?’ Using algorithmic controversies as elicitation strategies during focus group discussions. (Un)Stable Diffusions, May 23-24, 2023, Concordia University, Montreal (Hybrid).

Vilvang, C. Between Automated Memory and History: Sensitive Locations and Uneasy Encounters with Apple Memories. (Un)Stable Diffusions, May 23-24, 2023, Concordia University, Montreal (Hybrid).

Acar, O.E., Jamet-Lange, H., Johnston, M., Morgan P., & Ogilvie-Hanson, S. [Art]ificial Intelligence: Authenticity and Audience Reactions to Stylistic Mimicry Using Stable Diffusion. (Un)Stable Diffusions, May 23-24, 2023, Concordia University, Montreal (Hybrid).

Duguay, S. What could go wrong? A critical reflection on the Oversight Board’s public comment process concerning Meta’s moderation of trans and non-binary content. Panel: Moderating authenticity? Challenging and intervening in platform governance and moderation processes. International Communication Association 73rd Annual Conference, May 25-29, 2023, Toronto, Canada (Hybrid).

Duguay, S. Acar, O.E., Jamet-Lange, H. Where the methods of the medium meet the practices of data cultures: Investigating TikTok as a research tool. Panel: Data Cultures. Canadian Communication Association Annual Conference, May 30-June 2, 2023, York University, Toronto, Canada.

Trépanier, A. Networking feminist media practices online: A media archeology of the Studio XX's first website. Canadian Communication Association Annual Conference, May 30-June 2, 2023, York University, Toronto, Canada.

Duguay, S., Jamet-Lange, H., Acar, O.E. #queersover30: Exploring creative production at the intersection of age and sexual identity on TikTok. Global Perspectives on Platforms, Labor, and Social Reproduction, June 27-28, 2023, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Hybrid).

Vilvang, C. Outsourcing Imagination: AI Generated Images and Creative Labour. STS Italia: Interesting Worlds to Come, June 28-30, 2023, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

Resources and Tools Database from our Knowledge Share event

During the DIGS Knowledge Share event, folks got together and compiled a list of their favourite digital tools and resources. The event took place on September 29th. Since then, we have been working to refine the list, add more resources, and make it presentable for others to enjoy and use.

DIGS Members came together and organized themselves in groups of 3-5 in order to discuss what different tools they use within their own digital research. The event was a success and everyone walked away with new tools to try out and implement within their own research practices.

The database is filled with various tools like Internet archival tools, AI generators, social media APIs, and resources where you can check out other organizations’ and labs’ research.

Click here to access our Resources and Tools Database

"Read What You Want" Reading Group Meeting

The cover of the book: Gender, Sex, and Tech! An Intersectional Feminist Guide

In a new approach to our reading group, we decided to try out the “read what you want” model! At the end of October members of the lab got together to discuss what they’ve been reading in relation to their research and interests. We shared our titles (posted below), along with overviews of what we’ve each read so far.

Here’s what people are reading at the moment:

Alex: L’Invention du Quotidien by Michel de Certeau

Ben: Re-Understanding Media: Feminist Extensions of Marshall McLuhan edited by Sarah Sharma and Rianka Singh

Özgem: Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin

Sally: Singularities by Susan Howe

Hannah: Sick Women, Sad Girls, and Selfie Theory: Autotheory as Contemporary Feminist Practice by Lauren Fournier

Shelly: Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation by Sophie Lewis

Hannah: ADHD and Technology Research – Investigated by Neurodivergent Readers by Katta Spiel et al.

Stefanie: 1. Gender, Sex, and Tech: An Intersectional Feminist Guide edited by Jennifer Jill Fellows and Lisa Smith 2. The Digital Closet: How the Internet Became Straight by Alexander Monea

Constructions of Safety on Dating Apps at Console-ing Passions Conference

On June 24th, 2022 Stefanie Duguay and Ben Lapierre presented at the Console-ing Passions conference, which attracted many feminist and queer scholars whose interests relate to television, video, audio, and new media. Stefanie and Ben’s research highlighted the ways in which dating apps place the burden of safety of its users. To view a recording of the presentation click here.

Thoughts from Ben on the presentation:

I began working with Stefanie on this research project at the beginning of 2022, which at the time was my first exposure to using coding software. Working with Stefanie, I went through Community Guidelines, Health and Safety, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Use documents for many different dating apps. Going into the project, Stefanie and I knew that we were interested in looking for how safety was constructed within the documents we were looking at. Trends emerged and we were excited to present our findings at the conference. It was my first international conference, so I was quite excited to get exposure to other people’s research. We were on a terrific panel with a wide array of research, and I really enjoyed the experience!

Relationships during a pandemic: How dating apps have adapted to COVID-19

Christopher Dietzel, David Myles, and Stefanie Duguay provide a look into how various dating apps have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing how these apps have managed health communication, the feeling of isolation, and ideas for virtual dating, the authors question how dating apps have disseminated information to their users throughout the pandemic.

Read the article at theconverstion.com

Dr. Duguay's presentation on dating app companies' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

Stefanie Duguay participated in the special PERFORM Colloquium Research exploring aging, behaviours, confinement, and dating; the ABCDs surrounding COVID. She gave an overview of dating app companies’ responses to the physical distancing guidelines brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mobilizing data from non-participant observation, analyses of content produced by dating app companies on their respective social media platforms, and analyses of media coverage on the topic, she examines how they came to fulfill the role of corporate health technologies encouraging social distancing. She problematizes this topic further by analyzing how this new position of dating app companies tied in with their commercial interests.

You can watch the presentation below.

Press for director Stefanie Duguay’s research on Tinder

Concordia News recently published a piece on DIGS lab director Stefanie Duguay and her latest research on Tinder. The article discusses Prof. Duguay’s findings on Tinder’s “off-label use” in a paper published in The Information Society.

Tinder is a good example of how people use technology for far more than we think, Concordia researcher says

Duguay began her study with a thorough investigation of the Tinder app's design, looking at the mechanics its developers created in order to guide users for its intended purpose. She next looked at dozens of media articles about people using it for purposes other than social, romantic or sexual encounters.

Prof. Duguay also appeared on CTV Montreal to share her findings.