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This is a Berkman Klein alum page. The information below may be out of date.

Sonia Livingstone is Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Media and Communications at LSE, where she teaches master's courses in media and communications theory, methods, and audiences. She is author or editor of seventeen books and many academic articles and chapters. She has held visiting professor positions at the Universities of Copenhagen, Stockholm, Bergen, Illinois, Milan, and Paris II, and is on the editorial board of several leading journals. She was President of ICA (the International Communication Association), 2007-8. 

Taking a comparative, critical and contextualised approach, Sonia's research asks why and how the changing conditions of mediation are reshaping everyday practices and possibilities for action and identity in public and private spheres. Her empirical work examines the opportunities and risks afforded by digital and online technologies in a range of contexts, including children and young people’s experience of digital media at home and school, developments in media and digital literacies, and the implications of the changing media environment for audiences, publics and the public sphere. More broadly, she is interested in how citizen values (public sphere, rights-based, equity-focused, diversity-promoting) can be better embedded in information and communication infrastructures in institutions, regulators and the lifeworld.

Currently, she directs a 33-country network, EU Kids Online, funded by the EC's Safer Internet Programme. She also directs The Class, as part of the MacArthur Foundation-funded Connected Learning Research Network. She participates in the European COST network, Transforming Audiences, Transforming Societies, and leads ECREA's Children, Youth and Media group, and blogs for the LSE Media Policy Project.

She serves on the Executive Board of the UK's Council for Child Internet Safety, for which she is the Evidence Champion. She has, at various times, served on the Department of Education's Ministerial Taskforce for Home Access to Technology for Children, and the boards of Voice of the Listener and Viewer and the Internet Watch Foundation. She has advised Ofcom, Department for Education, Home Office, Economic and Social Research Council, BBC, The Byron Review, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. 

See selected publications here


Publications

Apr 7, 2015

Digitally Connected: Global Perspectives on Youth and Digital Media

An ebook presenting diverse views, experiences, and insights on key challenges and opportunities

“Digitally Connected: Global Perspectives on Youth and Digital Media,” is a first-of-its kind collection of essays that offers reflections from diverse perspectives on youth…


News

News
Oct 23, 2013

Meet members of the 2013-2014 Berkman Community: Jeff Young and Sonia Livingstone

This week we are featuring our first installation of a series of interviews showcasing individuals in the 2013-2014 Berkman community. Conducted by our 2013 summer Berkterns, the…

Oct 6, 2013

New Report from UNICEF: A Global Research Agenda for Children’s Rights in the Digital Age

Worldwide, children’s digital activities and opportunities are growing at an exponential rate. Yet many of the creative, informative, interactive and participatory features of the…


Events

Oct 7, 2013 @ 6:00 PM

A Global Research Agenda for Children’s Rights in the Digital Age

Worldwide, children’s digital access and literacy is growing apace. Yet many of the creative, informative, interactive and participatory features of the digital environment remain…