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Dr

Andy Zhao

Research Fellow, Digital Childhoods

Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Education/Research for Educational Impact

Orcid identifier0000-0003-2703-2427
  • Research Fellow, Digital Childhoods
    Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Education/Research for Educational Impact
  • Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125

BIO

Dr Andy (Xinyu) Zhao is a sociologist studying and researching everyday digital media practices and cultures, especially in migration and family contexts. He is now a Research Fellow at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child (Deakin Node). Dr Zhao has a Master's in English Language and Literature from Renmin University of China (2015) and a PhD in Sociology from Deakin University (2020). He is author of Social Media in the Lives of Young Connected Migrants, published by Routledge in 2023, and co-editor of Children, Media, and Pandemic Parenting, published Open Access by Routledge in 2024. He is particularly interested in expanding scholarly and public knowledge of cultural and platform diversity in Australian digital childhoods. Through his work in the Centre, he hopes to support migrant families and children to better engage with digital technologies in a safe, ethical, and inclusive environment.

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY CURRENT APPOINTMENT

  • Research Fellow, Digital Childhoods
    Deakin University, Research for Education Impact

DEGREES

  • Doctor of Philosophy
    Deakin University
  • Master of Arts
    Renmin University of China

FIELDS OF RESEARCH (2020)

  • Communication and media studies
  • Screen and digital media
  • Sociology
  • Cultural studies

AREA/FACULTY

  • Faculty of Arts and Education

DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL/INSTITUTE

  • School of Education

STRATEGIC RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CENTRE

  • Research for Educational Impact