Dr Matt Hart
Lecturer
School of Communication, Media and Journalism
College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I am a lecturer in the Department of Media at the University of Adelaide. I completed a first-class honours degree in sociology at the University of Wollongong in 2013 before completing my PhD in Sociology at La Trobe University in 2017. From 2017-2023, I worked as a lecturer in media and communication at the University of Leicester at the School of Media, Communication and Sociology. I am a media sociologist whose research focus is on the areas of youth, digital media, and risk. I have researched and published on how young people engage in social media in intimate and social ways through the voluntary risk-engagement of nude selfie sharing practices. Currently, I am researching the social processes that have contributed to the emergence of 'Incels' (Involuntary Celibates), and the mental health impacts and benefits for young people engaged in esports and livestreaming environments online. I have been published in leading sociological journals such as Young and the Journal of Youth Studies.
Since 2013, I have researched young people's intimate and risky engagement with social media platforms, notably on the sociality and wellbeing leveraged through young people's production and sharing of nude, not safe for work (NSFW) selfies on Tumblr.
Recently, my research has shifted direction slightly in two ways; I am interested in understanding how livestreaming and gaming contexts such as Esports can impact on young people's mental health and wellbeing - how, for example, can the process of 'trauma dumping' in Twitch.tv be a beneficial or harmful practice for young people to engage in, and why they do it.
Additionally, I am interested in examining the sociocultural phenomenon of 'incels' (involuntary celibates), and more specifically, how a process-sociological approach which examines long-term historical changes in the intimate interactions between men and women has led to what we currently label as incels.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 - ongoing | Lecturer in Media | University of Adelaide |
| 2017 - 2023 | Lecturer in Media | University of Leicester |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Trobe University | Australia | PhD | |
| University of Wollongong | Australia | BA Hons (1st Class) |
| Date | Title | Institution name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Fellowship (FHEA) | AdvanceHE | United Kingdom |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Hart, M., & Billett, P. (2025). Feminist counter-publics and heterosexist edges of desire: Extending edgework theory via young women’s nude selfie sharing online. Sexuality and Culture, 29(4), 1-17. |
| 2017 | Hart, M. (2017). Being naked on the internet: young people’s selfies as intimate edgework. Journal of Youth Studies, 20(3), 301-315. Scopus35 WoS25 |
| 2017 | Hart, M. (2017). The promiscuity of network culture: queer theory and digital media. CONTINUUM-JOURNAL OF MEDIA & CULTURAL STUDIES, 31(5), 724-726. |
| 2015 | Hart, M. (2015). Youth Intimacy on Tumblr. YOUNG, 23(3), 193-208. Scopus34 WoS22 |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2027 | Dunning, M., Hart, M., Hughes, J., & Marfoh-Hoare, G. (2027). The Sociogenesis of Incels - How Probelmatic Men Came To Be, and Be Seen As Problematic. Palgrave Macmillan. |
| 2027 | Dunning, M., Hart, M., Hughes, J., & Marfoh-Hoare, G. (2027). The Sociogenesis of Incels - How Probelmatic Men Came To Be, and Be Seen As Problematic. Palgrave Macmillan. |
| 2025 | Hart, M. (2025). Nude Selfies Young people and Social Media: Rethinking Risk Taking Online. Routledge. |
| 2020 | Billet, P., Hart, M., & Martin, D. (Eds.) (2020). Complexities of Researching with Young People. Routledge. DOI |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Dunning, M., Hart, M., & Marfoh-Hoare, G. (2025). Misogyny, Inadequacy and Violence: A Process-Sociological Approach to Incels. In S. Ernst, V. Dahl, & M. Bucholc (Eds.), Dynamics of Gender Relations: Process-Sociological Perspectives (1 ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. |
| 2025 | Dunning, M., Hart, M., & Marfoh-Hoare, G. (2025). Misogyny, Inadequacy and Violence: A Process-Sociological Approach to Incels. In S. Ernst, V. Dahl, & M. Bucholc (Eds.), Dynamics of Gender Relations: Process-Sociological Perspectives (1 ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. |
| 2020 | Kanai, A., Abidin, C., & Hart, M. (2020). The challenges of doing qualitative research on Tumblr: Experience and advice from three scholars of young people's Tumblr use. In A. McCraken, A. Cho, L. Stein, & I. Neill Hoch (Eds.), a tumblr book platform and cultures. University of Michigan Press. |
| 2020 | Hart, M. (2020). They look before they leap: conceptualising young people as digitally competent risk takers and its implications for ethical internet research. In P. Billett, M. Hart, & D. Martin (Eds.), Complexities of Researching with Young People (pp. 46-58). Routledge. Scopus2 |
| 2018 | Hart, M. (2018). #Topless Tuesdays and #Wet Wednesdays: Digitally Mediated Neo-Tribalism and NSFW Selfies on Tumblr. In A. Hardy, A. Bennett, & B. Robards (Eds.), Neo-Tribes: Consumption, Leisure and Tourism (pp. 207-219). Palgrave Macmillan Cham. DOI |
| 2018 | Hart, M. (2018). ‘It’s Nice to See You’re Not the Only One with Kinks’: Presenting Intimate Privates in Intimate Publics on Tumblr. In A. Shields Dobson, B. Robards, & N. Carah (Eds.), Digital Intimate Publics and Social Media (pp. 177-191). Switzterland: Palgrave Macmillan Cham. DOI |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Hart, M., & Karatzogianni, A. (2021). GaMeSym Policy Brief: Young people's mental health in livestreaming and esports environments. |
- (2023) Principal Investigator (University of Adelaide ABLE Research Grant Scheme) Youth Mental Health on Twitch.tv. $5000AUD internal grant.
-
(2022) Co-Investigator (H2020) DigiGen The Impact of Technological Transformations on the Digital Generation. I contribute to the work package on ICT and the transformation of civic participation (2019-2022). Project Link available here . $569,678AUD
- (2021) Principal Investigator (eNurture network) GaMESym (Gaming, Mental Health and Esports for livestreaming youth Symposium. GameSym: Gaming, Livestreaming, Esports & Youth Mental Health Symposium 2021 — enurture $15,000AUD
Currently, I coordinate:
- MDIA 1020 - Media Professions and Identities
- MDIA 3207 - Media Industry Transitions
- MDIA 3344 - Youth, Digital Media and Risk
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Co-Supervisor | What is a Narrative? Emergent Narrative in Gaming and Audience Reception | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Sean Lin |
Connect With Me
External Profiles
