PhD

Dr Paul Byron (Co-chair, Australia Regional Network) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney, based in the School of Communication. He researches LGBTQ+ young people’s digital media uses in relation to peer mental health support, with a view to informing Australian mental health policy. In the last decade he has researched many facets of young people’s digital intimacies, including uses of dating/hook-up apps, social media use for sexual health, and LGBTQ+ young people’s experiences of connection, belonging, and wellbeing through social media. Much of this work foregrounds LGBTQ+ young people’s existing cultures of care, friendship, and digital peer support, as discussed in his book: Digital Media, Friendship and Cultures of Care (2021).