dr. Tom De Leyn
Postdoc researcher at the research group for Media, Innovation and Communication Technologies, Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University.
Privacy
Social Media
Youth Culture
Tom De Leyn is a postdoctoral at the research group for Media, Innovation and Communication Technologies (imec-mict-UGent). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology (KU Leuven), a master’s degree in Social & Cultural Anthropology (KU Leuven), and a doctoral degree in Communication Sciences (Ghent University).
Tom De Leyn joined imec-mict-UGent in September 2018. He worked on a Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)-funded project about mobile youth culture and privacy. In his dissertation “Reframing debates on youths’ privacy”, Tom consolidated a socio-cultural perspective on young people’s privacy perceptions and practices. Moving beyond developmental frameworks on the life span, he explored how youths’ heterogeneous socio-cultural constellations inform mobile media appropriations. The project employed a qualitative multi-method approach.
Currently, Tom is further working on a theory of socio-cultural constellations in the fields of youth culture, mobile media and privacy. His research methods include interviews, focus groups and (digital) ethnographic fieldwork.