Alex Beattie

• Lecturer, Media and Communication, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington

I am a lecturer in the Media and Communication Programme at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington.

My work explores how people live with, resist, disconnect from, and avoid digital media and the news. My current project explores how New Zealanders and people with ADHD disconnect from the Internet, which is supported by a Marsden Fast Start Grant.

In 2020 I completed my PhD at Victoria University of Wellington on the tension between disconnecting from the internet and remaining connected to the world. I studied a pioneer community of software developers, behavioural scientists, and entrepreneurs who invented new technology-based ways to disconnect from the internet. The title of my thesis is The Manufacture of Disconnection. Prior to this I received degrees in Digital Media and Asset Management (Masters, Kings College London) and a LLB and BA in Politics (Hons) from the University of Otago.

• 2017–2020 PhD candidate, Victoria University of Wellingon

MENAFN16102025000199003603ID1110208791