Emma Beuckels
Biography
Emma defended her PhD on 'media multitasking and advertising effects' at the Ghent University in September 2020. Shortly after, she started working as a postdoctoral researcher at the department of Communication Sciences of Ghent University. Today, she further investigates how the media consumption of young parents affects their lives and the choices they make for their children. The post-partum period and the first years after receiving a child often evokes strong emotions among parents, who have yet to get used to their new role in life. Besides, the period after having a child is signified with insecurity and social isolation for many parents, whereby a large number of them turn to social media to find information, advice, support and release some of their stress. Advertisers have noticed this trend and specifically target parents by cooperating with social media influencers, who are seen as opinion leaders and exhibit a great influence on the attitudes and behavior of the large number of parents following them. Emma specifically investigates how these highly popular and commercialized profiles impact today’s parents and children.
PhD Project
A few months after graduating, Emma obtained a grant from the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO). This permitted her to start working as a CEPEC PhD student in January 2016. Her PhD project investigated the effectiveness of advertising messages within a media multitasking context and ran until December 2020.
Supervisors: Liselot Hudders and Verolien Cauberghe
Postdoc Project
While finishing up her PhD project, Emma obtained a Junior Postdoc Fellowship from the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO). Within this project she investigates how parents’ increasing tendency to consult social media for parenting information affects their parental identity, self-esteem and decision-making process.
Contact
Technicum, T1, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent