Andy Zhao is a sociologist who is interested in studying and researching digital media, transnational mobility, young people, and the intersections of them. His doctoral thesis was an ethnographic study of how Chinese young migrants in Australia make sense of and use social media in their everyday lives. Since earning his PhD in 2020, he has been Research Assistant to the Youth Mobilities, Aspirations and Pathways Project based at Deakin University.

As a Research Fellow, Andy hopes to bring to the Centre his experience and expertise in researching culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in the digital age. He is particularly interested in expanding our knowledge of cultural and platform diversity in Australian digital childhoods.

Through his work in the Centre, Andy hopes to support CALD families and young children to make use of digital technologies in a safe, ethical and inclusive environment.

Earliest digital memory
The excitement of secretly playing Minesweeper during computer training classes in primary school back in the ’90s.