Research
Expertise
UX Social Research Methods
interviews, surveys,
audio diaries, ethnography,
creative methods, ethics,
Technology &
Digital Media
UX, dating apps, social media,
digital visuals,
developing digital
literacy and capablilities
Gender & Sexuality
LGBT+ issues,
masculinities,
gender roles & scripts,
intersectionality
Sociology &
Communication
public health, inequalities,
social relationships and tech, visual presentation of the self online
Despite many people believing that dating apps are inherently superficial because they are image-based, my research indicates that people put a lot of meaning into their dating app use and profiles, which you can read more about here. My research also shows that dating app interactions have far-reaching ramifications in unexpected ways, such as in areas like tourism or public health.
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Findings from my research on dating apps can be applied to other forms of social media. Many trends and strategies dating app companies employ are paralleled by social media companies, which you can read about in the conclusion of my paper published in Social Media + Society. Like many other researchers in the area of digital studies, my research is interdisciplinary and touches on sociology, gender, sexuality, communication, and public health.
I am keen to collaborate on future research projects that investigate new technologies, social relationships, and/or public health.
Covid-19 MSM Public
Health Messaging
I worked on the Covid Sex Lives Project at the University of Salford School of Health and Society. This UKRI/AHRC-funded project investigated queer men's responses to public health messages circulated on social media and dating apps about sex, intimacies, and meeting others. The pandemic affected issues around sexuality, mental health, sexual wellbeing, vaccination, intimacy, and access to health services.
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We measured attitudes and assessing online and offline practices with four surveys (n=1409) conducted throughout 2021, along with discourse analysis of the trajectory of public messaging of health charities, the government, and social media around meeting others virtually and in-person during the pandemic.
Grindr Tourism
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Queer dating app users have innovatively adopted Grindr as a means to enhance touristic experiences, dubbed "Grindr tourism." Grindr tourism can encapsulate a range of interactions such as one-night stands, free tours from locals, and getting a restaurant recommendation without ever intending to meet in-person.
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I investigated how international Grindr tourism reconfigures social interactions, relations, and practices. I did this through interviews and audio diaries with 19 tourist, local, and immigrant Grindr users in Tel Aviv. Most identified as gay men.
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Findings
I found that Grindr tourism was indicative of increasingly individualized, privatized experiences of tourism and social relations. I also discussed issues of ghosting, unsolicited nudes, transactional language, and impression management in context-collapsed spaces.
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You can read my academic article about this here, published open access in the leading journal Social Media + Society.
​​Katz, R. A. (2023). Grindr Tourism Among Tourists, Locals, and Immigrants: Dating App Impacts for Social Relations, Gay Tourism, and Digital Convergence. Social Media + Society, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231192033
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The full PhD dissertation can be viewed here.​
Dating App Profile Pictures
In 2015-2016, I conducted a study on dating apps like Tinder and Bumble investigating how people chose their own profile pictures and how they interpreted other people’s profile pictures. This research involved surveys and interviews with 66 dating app users aged 20-29 in the New York tri-state area, and it was done as part of my gender studies master’s degree at the University of Cambridge.
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Findings
Some of the findings are published here. You can access the full masters dissertation in the Cambridge repository here.
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I found that contrary to belief that image-based dating apps are superficial, in fact participants input meaningful cues in their profile pictures and were adept at interpreting cues on others'
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profiles. People communicated their values, hobbies, politics, and personality in their pictures and looked for indicators of these things on others' pictures.
Additionally, so-called "authenticity" was viewed as important. In a world where one can keep swiping for infinite options, it was important to participants that they selected a realistic photo of themselves and that they be "liked for who they are."
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Participants narrated surprisingly traditional ideas of romance, albeit adapted for the dating app age. I called these the "meet-cute" narratives, in which participants emphasized and built larger romantic narratives around things like taglines, conversation starters, or pets in profile photos.
Speaking Invitations
Humanities & Social Science Research Seminars, Darwin College, University of Cambridge (2023)
Cambridge Technology & New Media Research Cluster, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge (2023)
Digital Sexuality and Gender: Health, Pleasure, Leisure Symposium, University of Salford (2023)
Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR) Annual Conference, Dublin (2023)
British Sociological Association (BSA), Manchester (2023)
Covid Sex Lives Project Findings Launch, King's College London/hybrid (2022)
International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, virtual (2021)
9th Annual Visual Learning Lab Conference, Budapest- virtual (2020)
European Sociological Association (ESA) annual conference, Manchester (2019)
Sociology Postgraduate Annual Conference, University of Manchester (2017 and 2019)
Methods@Manchester Social Research in the Digital Age, University of Manchester (2018)
Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG) annual conference, Cardiff University (2018)
Intimacies Online, Roskilde University, Copenhagen (2018)
International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, Prague (2018)
British Sociological Association (BSA) annual conference, Newcastle (2018)
Sociology Postgraduate Research Symposium, University of Manchester (2017)
Digital Communities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Cardiff University (2017)
Theorizing the Web, Museum of the Moving Image, New York City (2017)
7th Annual Visual Learning Lab Conference, Budapest (2016)
International Association for Media & Communication Research (IAMCR), Leicester (2016)
Peterhouse Graduate Symposium, University of Cambridge (2015)