DR. RACHAEL KENt
TEch Wellbeing Consultant
Dr. Rachael Kent is a world-leading researcher, author, consultant, and Lecturer in Digital Economy and Society, in the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London, where her research examines the impact of digital technology on mental and physical health.
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Dr. Kent is the founder of tech-wellbeing consultancy Dr. Digital Health, providing evidence-based research and strategy for businesses and employees on managing tech saturation, and how tech ‘addiction’ impacts mental and physical health in everyday professional and personal life. Some of Dr. Kent’s clients include the NHS, UK Government, Vivo Barefoot, Paramount, and CBS.
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Dr. Kent is the first female class representative in UK legal history, leading a collective action against Apple on behalf of 19.6 million UK consumers, alleging they have breached competition law and overcharged for app purchases, seeking £1.5bn in compensation. Press & Interviews Here
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Dr. Kent’s first book ‘The Digital Health Self-Wellness, Self-Tracking, and Social Media’ will be published in May 2023 by Bristol University Press, pre-order available HERE!
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Dr. Kent is principal Investigator for ‘Covid-19 and Digital Technology: Shifting Sociality, Communication and Health Practices in the Wake of the Global Pandemic’ (Arts and Humanities Faculty COVID-19 Research Grant). This project draws on new empirical data during the UK national lockdowns 1.0-3.0 period of the COVID-19 pandemic (ethics: MRA-19/20-18193).
This research examines how individuals and businesses navigate digital saturation, tech overload and fatigue; how personal and professional sociality, communication, and health behaviours become mediated almost entirely via the digital screen, and the impact of this on mental and physical health during and post the pandemic.
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Research Specialisms:
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COVID-19 & digital behaviours
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Digital health & food cultures
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Technology 'addiction' & digital detoxing
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Quantified-self & self-tracking
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Datafication & surveillance
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Identity & mediated bodies
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Social media & (self-) representation
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Climate change communication & digital environmental activism
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Ethnography & qualitative research methods