Press & publications
Media & journalism
Academic publications
book - The digital health self
Press Media & Public Engagement
Dr. Rachael Kent is a frequently invited speaker and media commentator on digital health, technology, wellbeing and the social implications of digital media. Her expertise has been featured across national and international news and media outlets, including BBC News, ITV News, The Sunday Times, the Financial Times, The Guardian and The Independent.
She regularly contributes to broadcast discussions on emerging digital health issues. In summer 2026, she appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Oxford to discuss “loudcasting” and its implications for public digital health. She was also recently featured in The Times in an article examining the use of wearable health technology, I hate my £349-a-year Whoop tracker. It’s a hypochondriac, and appeared as a panellist at the annual British Science Festival for Who’s Influencing Your Health?
Kent has also received extensive media coverage for her role as class representative in the landmark Kent v Apple collective action before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. As the UK's first female class representative in a collective action of this kind, she represented approximately 19.6 million UK consumers in the case, which resulted in the Tribunal determining that the class was entitled to approximately £1.5 billion in damages.
Conferences & Academic Speaking
Kent has delivered keynotes and papers at apapers and keynote-style presentations at a wide range of international, multidisciplinary conferences and public events. Her work brings together digital health, technology, wellbeing, identity self-presentation and platform cultures, and she has extensive experience communicating complex conceptual and interdisciplinary research to diverse, international and multicultural audiences.
Across her career she has regularly delivered keynote speeches exploring her research into the emerging “Rage Bait Economy”, as well as discussing the wider social and technological questions raised by her research and her role in the Kent v Apple case, as well as speaking on panels with a range of industry leading experts. Highlights of 2026 include her keynote addresses at the International Digital Futures Conference and the Monckton Chamber Comptetition Conference, opening the Royal College of Nursing exhibition on the History of Digital Nursing and Healthcare Technology, as well as most recently appearing as a panelist at the British Science festival for Who’s Influencing Your Health? discussion.
Research & Publications
Dr. Kent is committed to embedding academic research within cultural and public settings, while exploring innovative ways of communicating academic knowledge and expertise beyond the university.
Following her appointment as Co-Director of the Centre for Technology & the Body at King’s Digital Futures Institute, her recent research has examined digital wellbeing, health technologies and the infrastructures that shape how people understand and manage their health. Her latest publication, Digital detox: How digital well-being application ‘Forest’ helps users improve digital health in China, was published in Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies.
Cultural Engagement
Kent has extensive experience working across academic and cultural settings. Most recently, Dr Kent delivered an opening address at the central London screening of the film Molly Vs The Machines - co-written by Harvard professor and best-selling author Shoshana Zuboff (author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism) and directed by Marc Silver - a deeply affecting film that speaks directly to consequences of machine learning and social media. This Spring, Kent also spoke at the UKs first ever march for tech regulation with Pull The Plug, calling on government and regulators to do more to hold Big Tech accountable for digital harms - including the tech addiction they create by design.
As Co-Director of the Centre for Technology & the Body, Kent continues to develop new ways of connecting academic research with public debate, policy, cultural practice and professional education.
Current Research & Future Work
Her current research is focused on health misinformation and digital harms, see commentary in The Times article, I hate my £349-a-year Whoop tracker. It’s a hypochondriac and her publication in Full Fact When Power Meets the Wellness Algorithm: Why We Mistake Virality for Truth . Kent is additionally working on new research on the rise of the Rage Bait Economy. For more information on her research exploring digital health and wellbeing as issues shaped not only by individual behaviour and technological innovation, but also by the governance structures, commercial interests and regulatory environments surrounding digital technologies see (In) visibility of health and illness: Instagram as an unregulated public health platform Anthropology & Medicine and her book, ‘The Digital Health Self: Wellness, Tracking and Social Media’. Bristol University Press.
Over the next six months, a fellowship will provide dedicated time to develop Digital Health Futures, a new CPD and Executive Education programme examining digital wellbeing beyond individual responsibility and exploring how governance and regulation can help address digital harms.
Featured In
Kent v. Apple
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Media & journalism
2026
> King’s College London 'Winning the Changemaker Award was a powerful affirmation of the path I'd chosen'
> King’s College London Digital Futures Institute announces new Fellows for 2026-2027
> The Times I hate my £349-a-year Whoop tracker. It’s a hypochondriac
> King’s College London 2026 King’s Distinguished Alumni Award winners announced
2025
> Full Fact When Power Meets the Wellness Algorithm: Why We Mistake Virality for Truth
> Prima Using your phone too much? The tell-tale signs – and 7 simple ways to cut back
> King’s College London The Misinformation Epidemic
> Daily Mirror NHS doctor's warning after deepfake video used his likeness to promote fake treatment
> The Conversation Scroll, watch, burn: sunscreen misinformation and its real‑world damage
> King’s College London When Health Misinformation Kills: Social Media, Visibility, and the Crisis of Regulation
> Marie Claire I’ve Worked in the Wellness Industry for Over a Decade – Trust Me, TikTok’s “Propaganda I’m Not Falling for Trend” Is Problematic
2024
> ITV News 'Digital Health Diagnosed Featured on ITV News'
> Cycling Weekly 'Absorb the world around you and let your mind wander' - you may find that it's more addictive than data’
> The Standard ‘Apple’s response to laws aimed at boosting competition between large and small tech firms is cynical’
> Dazed Magazine ‘How glucose trackers became a status symbol’
2022
Stylist Magazine 'Is your stress tracker stressing you out?'
Glamour Magazine ‘Lensa AI avatar portraits are popping up all over social media, but is it a step back for body positivity?’
HEAT Magazine 'Is Fit-Tech Ruining Your Health'
Women and Home Magazine 'Are You an Internet Addict'
The Daily Mail 'Apple Face Courtroom Showdown'
The Independent 'Apple Facing full trial over anti-competitive App Store claims'
Health and Wellbeing Magazine 'How to Spring Clean Your Scroll'
MixMag ‘Have You Got Rave Fatigue – Why we’re all so tired after lockdown’
The Innovation Group: Innovating Business and Organisation’s Through ICT ‘Lockdown and post-pandemic stress, how to get out of it’
Law Society Gazette: Apple’s bid to reveal ATE premiums refused by tribunal
2021
> The Sun ‘TAKE A WEIGHT OFF: The four signs you need to go on a digital diet – for the sake of your health’
> Business Community Magazine ‘Five Tips to Combine Smart-Working and Wellbeing’
> Start Up Italia ‘How to Break with Smartphone & co’
> Financial Mail: Apple faces landmark legal claim that could pay out to millions: Rip-off that adds 30% to price of smartphone apps
> Metro UK 'How to Stop Mindless Scrolling'
> BBC Scotland 'The Nine' show interview 'Tik Tok and Tourettes; mental & physical health impacts
> The Independent 'What happens psychologically when we're cut off from social media
> Stylist Magazine 'Re-entry Fatigue: Feeling extra tired post-lockdown? Here to boost your energy'
> The Independent '1/3 People are addicted to their phones, here's how to break up with your device'
> The Independent 'Facebook will finally remove false vaccine claims, including that jabs cause autism'
> Down to Flow at Home 'Talking Digital Health with Dr. Rachael Kent'
> Global Women 4 Wellbeing, Facebook Live Interview, 'Digital Health & Ethical Guidelines to Reduce 'Always on Culture
2020
Metric Life, (Nov 2020) 'COVID-19, Toxic Productivity & Technology Overload: Our New Visceral Digital Life'
Metro Newspaper (Nov 2020) 'Lockdown 2.0: Staying the Course'
Metro UK (Oct 2020) 'Bullying, eating disorders and death, the dark side of a decade of Instagram
Forbes Magazine, (May 2020) 'Should we all social media detox after the pandemic'
Spotlight on COVID-19, (May 2020) Investigating COVID-19's Effect on Digital Behaviour
King's College London A&H Research
The Know Show Episode14, (April 2020) 'The Impact of COVID-19 on Communication & Socialising'
Academic publications
(2026) Chen J and Kent R. Digital detox: How digital well-being application ‘Forest’ helps users improve digital health in China. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565261423992
(2024) (In) visibility of health and illness: Instagram as an unregulated public health platform. Anthropology & Medicine, 1–16.
(2023) ‘The Digital Health Self: Wellness, Tracking and Social Media’. Bristol University Press.
(2023) Frey AL, Baines R, Hunt S, Kent R, Andrews T, Leigh S. Association Between the Characteristics of mHealth Apps and User Input During Development and Testing: Secondary Analysis of App Assessment Data. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. Nov 22 ;11:e46937. doi: 10.2196/46937. PMID: 37991822; PMCID: PMC10701645.
(2022)‘From the Welfare State to DigitalSelf-Care: Historical Context of Tracking Healthand Quantifying Bodies’. In (Ed) Ajana, Btihaj. The Quantification of Bodies in Health.Emerald
(2022) Tutorful Reports: How to Improve Learning Using Digital Technology, Chapter 6.
Kent, R. (2021) 'Digital Food Tracking: Combining Traditional and Digital Ethnographic Methods to Identify the Influence of Social Media Sharing of Health and Food Upon Users’ Everyday Lives' In Krogager, S, G, Stinne. and Leer, Jonatan. (eds) Research Methods in Digital Food Studies. Routledge.
Kent, R. (2020) ‘Self-Tracking Health Over Time: From the Use of Instagram to Perform Optimal Health to the Protective Shield of the Digital Detox’, Social Media +Society Special Issue: Studying Instagram Beyond Selfies
Kent, R. (2020) Self-Tracking and Digital Food Cultures: Surveillance and Representation of the Moral ‘Healthy’ Body. In Lupton, Deborah and Feldman, Zeena. (eds.) Digital Food Cultures. Routledge.
Kent, R. (2018) Social Media and Self-Tracking: Representing the ‘Health Self'. In: Ajana B. (eds) Self-Tracking. Palgrave Macmillan: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65379-2_5
The Digital Health Self: Wellness, Tracking, and Social Media (Quantified Societies & Selves Series)
Hardcover – 30 May 2023
This is a detailed analysis of how understandings of health management past, present and future has transformed in the digital age. Since the mid-20th century, we have witnessed ‘healthy’ lifestyles being pushed as part of health promotion strategies, both via the state, and through health tracking tools, and narratives of wellness online. This marks a seismic shift from a public welfare state responsibility for health towards individualised practices of digital self-care. Today health has become representative of ‘lifestyle corrections' which is performed on social media. Putting the spotlight on neoliberalism and digital technology as pervasive tools that dictate wellness as a moral obligation, Rachael Kent critically analyses how users navigate relationships between self-tracking technologies, social media, and everyday health management.
Kent V Apple
For more information regarding Dr Kent's lawsuit against Apple Click Here
Mainstream Media
The Guardian: Apple seeks to appeal against £1.5bn ruling it overcharged UK customers - December 26, 2025
King’s College London: Dr Rachael Kent wins historic case against Apple in £1.5 billion collective action - October 24, 2025
BBC News: Millions of UK Apple users could get pay-out after court ruling - October 23, 2025
King’s College London: King's academic leads collective action against Apple on behalf of UK customers - January 17, 2025
Financial Times Full Disclosure: All eyes on Apple’s UK class action lawsuit – January 16, 2025.
Financial Times: Apple CFO denies company enjoys 75% margin on its App Store – January 16, 2025.
Bloomberg: Apple Faces Claims of Making ‘Exorbitant Profits’ at UK Trial – January 13, 2025.
Reuters: Apple fights $1.8 billion App Store lawsuit in first of UK class actions against tech giants – January 13, 2025.
Wall Street Journal: Apple Faces $1.8 Billion Lawsuit in U.K. Court Over App Store – January 13, 2025.
The Times: Apple rejects shareholder proposal to scrap diversity programmes – January 13, 2025
The Guardian: Apple to face court over claims it overcharged UK users on App Store – January 13, 2025.
City AM: Apple is first of the big tech firms to face a UK class action trial – January 13, 2025.
Consumer Voice: Apple goes on trial for overcharging UK consumers by £1.5 billion – January 13, 2025
AFP: Billion-pound lawsuit against Apple over App Store opens in UK – January 13, 2025.
Proactive Investors: Apple faces £1.5bn UK 'class action' over App Store charges – January 13, 2025
United Press International: Apple begins trial in Britain over claims it overcharged App Store users – January 13, 2025.
Financial Times: Apple £1.5bn class action case kicks off in UK courts – January 12, 2025.
Legal Media
Hausfield: Key takeaways from the historic Dr. Kent vs Apple judgment - December 9, 2025
Macfarlanes: Competition Appeal Tribunal makes first damages award under collective proceedings regime - October 30, 2025
Law360: Apple CFO Challenges App Store Profit Claim In £1.5B Trial – January 16, 2025
Global Competition Review: Apple CFO defends App Store pricing in UK class action trial – January 16, 2025
Global Competition Review: Apple accuses UK class rep of making “inappropriate” App Store claims – January 15, 2025
Law360: Apple Tells UK Trial That App Developers Get Fair Price – January 14, 2025
MLex: Apple’s success down to healthy competition, it argues in UK mass claim trial – January 14, 2025
Law360: Apple Accused At Trial Of 'Eliminating' App Store Competition – January 13, 2025
Law.com: Apple’s £1.5 Billion App Store Class Action Trial Gets Underway – January 13, 2025
Lawyer Monthly: Apple Faces £1.5bn Class Action in UK Over App Store Commissions – January 13, 2025
The Lawyer: Hausfeld v Gibson Dunn: What to expect from this week’s Apple class action – January 13, 2025
MLex: Apple’s rivals ‘shut out’ from its app ecosystem, UK mass claimant tells judge – January 13, 2025
Law360: Apple Showdown Starts 1st Wave Of Big Tech Class Actions – January 10, 2025
Global Competition Review: UK Apple trial will lay out broad principles for dominant tech platforms – January 10, 2025
Tech Media
The Register: British tribunal claim aims to take a bite out of Apple over App Store fees – January 15, 2025
UK Tech News: Apple goes to trial in £1.5bn UK competition lawsuit – January 13, 2025
TechRound: Apple Faces UK Lawsuit Over App Store Fees – January 13, 2025
Computer World: Apple execs head to London to fight for the App Store – January 13, 2025
Apple Insider: UK trial over Apple's App Store fees seeks $1.83B fine – January 12, 2025.
more media coverage
Meet the British Academic Taking on Apple in 1.5bn Legal Challenge - The I Paper
Apple’s UK users deserve app price compensation, claim says – BBC News
Apple faces billion-pound legal action over App Store charges – Press Association
Apple Faces UK Class Action for Overcharging 20 Million Users – Bloomberg
Apple faces £1.5billion legal battle after being accused of 'overcharging' millions of UK customers for apps in its App Store – Daily Mail
Apple reveals it rejected or removed over 1MILLION malicious apps from its App Store in 2020 and stopped more than $1.5billion in potentially fraudulent transactions – Daily Mail
Apple accused of breaking UK competition law by overcharging for apps – The Guardian
Apple sued over ‘exorbitant’ fees on smartphone apps – The Times
Apple accused of iPhone app store overcharging – The Telegraph
I-MOAN - Millions of UK iPhone users ‘could get £75 payout EACH’ from Apple over ‘unfair’ app prices – The Sun
Apple App Store Sued for £1.5bn – The Sun
Apple facing £1.5bn legal claim with millions to get refunds for overpriced apps – The Mirror
Apple Faces UK Class Action Over App Store Charges – Dow Jones Institutional News
Apple faces UK legal claim over App Store charges – AFP
Apple faces £1.5bn claim for ‘overcharging’ on apps – Metro
Millions of Apple customers could be owed cashback in App Store ‘overcharging’ lawsuit – Evening Standard
Apple hit with £1.5bn UK lawsuit over ‘excessive’ app store charges – City A.M.
Apple: ‘Our App Store approach strengthens our privacy measures’ – i
Lecturer sues Apple over 'unlawful' fees – i
UK Apple CPO representative says digital trace will reveal losses – PaRR
Apple Dispute: A New Era of UK Class Actions? – Law.com
Hausfeld and Litigation Funder Launch £1.5 Billion Group Action Against Apple – Law.com
Apple faces collective action lawsuit seeking compensation for 20 million UK users – Mashable
Apple Hit With £1.5B Lawsuit Over App Store Charges – Law360
Apple slapped with UK class action over app payments – Proactive Investors
Apple faces UK class-action over "excessive" App Store charges – IT Pro
Apple hit with £1.5bn UK class action over alleged App Store overcharging – The Global Legal Post
UK class action lawsuit targets Apple's "anti-competitive practices" – Games Industry
UK consumers seek £1.5B from Apple – Mobile World Live
Apple hit by £1.5bn lawsuit over App Store 'overcharging' – Mac World
UK consumers win historic £1.5 billion case against Apple - Consumer Voice
Senior lecturer at King’s College London wins landmark £1.5bn case against Apple - The Tab
PODCASTS & radio interviews
(2026) BBC Radio Oxford What is "Loudcasting" and why do people do it?
(2026) BBC Radio 4 Wetherspoons’ ban on playing audio or taking loudspeaker calls in its pubs - also known as “loudcasting”
(2026) BBC Radio 5 with Nicky Campbell: Will Trump’s “Project Freedom” work? Also, does the baby sleep industry need regulation?
(2026) Elliot Hartley’s Shock Radio: Under 16s Social Media Ban, Taxing the Rich, and Trump in Manchester?!
(2024) Dan Osman’s Ramblings of a Madman Podcast ‘Identity, Discipline & Digital Authenticity with Dr. Rachael Kent-Aitken’
(2024) Digital Health Diagnosed: Your Dose of Tech Wellbeing
(2024) Dan Osman’s Ramblings of a Madman Podcast ‘Social Media, Antisocial Media & Your Digital Health with Dr. Rachael Kent’
(2024) Relax Back Radio ‘What is Digital Health and is it any good for us?
(2022) A Need To Read Podcast ‘How Technology and Social Media are Impacting our Health’
(2021) Brain Care Podcast 'Technology & Mental Health with Dr. Rachael Kent'
(2021) Runners World Podcast, 'Fitness Trackers, Social Media & the Impact on Mental Wellbeing',
(2020) The Know Show Podcast Episode #14 The Impact of COVID-19 on Communication & Socialising
(2020) The Know Show Podcast Episode #9 Health Tracking Dangers & Data Surveillance