This talk will review prevailing research in this space as well as initial findings of research focused on the following questions:
- How do college students view digital technology use, and what do they see as the benefits and negative consequences of digital technology use during leisure time?
- What digital well-being practices do college students engage in (and why)?
- How do college students view the different levels of intervention of digital technology use: individual (e.g., self-managing practices, time-limiting apps), collective (e.g., social norms, tech-free spaces, parental controls), and structural (e.g., laws on age restricted use, governance of technology firms)?
- What do college students understand about the political economy of digital technology (e.g., the attention economy)?
About the Speaker
Lauren Duffy is professor and head of the Penn State Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. She previously served as an associate professor, undergraduate coordinator, and faculty senate president at Clemson University. Her research focuses on critical tourism, sustainability, leisure behavior, and community-based tourism, with particular attention to equity, power, and resident–tourist relationships.
Dr. Duffy has received national awards for teaching and research and is a fellow with Tourism RESET and former president of the Academy of Leisure Sciences. As a 2022–23 Fulbright Scholar in Saint Lucia, she studied tourism resilience and worker well-being. Her work has been funded by agencies such as South Carolina Sea Grant, the USDA, and the VA. She holds a PhD in leisure behavior from Indiana University and an MS from UNC Greensboro.
