Dr Aditya Deshbandhu (He/Him)

I am a Lecturer of Communications, Digital Media Sociology at the University of Exeter. In my research, I examine video games, new media platforms and practices, and the many understandings of the digital divide. I also try to understand how people engage with digital artefacts, and how these interactions shape their everyday lives. As someone who actively examines digital acts of leisure, my research in the last decade has examined social media and OTT platforms alongside video games and digital cultures. I am also the author of Gaming Culture(s) in India: Digital Play in Everyday Life and The 21^st Century in Hundred games. I also serve as an editor on Routledge's book series: Games and Contemporary Culture.

Biography:

I am a Lecturer of Communications, Digital Media Sociology at the University of Exeter. In my research I engage with developments in the fields of video game studies, new media, and the digital divide. I examine how people engage with digital artefacts and understand how these interactions shape everyday lives.

I joined the Communications programme at Exeter from the Indian Institute of Management - Indore, India where I served as an Assistant Professor in the Communication Area. I hold Doctoral and Masters' degrees in Communication from the University of Hyderabad, India.

I engage with the everyday but from a standpoint of leisure to ask broader questions about society.

Research supervision:

I look forward to engaging in conversations that seek to understand gaming cultures and practices from a variety of contexts. I also examine specific trends in Digital Cultures and the idea of the Digital Divide is one such strand that I always focus on.