Hi! I’m Dr. Priya Kumar. I’m an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University’s College of Information Sciences and Technology. My research examines how the datafication of family life affects privacy and agency. I earned my PhD from the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies, and my dissertation examined the privacy implications of parents posting pictures of their children on social media, also known as sharenting.
My academic research has been published in top-tier scholarly venues across the fields of information, communication, and human-computer interaction. I’ve discussed my work with national media, including NPR, Wired, and Buzzfeed as well as written about my work for Slate and Time, among others. My academic research has earned best paper awards from the iConference and the International Communication Association (ICA), and my news research for the American Journalism Review was nominated for a Mirror Award, the highest honor in media reporting.
Before returning to graduate school, I was a researcher with Ranking Digital Rights, which evaluates global technology companies on their commitments to freedom of expression and privacy. I earned a master’s degree from the University of Michigan School of Information, where I designed my own curriculum in data storytelling. I hold bachelor’s degrees from the University of Maryland in journalism and government & politics, as well as a minor in Spanish.
Email me at priya [dot] kumar [at] psu [dot] edu or follow me on Twitter @DearPriya.
Priya Kumar 