People_
Dr Catherine Page Jeffery
BA Hons (Tasmania), PhD (Canberra)
Lecturer
Discipline of Media and Communications
Discipline of Media and Communications
Websites
Dr Catherine Page Jeffery is a lecturer and researcher in the Discipline of Media and Communication at the University of Sydney. Catherine’s current research addresses digital media and families, with a particular focus on parenting in the digital age. Building on more than a decade of professional experience within the public and research sector, Catherine undertook a PhD at the University of Canberra examining parental anxieties about digital media. Since completing her doctorate in 2019, her work on digital media and families has been published in leading international journals.
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- Digital media and technological change
- Parenting cultures, and digital media use within families
- Moral panics and mass media framing of media use
- Digital media use and gender, including perceptions about gendered online practices such as ‘drama’ and cyberbullying, and sexualised self-representation
- Member, International CommunicationsAssociation (ICA)
- Member, Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA)
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| x | Ryan ANDRIESZ |
Selected publications
Publications
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Books
- Page Jeffery, C. (2025). Parenting in a Digital World: Beyond Media Panics Towards a New Theory of Parental Mediation. New York: Routledge. [More Information]
Journals
- Page Jeffery, C. (2024). 'Trust us! we know what we are doing!' Parent-adolescent digital conflict in Australian families. Journal of Children and Media, 18(4), 472-488. [More Information]
- Gregor, S., Gunawardena, M., Imran, A., Okai-Ugbaje, S., Page Jeffery, C., Wilson, R. (2023). Indigenous Knowledge-Sharing Interventions in Australia and the Use of Information and Communication Technology: A Scoping Review. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 27. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C., Atkinson, S., Graham, C. (2023). Using the story completion method to explore Australian parent and child responses to online risk. New Media and Society. [More Information]
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Conferences
- Page Jeffery, C. (2020). Bedroom culture and intimate spaces: Parental perspectives on the psychological geography of teenagers' digital media use. 70th Annual International Communications Association Conference (ICA 2020), Washington, USA: International Communications Association.
- Page Jeffery, C. (2020). Bullying is too strong a word ..': Parental accounts of their children's experiences of online conflict, exclusion and relational aggression. 70th Annual International Communications Association Conference (ICA 2020), Washington, USA: International Communications Association.
- Page Jeffery, C. (2017). Parenting, ways of knowing and teenage children's use of digital technologies. QUT Digital Media Research Centre 'At Home with Digital Media', Brisbane, Australia: Queensland University of Technology.
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Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Humphry, J., Page Jeffery, C., Hutchinson, J., Boichak, O. (2024). Age verification for social media would impact all of us. We asked parents and kids if they actually want it. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C. (2023). Is 13 too young to have a TikTok or Instagram account? The Conversation. [More Information]
Report
- Flew, T., Humphry, J., Gray, J., Hutchinson, J., Page Jeffery, C., Johnson, M., McKee, A., Nicholls, R. (2024). Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society. [More Information]
Other
- Page Jeffery, C. (2020), Is that appropriate? Parental judgements about the risks and opportunities of teenagers' digital media use.
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2025
- Page Jeffery, C. (2025). Parenting in a Digital World: Beyond Media Panics Towards a New Theory of Parental Mediation. New York: Routledge. [More Information]
2024
- Page Jeffery, C. (2024). 'Trust us! we know what we are doing!' Parent-adolescent digital conflict in Australian families. Journal of Children and Media, 18(4), 472-488. [More Information]
- Humphry, J., Page Jeffery, C., Hutchinson, J., Boichak, O. (2024). Age verification for social media would impact all of us. We asked parents and kids if they actually want it. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Flew, T., Humphry, J., Gray, J., Hutchinson, J., Page Jeffery, C., Johnson, M., McKee, A., Nicholls, R. (2024). Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society. [More Information]
2023
- Gregor, S., Gunawardena, M., Imran, A., Okai-Ugbaje, S., Page Jeffery, C., Wilson, R. (2023). Indigenous Knowledge-Sharing Interventions in Australia and the Use of Information and Communication Technology: A Scoping Review. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 27. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C. (2023). Is 13 too young to have a TikTok or Instagram account? The Conversation. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C., Atkinson, S., Graham, C. (2023). Using the story completion method to explore Australian parent and child responses to online risk. New Media and Society. [More Information]
2022
- Page Jeffery, C. (2022). 'It's just another nightmare to manage:' Australian parents' perspectives on BYOD and 'ed-tech' at school and at home. Learning, Media & Technology, 47(4), 471-484. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C., Atkinson, S., McCallum, K. (2022). The Safe Online Together Project: A participatory approach to resolving inter-generational technology conflict in families. Communication Research and Practice, 8(2), 136-151. [More Information]
2021
- Page Jeffery, C. (2021). "It's really difficult. We've only got each other to talk to." Monitoring, mediation, and good parenting in Australia in the digital age. Journal of Children and Media, 15(2), 202-217. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C. (2021). '[Cyber]bullying is too strong a word..': Parental accounts of their children's experiences of online conflict and relational aggression. Media International Australia. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C. (2021). Digitally connected but personally disconnected? Crisis, digital media and the Australian family. Journal of Children and Media, 15(1), 6-9. [More Information]
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2020
- Page Jeffery, C. (2020). Bedroom culture and intimate spaces: Parental perspectives on the psychological geography of teenagers' digital media use. 70th Annual International Communications Association Conference (ICA 2020), Washington, USA: International Communications Association.
- Page Jeffery, C. (2020). Book review: Anja Riita Lahikainen, Tiina Malkia, and Katja Repo (Eds.), 'Media, Family Interaction and the Digitalization of Childhood'. Mobile Media & Communication, 8(3), 436-437. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C. (2020). Bullying is too strong a word ..': Parental accounts of their children's experiences of online conflict, exclusion and relational aggression. 70th Annual International Communications Association Conference (ICA 2020), Washington, USA: International Communications Association.
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2018
- Page Jeffery, C. (2018). Too sexy too soon, or just another moral panic? Sexualization, children, and "technopanics" in the Australian media 2004-2015. Feminist Media Studies, 18(3), 366-380. [More Information]
2017
- Fuller, G., Page Jeffery, C. (2017). 'There is no Zyzz': the subcultural celebrity and bodywork project of Aziz Shavershian. Celebrity Studies, 8(1), 20-34. [More Information]
- Page Jeffery, C. (2017). Parenting, ways of knowing and teenage children's use of digital technologies. QUT Digital Media Research Centre 'At Home with Digital Media', Brisbane, Australia: Queensland University of Technology.
2016
- Page Jeffery, C. (2016). Parental anxieties and practices in the digital age. Engaging Innovation Conference, Canberra, Australia: University of Canberra, News and Media Research Centre.
2015
- Page Jeffery, C. (2015). Too Sexy Too Soon or Just Another Moral Panic? Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Annual Conference CSAA 2015, Melbourne, Australia: Cultural Studies Association of Australasia.
2014
- Fuller, G., Page Jeffery, C. (2014). "Do You Even Lift?" Zyzz and the Techno-Aesthetics of Homosociality. Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Annual Conference CSAA 2014, Wollongong, Australia: Cultural Studies Association of Australasia.
Selected Grants
2024
- Improving digital sexual literacy in Australia, McKee A, Power J, Lumby C, Page Jeffery C, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP)
Other funded research
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2020-2022 Online Safety Grants Program - $118,000
Safe Online Together: an integrated approach to navigating the risks and opportunities of digital media for families and young people.
Dr Catherine Page Jeffery (project lead), Professor Kerry McCallum, Dr Yoonmo Sang.
In the media
- 25/11/2024 - quoted in New Scientist (print version): Can Australia's planned social-media ban for under-16s work?
- 21/11/2024 - quoted on Sky News: Australia introduces bill to ban under-16s from social media
- 19/11/2024 - quoted on skynews.com.au: The Wiggles, Bounce Patrol criticise Labor's under 16s social media ban for leaving families with 'fewer safe' ways to watch educational content
- 18/11/2024 - quoted on NewsFinale: Discover if your child is spending too much time in front of screens with our quiz
- 14/09/2024 - interviewed on new.com.au (and widely syndicated): ‘Embarrassing’ truth about social media for kids revealed as ban looms
- 11/09/2024 - interviewed in The Conversation: Should parents be worried about social media? We asked 5 experts
- 10/09/2024 - quoted in Channel NewsAsia (CNA): Australia plans social media minimum age limit, angering youth digital advocates
- 10/09/2024 - interviewed on 612 ABC Brisbane 'Afternoons with Katherine Feeney' about a proposed social media age limitin Australia
- 09/09/2024 - interviewed on ABC Online: South Australia drafts social media ban
- 09/09/2024 - interviewed on 891 ABC Adelaide 'Breakfast with Stacey Lee and Nikolai Beilharzon on recommended approaches to support young people navigating online spaces
- 08/09/2024 - quoted on MSN Australia News: Social media companies to face fines for allowing children under 14 on their platforms under proposed SA laws
- 04/08/2024 - quoted on ABC Radio Sydney: Students say social media literacy key to safety, not age restrictions
- 14/06/2024 - quoted on SBS News: If everyone else's kids are on social media, it's hard to say no - what if that wasn't the case?
- 14/06/2024 - quoted on 702 ABC Sydney 'Breakfast with Craig Reucassel'
- 14/06/2024 - interviewed on ABC News: Social media age limits might be popular with politicians and parents, but experts warn they aren't simple
- 31/05/2024 - quoted in The Canberra Times: Social media ban could 'adversely' impact regional teens
- 27/05/2024 - article from The Conversation republished on Bounty: Age verification for social media: Aussie families weigh in on the debate
- 27/05/2024 - article from The Conversation republished on The Australia Today: Age verification for social media would impact all of us
- 23/05/2024 - featured on 2ser107.3: SA government moves to ban social media for teens under 14
- 22/05/2024 - article from The Conversation republished on Johansen: Age verification for social media would impact all of us. We asked parents and kids if they actually want it
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21/05/2024 - quoted in The Canberra Times: ACT open to banning young people from using social media platforms
31/05/2024 - quoted on ABC News Online: South Australia is pushing to ban social media access for children under 14, but how would a ban actually work? - 14/05/2024 - interviewed on ABC Western Plains "Breakfast with Nic Healey" on the topic of children using social media
- 13/05/2024 - quoted on ABC News Online: How should you approach your children's and teenagers' social media use?
- 13/05/2024 - quoted on ABC News Online: SA government pushes social media ban for children, but one expert says platforms need to be more accountable
- 16/04/2024 - Interviewed on 702 ABC Sydney "The World Today" about parenting in the digital age
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05/11/2023 - quoted in Body + Soul: Would you watch the sex lives of real Aussies on TV?
Bingeworthy, or cringeworthy? - 21/02/2023 - quoted in The Age: Smartwatches, phones make their presence felt in primary schools
- 21/02/2023 - Interview with Smile FM South Africa about children’s use of social media
- 21/02/2023 - Interview with Radio 2ser107.3:Is 13too young for social media?
- 17/02/2023 - Radio interview with ABC Perth about children’s use of social media
- 15/02/2023 - Interview about the Conversation article with Radio NZ: Is 13 too young to be on TikTok and Instagram?
- 12/02/2023 - ABC News, Yahoo! News and SBS News syndicated The Conversation article: Is 13 too young to have a TikTok or Instagram account?
- 05/10/2020: Phone interview with Georgia Stynes on ABC Radio about the Safe Online Together project being funded by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner
- 10/09/2020: Phone interview with Paula Kruger on ABC Radio about disturbing content online
- 05/05/2020: Salon Canberra panelist: The Year of Living Remotely
- 08/11/2017: Phone interview with Geneveive Jacobs on ABC Radio Mornings about new sexting research
- 17/10/2017: Studio interview with Laura Tchilinguirian on ABC Radio Afternoons.
- Phone interview with Simon Lauder for ABC South East
- 22/02/2017: Studio interview with Dan Bourchier for ABC Radio Breakfast New research: Why are parents anxious about teenagers using mobile phones and technology?