Profile

I joined AIU as an Assistant Professor in the Global Connectivity Program in 2025, and I teach a variety of courses such as 'AI and Humanity', 'Digital Communities', 'Computer Literacy', and 'Science, Technology and Society'.

My education began with a BA at Durham University (UK) in Modern Languages and Literature (Russian and German). During this time, I studied abroad at Olomouc University (Czechia), Tomsk State University (Siberia, Russia), and Heidelberg University (Germany). After graduating, I worked as a translator and pursued an MA in International Relations: Culture and Politics at Leiden University (Netherlands). I then entered the workforce and moved to Shanghai (China) where I taught for several years, before beginning my doctoral studies. I graduated with my PhD in 2025 from the Department of Comparative Studies at The Ohio State University (USA), with a dissertation titled 'ADHD Diaries: Diagnosing and Caring for ADHD in the Digital Age'.

When I'm not writing, reading or teaching, you can find me taking long walks with my dog, Nella, trying out new recipes in the kitchen, practicing yoga, or crafting.

Research Field

I am a digital ethnographer and anthropologist, and my interdisciplinary research brings together perspectives from feminist STS, critical media and internet studies, and the sociology of health. In particular, I explore how digital technologies (such as social media, AI technologies, and mobile technologies like apps) impact our understandings and experiences of our health and wellness, shape diagnosis and treatment, and provide particular modes and practices of care within our neoliberal, digitized culture.

Recent Activities

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Holroyd, D. “Why is everyone self-diagnosing with ADHD nowadays?”: The Affective Economy of ADHD TikTok”, Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2025.2544777

Holroyd, D. (2024) “TikTok Made Me Realize I Had ADHD: Social Media’s Techno-Cultural Authority on Health and the Body”, Screen Bodies: The Journal of Embodiment, Media Arts, and Technology, 9(2): 40-61

Holroyd, D. and Parker, H. (2024) “Success Narratives and the Nuclear Family: Stardew Valley’s Neoliberal Ideologies Re-Packaged as a Techno-Utopia”. Futuri: Italian Institute for the Future, October 2024: 97-109

Holroyd, D. (2024) “The Affects of Racist Discourse: British Media’s Scapegoating of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Groups in the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Interface, 23: 66-9

Peer-Reviewed Chapters

Holroyd, D. and Lagerkvist, A. “ADHD TikTok as Caring Existential Media.”. The Routledge Handbook of Disability and the New Digital Society, Routledge. Forthcoming 2026.

Parker, H. and Holroyd, D. “Games as Therapy? The Neoliberal Commercialisation and Therapisation of RPG Gameplay in Hero Journey Club”. Video Game, Sidestone Press. Forthcoming Winter 2025.

Holroyd, D. and Parker, H. “You Reap What You Sow: Creating Neoliberal Techno-Utopias through “Playbour” and Community Building in Stardew Valley”. Chapter in Future Spaces of Power: The Cultural Politics of Digital and Outer Spaces. Lexington Books. Forthcoming Winter 2025.

Holroyd, D. “Denying Systemic Racism, Racial Scapegoating and Discrediting the Left: Fox News’ Evolving Media Narrative of African Americans, COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter”. In Pandemic Politics: Leftist Critiques. Routledge. Forthcoming Winter 2025.

Message to Students

Please feel free to email or stop by my office at any time for a chat - my door is always open! I'm happy to serve in either an official or unofficial advisory role for any capstone projects, independent study or research projects. I'm also available just to brainstorm ideas or offer advice as you navigate the job market or further study.