Nicholas Carah

Professor Nicholas Carah is a leading academic at the School of Communication and Arts, The University of Queensland, and serves as Director of the Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies. He is also an Associate Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. His research focuses on the algorithmic and participatory advertising model of digital media platforms, with a sustained investigation into digital alcohol marketing.

His research spans digital media, algorithmic culture, and affective capitalism, examining how platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook shape promotional practices and user behavior. He has led major ARC-funded projects and co-edited works such as Digital Intimate Publics and Social Media (2018) and Conflict in My Outlook (2022). As Deputy Chair of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, he contributes to policy development on unhealthy product marketing.

His recent publications highlight trends in social media advertising, algorithmic transparency, and health-risk marketing. Supervision roles include Principal Advisor for PhD projects on topics like digital labor, FemTech, and augmented reality, and Associate Advisor for cross-cultural studies in media and communication. He advocates for citizen science approaches to monitor digital marketing and its societal impacts.