Sarah Wiggins
PhD studentResearch Overview
I am a LUMS funded doctoral researcher specialising in digital and responsible marketing. My research explores the blend of technology and humanity, and I am particularly interested in the dynamic between social media platforms and culture. My PhD research analyses the impact of surveillance driven AI hyper-relevant adverts and their impact on overconsumption. My previous studies focused on the impact of social media on human relationships. Alongside my research I am a seminar tutor on MKTG 234 social media and a member of the Pentland Centre, the Centre for Technological Futures, and the Centre for Consumption Insights (CCI) at Lancaster.
Career Details
Alongside my academic research, I am a marketing practitioner. My roles have been diverse and included both client side and agency work. I also have experience of working in marketing consultancy. I was previously the marketing manager for a major music festival in South West Scotland and have experience of developing and launching integrated marketing campaigns on a national scale.
Current Research
My PhD Research "Is Marketing the Problem? Surveillance Capitalism, Cyborg Society and the Manipulation of the Sustainable Development Goals" critically analyses the impact of surveillance driven AI hyper-relevant advertising on overconsumption. My research contributes to the field of digital marketing and explores the phenomenon at the intersection between consumers and marketing practice. The supervisors of this project are Dr Helen Bruce (Department of Marketing, Lancaster ), Dr Alan Gilchrist (Department of Marketing, Lancaster) and Dr Josiane Fernandes (Department of Marketing, Lancaster).My previous research titled: “Investigating the Phenomenon of Enshittification: Examining the Degradation of User Experience in Digital Platforms” adopeted a consumer culture theory and digital marketing lens, particularly focusing on theories of Liquid Modernity by Zygmunt Bauman and platformisation, to explore the impact of social media on human relationships. It examined the emerging concept of "enshittification", which was coined by Cory Doctorow and describes the three stage degredation of social media platforms and whether this is creating less meaningful relationships. This research project was supervised by Professor Anthony Patterson (Department of Marketing, Lancaster).
Research Grants
LUMS Studentship 2024Fulgoni Scholarship 2023Lancaster Masters Scholarship 2023Lancaster Mature Students Scholarship 2020
- Centre for Technological Futures
- Pentland Centre