Alex Beattie

Dr Alex Beattie is a Senior Lecturer in Information Management at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. His research explores how people live with, resist, and disconnect from digital technologies, with a focus on digital well-being, ADHD and neurodivergence, news avoidance, and the social impacts of the tech-lash (the popular backlash towards technology platforms). Alex’s work bridges internet and communication studies, digital humanities, and information science, and he is particularly interested in how cognitive difference and cultural values shape digital life.

He is the Principal Investigator of the Marsden-funded project Saving Screen Time: People with ADHD and Disconnecting from the Internet, which explores how people with ADHD disconnect from and manage their screen time. Alex brings a humanities-informed lens to the School of Information Management, helping students rethink digital literacy, engagement, and the ethics of information behavior in an age of distraction.