This page is the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of my scholarly publications. I have little control over how Google Scholar or ORCiD automates the publications listed under my profile, but I do occasionally vet them for accuracy. I do not own accounts on scholarly databases like Academia.edu and ResearchGate. In the age of GenAI, I have been wrongly attributed as the author of several hallucinated references for papers that do not exist, so please check against this page when in doubt. For copies of paywalled papers please email me.
Google Scholar | ORCiD | Key Ideas & Concepts
AUTHORED BOOKS
Abidin, Crystal. Contracted. Buymylife.com: Vernacular commerce, creation, and culture in Singapore blogshops. NIAS Press.
Abidin, Crystal. Contracted. Please Subscribe! Influencers, Social Media, and the Commodification of Everyday Life. MIT Press.
Abidin, Crystal, Jing Zeng, and Wu Fang. Forthcoming, 2027. Diaspora Wanghong: Transnational and Transcultural Internet Celebrity. Routledge.
This book provides a new conceptual framework for understanding the phenomenon of Chinese internet celebrity, or wanghong, through the new genre of ‘diaspora wanghong’. The research spans across six international platforms (TikTok, Xiaohongshu, YouTube, Douyin, Instagram, X) and six demographics across sectors (C-pop laoshi, Overseas liuxuesheng, Yimin families, Waijiao wanghong, Baohong entrepreneurs, Jianzheng networks). The book outlines three distinct groups of diaspora wanghong: ‘haiwai wanghong’ who are overseas Chinese internet celebrities; ‘laowai wanghong’ who are foreign internet celebrities based in China; and ‘neidi wanghong’ who are inter-city internet celebrities across Mainland China. We argue that the diaspora internet celebrity communities serve as unique ‘cultural brokers’ whose multi-layered identity allows them to navigate across and capitalise on different cultural fields.
Abidin, Crystal, and Jin Lee. Forthcoming, 2027. Provoking Online Drama: How Attention Economies are Changing. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Social media actors employ various tactics to gain attention. They create unusual or extraordinary events, curate their ordinary lives as spectacles to watch and consume, and evoke the viewer’s feelings and emotions to forge intimacy and draw the viewer engagement. ‘Online Drama’ refers to this cultural phenomenon, where social media actors create, spread, and transform a momentum of attention through which a set of values are transacted. This book offers a comprehensive framework to understand the cultures and economies of online drama, and presents an updated framework with case studies to explore an ecosystem of attention, virality, and internet fame, focusing on how online drama is created, monetized, spread, and evolves across the media space today.
Abidin, Crystal. Forthcoming, 2027. Intercultural Influencers: Global Arbiters of Norms and Nuance. Polity Press.
Moving across cultures, country markets, content genres, platforms, and audiences, Intercultural Influencers looks at this new genre of Influencers who operate in the ‘in-between’ spaces of society. This book reveals how Intercultural Influencers emerge as cosmopolitan figures who demonstrate the potentials of ‘riding on the wave’ of globalization. But it also considers the pitfalls and negative consequences of continuously being postured or branded as ‘exceptional’, in a society that is becoming more informed and ready to enact its cultural authority on various matters.
[Order | About] Abidin, Crystal. 2026. TikTok and Youth Cultures. Emerald Publishing.
TikTok has become a critical conduit for channelling and suppressing attention online, and for how users enact personal agency to circumvent the limitations and restrictions of social media platforms. This book adopts a digital anthropological approach to consider voices and stories from the grassroots, especially from the Asia Pacific region. It takes interest in the youth cultures that unfold on TikTok, how the features of the platform foster specific community practices, how it generates recognizable visual templates and communicative norms over time, and what impacts these might have in the spaces we inhabit.
[Open Access | About] Abidin, Crystal. 2026. Child Influencers: How Children Become Entangled with Social Media Fame. Polity Press.
Drawing on original empirical ethnographic fieldwork and case studies from across the Asia Pacific and beyond, and spanning various digital platforms, this book looks at the emergence of Child Influencers and online fame more generally. The book discusses key historical milestones, scandals, and the social and cultural context that have led to ordinary children becoming famous online, and how changing public discourse has resulted in important pivots in the ways we perceive them. Child Influencers is illuminating reading for anyone who wants to understand the phenomena of children and online fame, and why they have proliferated so quickly in society.
[Order | About] Tiidenberg, Katrin, Natalie Ann Hendry, and Crystal Abidin. 2021. tumblr. Polity Press.
Tiidenberg, Hendry and Abidin offer the first overarching, holistic and systematic guide to tumblr and its crucial role in shaping digital culture. Drawing on nine years of in-depth, qualitative data, they reveal why tumblr is ‘special’ by examining how it has developed, where it belongs in the social media ecosystem, and its prominent practices of creativity, curation and community making.
[Order | About] Leaver, Tama, Tim Highfield, and Crystal Abidin. 2020. Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures. Polity Press.
This is the first book-length examination of Instagram. Over the course of its seven chapters, we critically examine the platform and its policies, its content and aesthetics, its economies and ecologies, and various cultural practices and uses of Instagram. The book draws together ideas and findings from various datasets and perspectives, including ethnographic work with influencers, studies of birth, death, and identity creation, visual social media, politics and crises, Instagram research methods and ethics, and cultural practices and communities.
[Order | About] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online. Emerald Publishing.
The face of internet celebrity is rapidly diversifying and evolving. Online and mainstream celebrity culture are now weaving together, such that breakout stars from one-hit viral videos are able to turn their transient fame into a full-time career. This book presents a framework for thinking about the different forms of internet celebrity that have emerged over the last decade, taking examples from the Global North and South, to consolidate key ideas about cultures of online fame. It discusses the overall landscape, developments and trends in the internet celebrity economy, and cross-cultural lessons.
EDITED BOOKS
Abidin, Crystal, Hao Zheng, and Rachel Berryman (eds). Forthcoming, 2027. Routledge Handbook of Influencer Cultures in the Asia Pacific. Routledge.
Through detailed and interdisciplinary case studies grounded in decolonial perspectives, this Handbook explores the cultural, economic, and political roles influencers play, offering critical insights for scholars, students, and industry professionals navigating the complexities of influencer cultures in an increasingly interconnected world. Organised geographically, this Handbook systematically contextualises the evolution of influencers and stakeholders across the Asia Pacific. Its core sections provide detailed examinations of platform developments in East Asia, diversity dynamics in Southeast Asia, issues and opportunities of heritage and wellbeing in South and Central Asia, and community and environmental debates in Oceania and the Pacific.
Abidin, Crystal, and Rachel Berryman (eds). Forthcoming, 2027. Virtual Celebrity Cultures in Asia. Routledge.
Recent years have seen the rise in popularity and cultural impact of virtual celebrities: well-known entities that are created with and for digital technologies, including virtual influencers, virtual idols, Vocaloids, VTubers (Virtual YouTubers), and digital doubles. While the growth of virtual celebrity has occurred globally, the phenomenon is especially prevalent in Asia, which has a history of experimentation and commodification of virtual entities dating back to the 1990s. Applying a critical lens to this rapidly-growing phenomenon, Virtual Celebrity Cultures in Asia explores the diversity and complexity of virtual celebrity, as contextualised by local cultures, industries, and histories.
Gerber, Katrin, Larissa Hjorth, and Crystal Abidin (eds). Forthcoming, 2026. The Digital Life of Grief: Mourning in the Age of Social Media. Routledge.
This timely edited collection explores the rise of digital mourning practices, from TikTok memorials and grief influencers to the politicisation of loss in activist movements. Through a platform-centric lens, the book examines how contemporary grief unfolds publicly, performatively, and often unequally in online spaces. It shows how platform logics determine whose grief is amplified and whose is erased, how moderation policies impact the persistence of loss online, and how mourning is entangled with attention economies, digital labour, and resistance. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of how digital spaces both enable and constrain emotional expression, community care, and memory work during times of grief.
Abidin, Crystal, Jin Lee, and Janey Umback (eds). Forthcoming, 2026. TikTok Cultures in Korea. Routledge.
Since the 1990s, Korea’s cultural exports—collectively known as Hallyu or the Korean Wave—have significantly influenced global entertainment, tourism, and language learning. Through TikTok’s viral and interactive nature, creators have amplified Korea’s cultural influence worldwide, using short-form video content to engage diverse audiences and shape global perceptions of K-culture. By providing a detailed analysis of TikTok’s integration into the Korean market, this book delves into its influence on K-culture’s global reach. It presents qualitative insights into how audiences engage with K-pop, examines TikTok’s impact on representations of gender and transnational identity, and discusses how the platform fosters discussions around social justice and cultural understanding.
Abidin, Crystal, Annisa Beta, and Hao Zheng (eds). Forthcoming, 2026. Influencers and Gender Politics in Southeast Asia. Routledge.
This book investigates the intersections between influencer cultures and gender politics in contemporary Southeast Asia, a region experiencing rapid digital transformation and high social media engagement. It examines how influencers act as cultural intermediaries who negotiate, reinforce, or disrupt gender norms within predominantly collectivist and conservative societies. Drawing from interdiscplinary perspectives, the chapters explore how influencer practices intersect with activism, morality, religion, and state narratives, positioning Southeast Asia as a critical site for rethinking digital power, identity, and resistance. By centring case studies from across the region, the book offers a timely intervention into global digital and gender studies.
[Open Access | About] Abidin, Crystal, and Natalie Pang (eds). 2025. Internet Popular Culture and (Everyday) Politics: Methodological & Ethical Critiques from Southeast Asia. Routledge.
This edited collection considers how scholars conduct research on (everyday) politics in Southeast Asia via networks of internet popular culture. This includes artifacts, networks, groups, and cultures that are specific to Southeast Asian online practices, and that seek to represent, advocate for, provoke, or question how citizens ‘do’ politics online. In the Southeast Asian region in particular, these behind-the-scenes minutiae of everyday decisions are all the more under-valued when researchers have been taught, conditioned, or cautioned to tiptoe around the OB (out-of-bound) markets implicitly policed by states and governments.
[Order | About] Gurrieri, Lauren, Jenna Drenten, and Crystal Abidin (eds). 2025. Influencer Marketing: Interdisciplinary and Socio-Cultural Perspectives. Routledge.
This book discusses and debates the complexities of influencer marketing, casting a critical and interdisciplinary lens on its practices, consumption, and far-reaching societal impact. Influencer marketing has evolved from a marketing tactic to a cultural phenomenon. It is shaped, and is shaped by, the currents of culture. By bridging theoretical perspectives and crossing disciplinary boundaries, the chapters in this volume advance the readers’ understanding of influencer marketing by bringing to life its complexities, embracing its messiness, and highlighting future potentialities.
[Order | About] Warfield, Katie, Crystal Abidin, and Carolina Cambre (eds). 2020. Mediated Interfaces: The Body on Social Media. Bloomsbury Academic.
Although researchers are examining digital embodiment, digital representations, and visual vernaculars as a mode of identity performance and management online, there exists no cohesive collection that compiles all these contemporary philosophies into one reader for use in graduate level classrooms or for scholars studying the field. The rationale for this book is to produce a scholarly fulcrum that pulls together scholars from disparate fields of inquiry in the humanities doing work on the common theme of the socially mediated body.
[Order | About] Abidin, Crystal, and Megan Lindsay Brown (eds). 2018. Microcelebrity Around the Globe: Approaches to cultures of internet fame. Emerald Publishing.
In the decade since microcelebrity studies was launched, the landscape of fame on the internet has expanded across digital estates, populations and intensities, labour and practices, products, commodifiable entities, and national spheres. The editors introduce a ten-year anniversary update to the field of microcelebrity studies by re-theorizing microcelebrity considering the under-represented diversity in specific ideo-geographical and socio-cultural domains.
REPORTS & WHITEPAPERS
[AiMCO members only] AiMCO. 2025. Engaging Child & Family Influencers: Industry Information Sheet. Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO).
The document, the first of its kind in Australia, was developed by AiMCO’s Best Practice Child and Family Influencer Working Group to address a critical gap in safeguarding children involved in digital content creation. The sheet outlines how existing child employment protections — typically applied to film, television and advertising — can also extend to the influencer space.
[Open Access] Mercier, Faye, and Crystal Abidin. 2025. Studying Global Cultural Exchange on TikTok: Frameworks, Case Studies, and Resources. TikTok Cultures Research Network (TCRN), Curtin University.
This project explores how TikTok mediates identity, inequality, and social participation in specific contexts, this resource turns attention to the circulation and transformation of culture itself. The report looks at how users across the globe share, remix, and contest cultural content on TikTok, and how these practices are shaped by both participatory creativity and structural conditions — algorithmic, social, and historical — that determine which voices travel and resonate. The syllabus provides educators, researchers, and students with conceptual frameworks and case studies for analyzing these dynamics.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Jin Lee, Jia Guo, Yuka Takao, Soomin Hong, Darcy Morgan, and N. L. Hong-Phuc. 2025. The Role of Influencers in Misinformation and Sexualized Content in the Asia Pacific Region. Influencer Ethnography Research Lab (IERLab), Faculty of Humanities, Curtin University.
This project was commissioned by Google Trust & Safety and examines the impact of influencers on sharing behaviors related to misinformation and sexualized content across five markets (Greater China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia) in the Asia Pacific region through a cross-cultural content analysis and case studies. This report provides an understanding of how Influencers can inadvertently amplify misinformation and set norms around sharing sexual content online in some of the most dynamic and culturally unique markets of the region.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and N. L. Hong-Phuc. 2023. Benchmarking Influencer Regulations in the Asia Pacific Region. Influencer Ethnography Research Lab (IERLab), Faculty of Humanities, Curtin University.
The report is one of the first to explore the multifaceted dimensions of the influencer industry under the regulatory lens of 18 countries within the Asia Pacific region in the aspects of economies, politics, society, and culture. The study involved a systematic analysis of laws, guidelines, and best practices from 2021 to 2023, encompassing academic research, policy documents, corporate reports, and industry materials in local languages and English. The report aims to contribute valuable insights into the influencer policies that foster responsible and ethical practices in this rapidly evolving industry.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jia Guo. 2023. Platformed Creator Discourse in Chinese Markets. Influencer Ethnography Research Lab (IERLab), Faculty of Humanities, Curtin University.
This project analyses creator discourses on popular social media platforms in various cultural and language markets, to explore how platforms impact people’s understanding of the ‘creator’ in different contexts. This report particularly focuses on Chinese markets by studying six Chinese platforms. We recommend this report to researchers, students, and the general public who are interested in Chinese platforms and social media industries in China.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Naomi Robinson. 2023. A Retrospect on Young People and COVID-19 Discourse on TikTok. TikTok Cultures Research Network (TCRN), Centre for Culture and Technology (CCAT), Curtin University.
This report contains a summary of findings from a series of projects undertaken by the TikTok Cultures Research Network (TCRN) from 2019 to 2023. These projects focused on pandemic-related discourses by young people on the short video platform. This report focuses on three of such projects in three parts: (1) ‘COVID-19 messaging on TikTok’ (2019–2020); (2) ‘TikTok & Youth Cultures in the Age of COVID-19 (2021); and (3) A review of corporate, press, and scholarly interest on COVID-19 and TikTok (2019–2023).
[Open Access] Vizcaíno-Verdú, Arantxa, and Crystal Abidin. 2023. TikTok Syllabus: Explorando la cultura pop y los movimientos sociales [TikTok Syllabus: Exploring pop culture and social movements]. TikTok Cultures Research Network (TCRN), Social Media Pop Cultures Programme, Centre for Culture and Technology (CCAT), Curtin University.
This report is the third edition of a TikTok syllabus launched by the TikTok Cultures Research Network, and the first of its kind translated into Spanish. It aims to broaden the academic-media context around the platform and provide a wider variety of knowledge that extends to Spanish-speaking realities and environments. We welcome collaborations on future iterations of this Syllabus, across languages, regions, and foci.
[Embargoed] Abidin, Crystal. 2022. Understanding the Portrayal of Humanitarian Issues and Interests on YouTube. Commissioned Report for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
This white paper presents a summary of findings from a project commissioned by the ICRC. The project focused on the key questions: How are humanitarian issues represented on social media? What are the humanitarian content genres on YouTube? How well do the different humanitarian content genres on YouTube foster engagement?
[Open Access] Lim, Joel, and Crystal Abidin. 2022. The New Normal: How COVID-19 has Changed the Fundamentals of Influencer Marketing in Southeast Asia. Gushcloud International.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jin Lee. 2022. Social Justice Through Social Media Pop Cultures: Case Studies And Reading Resources On Influencers And TikTok. TikTok Cultures Research Network (TCRN) & Social Media Pop Cultures Programme, Centre for Culture and Technology (CCAT), Curtin University.
This report seeks to consider the various aspects, angles, and conceptual synonyms to better understand social justice pursuits on social media. This resource comprises two parts: (1) Conceptual glossary and (2) Readings & resources. It aims to serve as a gateway for scholars wanting to explore research angles on the topic, and as a suggested guide for educators wanting to teach on the topic through a combination of scholarly material and popular media examples.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye. 2021. TikTok Syllabus: Teaching Socio-cultural Issues on TikTok. TikTok Cultures Research Network (TCRN), Social Media Pop Cultures Programme, Centre for Culture and Technology (CCAT), Curtin University.
This report provides a curation of the early landscape of TikTok Studies, providing educators and researchers with resources to teach and think about TikTok through various socio-cultural perspectives. As the first iteration, this Syllabus is currently limited to English language work, though we have extended our efforts to consider a myriad of case studies and resources especially focused on the Asia Pacific region, where we are based. We welcome collaborations on future iterations of this Syllabus, across languages, regions, and foci.
EDITED JOURNAL ISSUES
[Call for Papers] Mukherjee, Sujata, Mona Elswah, and Crystal Abidin. (eds.) Forthcoming, 2026. Digital Intersectionality and Marginalization in the Majority World. Journal of Online Trust & Safety.
Trust & Safety (T&S) practices have largely been shaped by Western perspectives, often failing to address the unique challenges and requirements of the Global Majority. There is a growing consensus within industry research and practice for the urgent need to incorporate Global Majority perspectives into T&S research, policy, and practice to foster a more equitable and efficient digital ecosystem. Researchers focusing on trust and safety topics in the Majority World often encounter significant challenges, including data scarcity, safety concerns, methodological limitations, language barriers, and restricted access to global discourse forums. This Special Issue seeks to address these limitations in a small way while simultaneously elevating awareness of the complex and often contradictory challenges of content moderation in the Majority World.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. (ed.) 2025. The Future of Wanghong. Global Media and China 10(3).
This Special Issue invited interlocutors to share their cutting edge expertise on emergent wanghong phenomena to reflect on the status quo as a springboard for us to imagine the road ahead. With disciplinary leanings across sociology, cultural studies, gender studies, media studies, and communications, the articles draw on an array of methodological frameworks to explore the fast-changing practice of wanghong in their specific fieldsites
[Open Access] Lee, Jin, Crystal Abidin, and Tama Leaver. (eds.) 2025. TikTok and Children. International Journal of Cultural Studies 28(5).
This Special Issue explores the complicated issues surrounding the presence of children on TikTok, their usage of the app, and the cultures they partake in and proliferate on the platform. By showcasing a range of topics, methodologies, and disciplinary framings on how to study children and TikTok, it provides a meaningful opportunity to think about balanced and practical approaches to maximise children’s rights and agency, and to leverage on the range of platform cultures for positive child development.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. (ed.) 2025. 2K: Child Influencers in the Asia Pacific. Social Media + Society 11(3).
The Special Issue offers 11 articles that consider how child Influencers are connected to discourses around hegemony, are involved in social-cultural movements and projects, and are protected (or not) by regulation. With perspectives primarily from media studies and methods including ethnography, interviews, document surveys, and content analyses, each paper offers a specific demographic focus and raises issues specific to a country’s socio-political and socio-cultural context.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. (ed.) 2025. Groundhog Day: The cyclical nature of academic spotlights and hot topics. International Journal of Communication 19.
On September 11, 2023, the Influencer Ethnography Research Lab (IERLab) at Curtin University hosted “Groundhog Day”—a one-day online-only open-access collection of roundtables on the cyclical nature of academic spotlights and hot topics, and some of the frustrations related to the ahistoricity of the discussions and moral panics. Over four panels, the event addressed the cycles, patterns, templates, and related fatigue on digital media discourse.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jin Lee. (eds.) 2023. TikTok Methodologies. Cultural Science Journal 15(1).
This collection includes three journal articles outlining the practice, praxis, and pragmatics of conducting research on and about TikTok, and a research commentary reflecting on the challenges in conceptualizing and operationalizing a TikTok project. The editorial opens by reflecting on some recent trends in TikTok scholarship, and closes with a brief introduction to the Special Section.
[Paywalled] Gurrieri, Lauren, Jenna Drenten, and Crystal Abidin. (eds.) 2023. Influencer Marketing: Interdisciplinary and Socio-Cultural Perspectives. Journal of Marketing Management 39(11–12).
This special issue on ‘Influencer Marketing: Interdisciplinary and Socio-Cultural Perspectives’ aims to discuss, problematise and stimulate debate on how influencer marketing, its consumption and wider implications for the contemporary world can be examined and re-thought from socio-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives.
[Open Access] Lee, Jin, and Crystal Abidin. (eds.) 2023. TikTok and Social Movements. Social Media + Society 9(1).
Social media pop cultures have served as a vehicle for mobilizing and engaging in social movements for social (in)justice and politics in the era of social media. By situating TikTok, a nascent platform and culture of short video, within the ongoing discussion of digitally mobilized movements and social justice, this collection addresses several crucial points to consider when discussing TikTok cultures and social movements that are happening or interrupted on the platform.
[Paywalled] Abidin, Crystal, Jin Lee, and D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye. (eds.) 2023. Cultures of TikTok in the Asia Pacific. Media International Australia 186(1).
In this Feature Topic issue, we focus on the Asia Pacific region to understand the socio-cultural impacts, creative circumventions, and agentic employments of TikTok since its installation. These studies have also naturally considered the cascading impacts and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on platform use, meaning making, and the habitable spaces we make for ourselves and for each other in times of crisis.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Jian Xu, and Jonathon Hutchinson. (eds.) 2022. Influencer Regulations, Governance, and Socio-cultural Issues in Asia. Policy & Internet 14(3).
In this Special Issue, we consider the regulation and governance of Influencers not only through the lens and framework of specific rules, laws, policies, and regulations that set norms on the practices of influencers, but also the broader social, cultural, moral, technical, industrial, and political factors and restrictions to which Influencers are subject to accumulate sustainable impact and income.
[Open Access] Zeng, Jing, Crystal Abidin, and Mike S. Schäfer. (eds.) 2021. Research Perspectives on TikTok and Its Legacy Apps: Introduction. International Journal of Communication 15(2021).
TikTok has in the last few years become immensely popular around the world. This Special Section is among the first collections of articles in the growing field of studies on TikTok and its legacy apps. It provides a glimpse of the nascent framings, approaches, methodologies, and applications of TikTok studies in the field of social media scholarship.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Gabriele de Seta. (eds.) 2020. Private messages from the field: Confessions on digital ethnography and its discomforts. Journal of Digital Social Research 2(1).
This special issue collects the confessions of digital ethnographers laying bare their methodological failures, disciplinary posturing, and ethical dilemmas. The articles are meant to serve as a counseling stations for fellow researchers who are approaching digital media ethnographically.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Joel Gn. (eds.) 2018. Histories and Cultures of Emoji Vernacular. First Monday 23(9).
Considering the broader socio-cultural implications of emoji and the various ways that emoji negotiate and mediate the tenuous boundary between art and application, the papers draw from disciplines including media studies and communications, sociology and digital anthropology, literary studies and art history, and philosophy, and are authored by (mostly) Early Career Researchers.
[Open Access] Warfield, Katie, Maria-Carolina Cambre, and Crystal Abidin. (eds.) 2016. Me-diated Inter-faces. Social Media + Society 2(2).
What is it that we are doing when we take a position within the study of social media? This collection provides both critical and creative in-roads for thinking and re-thinking digital self-images shared on social media.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, et al. (Editorial Collective). 2013. Exclusivity: Boundaries of Difference. Limina 19(1).
A journal of historical and cultural studies, Limina, has been published at the University of Western Australia since 1995. The journal’s editorial collective works with an international advisory board to publish two issues each year: a themed issue (linked to the Limina Annual Conference theme), at a minimum, a general issue.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. (ed.) 2013. Special Edition: Humanising Collaboration. Limina 18(2).
In recent times collaboration has become quite the buzzword, especially in academic circles. As the pressure to publish on individual researchers grows, joint initiatives are catching on, even in hitherto more individual-based disciplines in the Humanities. In this atmosphere we thought it would be interesting to examine the nature and multiple resonances of the term, and the responses to our call for papers spanned a remarkable range of possibilities.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, et al. (Editorial Collective). 2012. Volume 18.1. Limina 18(1).
A journal of historical and cultural studies, Limina, has been published at the University of Western Australia since 1995. The journal’s editorial collective works with an international advisory board to publish two issues each year: a themed issue (linked to the Limina Annual Conference theme), at a minimum, a general issue.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
[Open Access] Zhang, Tian, Crystal Abidin, and Anthony Fung. 2025. “Cloud Parenting: Douyin Affordances, Emotional Authenticity, and Commodification of Wanghong Children.” Social Media + Society 11(4). DOI: 10.1177/20563051251400618.
[Open Access] Guo, Jia, and Crystal Abidin. 2025. “Platform-driven Vlogging: How Vlogs were Mainstreamed in the Chinese Creator Market.” M/C Journal 28(4). DOI: 10.5204/mcj.3163.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2025. “Introduction to the Special Issue on ‘The Future of Wanghong’.” Global Media and China 10(3): 287–293. DOI: 10.1177/20594364251368943.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jia Guo. 2025. “The Platformed Discourse of ‘Fans’ in the Chinese Creator Market.” M/C Journal 28(3). DOI: 10.5204/mcj.3162.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2025. “The regulation of child influencers in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.” Social Media + Society 11(3): 1–4. DOI: 10.1177/20563051251356152.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2025. “Introduction to 2K Special Issue on ‘Child Influencers in the Asia Pacific Region.” Social Media + Society 11(3): 1–5. DOI:10.1177/20563051251356170.
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2025. “Mainstreaming wanghong in the international press discourse.” Celebrity Studies 16(3): 413–432. DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2025.2521929.
[Open Access] Li, Ruohan, and Crystal Abidin. 2025. “The Nesting Strategies of e-commerce Wanghong: Promotional Temporalities in Online Shopping Festivals on Chinese Platforms.” Social Media + Society 11(2): 1–15. DOI: 10.1177/20563051251349742.
[Open Access] Lee, Jin, Crystal Abidin, and Tama Leaver. 2025. “TikTok and Children: An Introduction.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 28(5): 893–906. DOI: 10.1177/13678779251340419.
[Open Access] Turvy, Alex, and Crystal Abidin. 2025. “Patchwork governance on KidTok: Balancing regulation and community norms.” Policy & Internet 17(2): 1–14. DOI: 10.1002/poi3.70003.
[Paywalled | pdf] Cabbuag, Samuel I, and Crystal Abidin. 2024. “TikTok ‘Dogshows’ and the Amplification of Online Incivility Among Gen Z Influencers in the Philippines.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 8(5): 947–965. DOI: 10.1177/13678779241302826.
[Open Access] Lee, Jin, Tama Leaver, Crystal Abidin. 2024. “Child Idols in South Korea and Beyond: Manufacturing Young Stars at the Intersection of K-Pop and Influencer Industries.” New Media & Society (Online first): 1–22. DOI: 10.1177/14614448241295718.
[Open Access] Taylor, Zari A., and Crystal Abidin. 2024. “Where are all the Black Girls on TikTok?: Exploring In-Group Community and (In)visibility through #BlackGirlTikTok.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 28(5): 927–946. DOI: 10.1177/13678779241276751.
[Open Access] Lee, Jin, and Crystal Abidin. 2024. “Fantasized and fantastical ‘Nordic imaginaries’: Contextualizing Nordic life vlogs by East Asian YouTube vloggers.” Nordic Journal of Media Studies 6(1): 57–80. DOI: 10.2478/njms-2024-0004.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jin Lee. 2025. “Being bound in a fieldsite: Cross-cultural methodological notes on doing digital ethnography on TikTok.” Cultural Science Journal 15(1): 82–98. DOI: 10.2478/csj-2023-0007.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jin Lee. 2023. “Introduction to TikTok Methodologies.” Cultural Science Journal 15(1): 30–34. DOI:10.2478/csj-2023-0003.
[Paywalled | pdf] Gurrieri, Lauren, Jenna Drenten, and Crystal Abidin. 2023. “Symbiosis or parasitism? A framework for advancing interdisciplinary and socio-cultural perspectives in influencer marketing.” Journal of Marketing Management 39(11–12): 911–932. DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2023.2255053
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jin Lee. 2023. “K-pop TikTok: TikTok’s expansion into South Korea, TikTok Stage, and Platformed glocalization.” Media International Australia 188(1): 86–111. DOI: 10.1177/1329878X231186445
[Open Access] van der Nagel, Emily, Jonathon Hutchinson, Crystal Abidin, and D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye. 2023. “Black Summer on TikTok and ABC News.” Convergence 29(4): 962–979. DOI: 10.1177/13548565231178005.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Jian Xu, and Jonathon Hutchinson. 2023. “Influencer regulations, governance and sociocultural issues in Asia.” Policy & Internet 14(3): tba. DOI: 10.1002/poi3.340.
[Open Access] Lee, Jin, and Crystal Abidin. 2023. “Introduction to the Special Issue of TikTok and Social Movements.” Social Media + Society 9(1): 1–8. DOI: 10.1177/20563051231157452.
[Open Access] Zhao, Xinyu, and Crystal Abidin. 2023. “The ‘Fox Eye’ challenge trend: Anti-racism work, platform affordances, and the vernacular of gesticular activism on TikTok.” Social Media + Society 9(1): 1–16. DOI: 10.1177/20563051231157590.
[Paywalled | pdf] Vizcaíno-Verdú, Arantxa, and Crystal Abidin. 2023. “TeachTok: Teachers of TikTok, micro-celebritism, and fun learning communities.” Teaching and Teacher Education 123: 1–17. DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2022.103978.
[Paywalled | pdf | Video abstract] Sligh, Casta, and Crystal Abidin. 2022. “When Brands Become Stans: Netflix, Originals, and enacting a fannish persona on Instagram.” Television and New Media 24(6): 616–638. DOI: 10.1177/15274764221134778.
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal, Jin Lee, and D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye. 2022. “Introduction to the Media International Australia special issue on ‘TikTok cultures in the Asia Pacific'” Media International Australia 186(1): 3-10. DOI: 10.1177/1329878X221130126
[Open Access] Lee, Jin, and Crystal Abidin. 2022. “Oegugin Influencers and pop nationalism through government campaigns: Regulating foreign-nationals in the South Korean YouTube ecology.” Policy & Internet 14(3): 541–557. DOI: 10.1002/poi3.319
[Paywalled | pdf] Radics, George, and Crystal Abidin. 2022. “Racial Harmony and Sexual Violence: Uneven Regulation and Legal Protection Gaps for Influencers in Singapore.” Policy & Internet 14(3): 597–617. DOI: 10.1002/poi3.320
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2022. “Grief hypejacking: Influencers, #ThoughtsAndPrayers, and the Commodification of Grief on Instagram.” The Information Society 38(3): 174-187. DOI: 10.1080/01972243.2022.2071212
[Open Access] Vizcaíno-Verdú, Arantxa, and Crystal Abidin. 2022. “Music challenge memes on TikTok: Understanding in-group storytelling videos.” International Journal of Communication 16(2022): 883-908.
[Paywalled | pdf] Ruiz-Gomez, Alexandra, Tama Leaver, and Crystal Abidin. 2021. “Playing YouTube: How the Nancy YouTuber doll and app position children as aspiring YouTube influencers.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 25(2): 121-140. DOI: 10.1177/13678779211063222
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2021. “Mapeando celebridades da Internet no TikTok: Explorando Economias da Atenção e Trabalhos de Visibilidade [Mapping Internet Celebrity on TikTok: Exploring Attention Economies and Visibility Labours].” Pauta Geral. DOI: 10.5212/19881. / Translator: Rafaela Tabasnik.
[Open Access] Lee, Jin, and Crystal Abidin. 2021. “Backdoor Advertising Scandals, Yingyeo Culture, and Cancel Culture Among YouTube Influencers in South Korea.” New Media & Society 26(1): 405–425. DOI: 10.1177/14614448211061829
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2021. “Singaporean Influencers and COVID-19 on Instagram Stories.” Celebrity Studies 12(4): 693-698. DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2021.1967604
[Paywalled | pdf] Zeng, Jing, and Crystal Abidin. 2021. “#OkBoomer, time to meet the Zoomers’: Studying the Memefication of Intergenerational Politics on TikTok.” Information, Communication and Society 24(16): 2459-2481. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2021.1961007
[Open Access] Zeng, Jing, Crystal Abidin, and Mike S. Schäfer. 2021. “Research Perspectives on TikTok and Its Legacy Apps: Introduction.” International Journal of Communication 15(2021): 3161-3172.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jing Zeng. 2021. “Subtle Asian Traits and COVID-19: Congregating and Commiserating as East Asians in a Facebook Group.” First Monday 26(6). DOI: 10.5210/fm.v26i7.10859
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2021. “From ‘networked publics’ to ‘refracted publics’: A companion framework for researching ‘below the radar’ studies.” Social Media + Society 7(1): 1-13. DOI: 10.1177/2056305120984458
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2021. “Mapping Internet Celebrity on TikTok: Exploring Attention Economies and Visibility Labours.” Cultural Science Journal 12(1): 77-103. DOI: 10.5334/csci.140
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Tommaso Barbetta, and Jin Lee. 2020. “Influencers, Brands, and Pivots in the Time of COVID-19: A Look at Australian, Japanese, and Korean Issues.” M/C Journal 23(6). DOI: 10.5204/mcj.2729
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Dan Brockington, Michael K. Goodman, Mary Mostafanezhad, and Lisa Ann Richey. 2020. “The Tropes of Celebrity Environmentalism.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 45: 387-410. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-081703
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Jin Lee, Tommaso Barbetta, and Miao Weishan. 2020. “Influencers and COVID-19: Reviewing key issues in press coverage across Australia, China, Japan, and South Korea.” Media International Australia 178(1): 114-135. DOI: 10.1177/1329878X20959838
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jing Zeng. 2020. “Feeling Asian Together: Coping with #COVIDRacism on Subtle Asian Traits.” Social Media + Society 6(3): 1-5. DOI: 10.1177/2056305120948223
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “Meme factory cultures and content pivoting in Singapore and Malaysia during COVID-19.” The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review 1. DOI: 10.37016/mr-2020-031
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Kjeld Hansen, Mathilde Hogsnes, Gemma Newlands, Mette Lykke Nielsen, Louise Yung Nielsen, Tanja Sihvonen. 2020. “A Review of Formal and Informal Regulations in the Nordic Influencer Industry.” Nordic Journal of Media Studies 2(1): 71-83. DOI: 10.2478/njms-2020-0007
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “Somewhere Between Here and There: Negotiating Researcher Visibility in a Digital Ethnography of the Influencer Industry.” Journal of Digital Social Research 2(1): 56-76. DOI: 10.33621/jdsr.v2i1.20
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Gabriele de Seta. 2020. “Private messages from the field: Confessions on digital ethnography and its discomforts.” Journal of Digital Social Research 2(1): 1-19. DOI: 10.33621/jdsr.v2i1.35
[Paywalled | pdf] Liew, Kai Khiun, and Crystal Abidin. 2020. “‘Si Geena’ (Brat): Un-social digital juveniles’ episodic resistance in Singapore.” Asiascape: Digital Asia 7(1-2): 122-144. DOI: 10.1163/22142312-12340118
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Minahs and Minority Celebrity: Parody YouTube Influencers and Minority Politics in Singapore.” Celebrity Studies 12(4):598–617. DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2019.1698816
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Yes Homo: Gay Influencers, Homonormativity, and Queerbaiting on YouTube.” Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 33(5): 614-629. DOI: 10.1080/10304312.2019.1644806
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Joel Gn. 2018. “Between Art and Application: Special Issue on Emoji Epistemology.” First Monday 23(9). DOI: 10.5210/fm.v23i9.9410
[Paywalled | pdf] Ask, Kristine, and Crystal Abidin. 2018. “My life is a mess: Self-deprecating relatability and collective identities in the memification of student issues.” Information, Communication and Society 21(6): 834-850. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2018.1437204
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal, and Joel Gwynne. 2017. “Entrepreneurial Selves, Feminine Corporeality, and Lifestyle Blogging in Singapore.” Asian Journal of Social Science 45(4-5): 385-408. DOI: 10.1163/15685314-04504002
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “#familygoals: Family Influencers, Calibrated Amateurism, and Justifying Young Digital Labour.” Social Media + Society 3(2): 1-15. DOI: 10.1177/2056305117707191
[Open Access | Video abstract] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Happy #monthsary babe!: Vernacular readings and practices of monthsaries among young couplings on social media.” Networking Knowledge 9(6): 56-73.
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Visibility labour: Engaging with Influencers’ fashion brands and #OOTD advertorial campaigns on Instagram.” Media International Australia 161(1): 86-100. DOI: 10.1177/1329878X16665177
[10] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Aren’t these just young, rich women doing vain things online?: Influencer selfies as subversive frivolity.” Social Media + Society 2(2): 1-17. DOI: 10.1177/2056305116641342 <Open Access>
[Open Access] Warfield, Katie, Carolina Cambre, and Crystal Abidin. 2016. “Introduction to the Social Media + Society Special Issue on Selfies: Me-diated Inter-faces.” Social Media + Society 2(2): 1-5. DOI: 10.1177/2056305116641344
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Agentic cute (^.^): Pastiching East Asian cute in Influencer commerce.” East Asian Journal of Popular Culture 2(1): 33-47. DOI: 10.1386/eapc.2.1.33_1
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Communicative 
Intimacies: Influencers and Perceived Interconnectedness.” Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, & Technology 8. DOI: 10.7264/N3MW2FFG
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Micro-microcelebrity: Branding babies on the Internet.” M/C Journal 18(5).
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “‘I also Melayu ok’ – Malay-Chinese women negotiating the ambivalence of biraciality for agentic autonomy.” M/C Journal 17(5).
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Cyber-BFFs: Assessing women’s ‘perceived interconnectedness’ in Singapore’s commercial lifestyle blog industry.” Global Media Journal Australian Edition 7(1).
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “‘Cya IRL’: Researching digital communities online and offline.” Limina 18(2).
[Open Access] Pande, Rukmini, and Crystal Abidin. 2013. “Special Edition (2013): ‘Humanising Collaboration’.” Limina 18(2).
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal, and Eric C. Thompson. 2012. “Buymylife.com: Cyberfemininities and Commercial Intimacy in Blogshops.” Women’s Studies International Forum 35(6): 467-477. DOI: 10.1016/j.wsif.2012.10.005
COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS, REVIEWS IN JOURNALS
Abidin, Crystal, Vanessa Díaz, L.L. Wynn, Jesse Hession Grayman, Susanna Trnka. Forthcoming, 2026. “Influence from the margins: American Ethnologist interviews Crystal Abidin and Vanessa Díaz on Bad Bunny, K-pop, J-pop, and the shifting landscape of celebrity.” American Ethnologist.
[Open Access] Xu, Jian, and Crystal Abidin. 2026. “Wanghong as a Field of Research: A Scholarly Advocacy.” Creator and Influencer Studies 1(2): 1–7. DOI: 10.1007/s44538-026-00002-z.
[Open Access] Mercier, Faye, and Crystal Abidin. 2025. “Authenticity as Discursive Gaze: A critical review of social media research on authenticity.” Journal of Communication 75(5): 398–404. DOI: 10.1093/joc/jqaf038.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Niels van Doorn, Ngai Keung Chan, and Jian Lin. 2025. “勞動、文化與社會的平台化 Mapping the Platformisation of Labour, Culture, and Society.” 傳播與社會學刊 Communication & Society 72: 1–41.
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2025. “Very online feelings: The Four Eras of Attention on the Internet.” Griffith Review 88: Culture Vultures.
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal, Claire Gartland, and Kathryn Grant. 2025. “TikTok & Children: TikTok Cultures Research Network & TikTok Fireside Chat.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 28(5): 1014–1027. DOI: 10.1177/13678779241307972.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Srikanth Nayaka, Earvin Charles B. Cabalquinto, and Jia Guo. 2025. “Groundhog Day: Influencers are just vain.” International Journal of Communication 19.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2023. “The Matrix of Authenticity in Influencer Cultures.” Cultural Science Journal 15(1): 14–29. DOI: 10.2478/csj-2023-0002.
[AQ paywalled | Proquest subscription | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2023. “Child Influencers: How children have become entangled with social media commerce.” Australian Quarterly 94(3): 3–13.
[Open Access] Grady, John, Susan Hansen, Gillian Rose, Treaandrea M. Russworm, Paolo Favero, Oraib Toukan, Crystal Abidin, Ace Lehner, M.C. Cambre, Gaby David, and Tania Rossetto. 2023. “What is an Image? Roundtable Transcription, International Visual Sociology Association Annual Conference, September 16, 2022.” Visual Studies 38(2): 227–234. DOI: 10.1080/1472586X.2023.2198434
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2023. “What is an image in the digital age?” Visual Studies 38(2): 190–191. DOI: 10.1080/1472586X.2023.2198386
[Open Access] Harlig, Alexandra, Crystal Abidin, Trevor Boffone, Kelly Bowker, Colette Eloi, Pamela Krayenbuhl, Chuyun Oh. 2021. “TikTok and Short-Form Screendance Before and After Covid.” The International Journal of Screendance 12 (2021). DOI: 10.18061/ijsd.v12i0.8348
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Issaaf Karhawi. 2021. “Influenciadores digitais, celebridades da internet e “blogueirinhas”: uma entrevista com Crystal Abidin. (Influencers, internet celebrities and “bloggers”: an interview with Crystal Abidin)” Intercom: Brazilian Journal of Communication Sciences 44(1): 289-301. DOI: 10.1590/1809-58442021114
[Open Access] Aydemir, Asli Telli. 2020. “Lifeworlds: An Interview with Crystal Abidin.” Moment: Journal of Cultural Studies 7(2): 391-397. DOI: 10.17572/mj2020.2.391397
[Open Access] Stuart, Kate, & Eoin Murray. 2020. “Interview with Dr Crystal Abidin.” Networking Knowledge 13(1): 1-9. DOI: 10.31165/nk.2020.131.597
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Navigating Interdisciplinarity as a Precarious Early Career Researcher.” Cultural Studies Review 25(2): 78-83. DOI: 10.5130/csr.v25i2.6880
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Tacit Labours of Digital Social Research as an Early Career Researcher.” Journal of Digital Social Research 1(1): 31-34. DOI: 10.33621/jdsr.v1i1.10
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Milner, Ryan M. The World Made Meme: Public Conversations and Participatory Media.” Asiascape: Digital Asia 5(3): 255-257. DOI: 10.1163/22142312-12340097
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Book Review: Marcel Danesi, The Semiotics of Emoji: The Rise of Visual Language in the Age of the Internet.” Discourse and Communication 12(4): 450-453. DOI: 10.1177/1750481318773208b
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Jill Walker Rettberg, Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves.” Mobile Media & Communication 4(2): 290-292. DOI: 10.1177/2050157916633942b
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Chris Hudson (2013) Beyond the Singapore Girl: Discourses of Gender and Nation in Singapore.” Asian Journal of Social Science 43(5): 649-663. DOI: 10.1163/15685314-04305008
[Paywalled | pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Ethnography and virtual worlds: a handbook of method, by Tom Boellstorff, Bonnie Nardi, Celia Pearce and T.L. Taylor.” Anthropological Forum: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Comparative Sociology 25(3): 306-308. DOI: 10.1080/00664677.2014.943138
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Book Review: Romit Dasgupta, Re-reading the Salaryman in Japan: Crafting Masculinities.” Limina 19(1).
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Rukmini Pande. 2013. “Exclusivity: Research in Practice – Interview with Professor Gilbert Herdt.” Limina 19(1).
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Rukmini Pande. 2012. “History in Practice Interview – Prof. Susan Broomhall.” Limina 18(1).
BOOK CHAPTERS
Abidin, Crystal, and Meg Zeng. Forthcoming, 2026. “Memetic politics on TikTok: Key ideas, considerations, and a Tanghulu case study.” Pp. tbd in Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics, edited by Axel Bruns, Anders Olof Larson, Gunn Enli. Jessica Yarin Robinson, Tanja Bosch. London and New York: Routledge.
Li, Changyan, Liselot Hudders, Crystal Abidin, Nils S. Borchers, Brooke Erin Duffy, Hanan Ezzat, Thaysa Costa Do Nascimento, and Weiming Ye. Forthcoming, 2026. “Influencing as a Profession: A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the Professionalization of Influencer Culture.” Pp. tbd in Routledge Handbook of Social Media Influencers, edited by Nils S. Borchers, Mariah L. Wellman, and Liselot Hudders. London and New York: Routledge.
Mercier, Faye, and Crystal Abidin. Forthcoming, 2026. “Influencer Professionalism in Review: Rethinking the Amateur/Professional Binary Through Emerging Benchmarks.” Pp. tbd in Routledge Handbook of Social Media Influencers, edited by Nils S. Borchers, Mariah L. Wellman, and Liselot Hudders. London and New York: Routledge
Abidin, Crystal. Forthcoming, 2026. “Researching social media pop cultures: Case studies and reflections from five visual platforms.” Pp. tbd in Routledge Companion of Visual Studies, edited by Susan Hansen, et al. London and New York: Routledge.
Robinson, Naomi, and Crystal Abidin. Forthcoming, 2026. “‘Australia Is Burning’: TikTok, Climate Change Activism, and Youth Citizen Journalism.” Pp. tbd in TikTok Journalism, edited by Jorge Vázquez-Herrero, María-Cruz Negreira-Rey, and Ana-Isabel Rodríguez-Vázquez. Peter Lang.
[pdf | Book] Berryman, Rachel, and Crystal Abidin. 2026. “Ethnography in Virtual Worlds.” Pp. tbd in Practicing Digital Ethnography, edited by Devin Proctor. London and New York: Routledge.
[pdf | Book] Lee, Jin, and Crystal Abidin. 2026. “Silver Halmeoni Influencers in the Social Media Spotlight: Navigating Geriatric Cuteness, Labor, and Ageism.” Pp. tbd in The SAGE Handbook of Digital Labour, edited by Ergin Bulut, Julie Yujie Chen, Rafael Grohmann, Kylie Jarrett.
[Open Access | OA book] Abidin, Crystal, and Natalie Pang. 2025. “Studying Private Messaging Groups: Misinformation in WhatsApp Family Groupchats, and Research Regimes in Singapore(ans).” Pp. tbd. in Internet Popular Culture and (Everyday) Politics, edited by Crystal Abidin and Natalie Pang. London and New York: Routledge.
[Open Access | OA book] Abidin, Crystal, and Natalie Pang. 2025. “Introduction: A Look at Internet Popular Culture and (Everyday) Politics in Southeast Asia.” Pp. tbd in Internet Popular Culture and (Everyday) Politics, edited by Crystal Abidin and Natalie Pang. London and New York: Routledge.
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal, and Harry T Dyer. 2025. “Shaping Identity through the Mobile Media of TikTok.” Pp. tbd in Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, edited by Gerard Goggin and Larissa Hjorth. London and New York: Routledge.
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Shen, Sijun, and Crystal Abidin. 2025. “‘BM girl’ influencers on Xiaohongshu: Tracing beauty discourse, social media challenges, and consumption practices in Chinese society.” Pp. 105–122 in Technology, Power & Society: Global Perspectives on the Digital Transformation, edited by Dennis Nguyen, Jing Zeng, and Bruce Mutsvairo. Brill. DOI: 10.1163/9789004711396-006.
[pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal, and Bondy Valdovinos Kaye. 2025. “Ljudem Öronmaskar och Mallbarhet. Den Audiella Vändningen På TikTok [Sound Earworms and Malleability. The Audial Turn on TikTok].” Pp. 63–74 in TikTok: Kulturella Perspektiv, edited by Gabriella Nilsson and Sara Tanderup Linkis. Lund Studies in Arts and Cultural Sciences 35. / Translator: Gabriella Jönsson Holst.
[Open Access | OA book] Shen, Sijun, and Crystal Abidin. 2025. “The Shelf Lives of Wanghong: Surviving Scandals for Internet Fame in China.” Pp. 50–69 in The Hashtag Hustle: Law & Policy Perspectives on Working in the Influencer Economy, edted by Taylor Annabell, Christian Fieseler, Catalina Goanta, Osabelle Wildhaber. Edward Elgar Publishing.
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Lee, Jin, and Crystal Abidin. 2023. “Ella Gross and child social media stars: Rising to fame through K-pop idol trainee systems, mixed raceness, and tabloid cycle controversies.” Pp. 71–94 in Women We Love In and Around K-Pop and K-Drama in the Hallyu Era, edited by Liew Kai Khiun, Lee SooJin, and Kate Korroch. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
[pdf | Book] Zeng, Jing, and Crystal Abidin. 2023. “‘#OkBoomer, time to meet the Zoomers’: Studying the memefication of intergenerational politics on TikTok.” Pp. tbd in The Playful Politics of Memes, edited by Mette Mortensen and Christina Neumayer. London and New York: Routledge.
[pdf | Book] Dyer, Harry T, and Crystal Abidin. 2022. “Understanding Identity and Platform Cultures.” Pp. 170–187 in Sage Handbook of Digital Society, edited by Richard Fitzgerald, et al. California: SAGE Publishing.
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2022. “What I Talk About When I Talk About Authenticity: An Auto-bibliographic inquiry.” Pp. 209–214 in Cultures of Authenticity, edited by Marie Heřmanová, Michael Skey, and Thomas Thurnell-Read. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. DOI: 10.1108/978-1-80117-936-220221015
[pdf | OA Book] Abidin, Crystal, and D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye. 2021. “Audio memes, Earworms, and Templatability: The ‘aural turn’ of memes on TikTok.” Pp. 58-68 in Critical Meme Reader: Global Mutations of the Viral Image, edited by Chloë Arkenbout, Jack Wilson, and Daniel de Zeeuw. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures.
[pdf | Chapter | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2021. “Activism in Singapore in the Digital Age: Influencer Cultures, Meme Factories, and Networked Virality.” Pp. 49-55 in Singapore Perspectives: Politics, edited by Natalie Pang, Shamil Zainuddin. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies. DOI: 10.1142/9789811225734_0008
[pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal, and Tomislav Marić. 2021. “Interview with Crystal Abidin (2020).” Pp.48-52 in Introducing Anthropology (Second Edition), authored by Laura Pountney and Tomislav Marić. California: SAGE Publishing.
[pdf | Book] Kent, Mike, and Crystal Abidin. 2021. “Action Research and Digital Media.” Pp. 301-324 in Action Research in Education (Fifth Edition), authored by Ernie Stringer and Alfredo Ortiz. California: SAGE Publishing.
[pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “Preschool stars on YouTube: Child microcelebrities, Commercially viable biographies, and Interactions with technology.” Pp. 226-234 in The Routledge Companion of Children and Digital Media, edited by Lelia Green, Donell Holloway, Leslie Haddon, Kylie Stevenson, and Tama Leaver. London and New York: Routledge.
[pdf | OA book] Kanai, Akane, Crystal Abidin, and Matthew Hart. 2020. “Practices, Privacy, and Privileges: Conducting Research on Tumblr.” Pp. 114-126 in A Tumblr Book: Platform and Cultures, edited by Allison McCracken, Alexander Cho, Louisa Stein, Indira Neill. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
[pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “L8r H8r: Commoditized Privacy, Influencer Wars, and Productive Disorder in the Influencer industry.” Pp 31-48 in Produsing Theory in a Digital World: The Intersection of Audiences and Production in Contemporary Theory (Volume 3), edited by Rebecca Ann Lind. Pieterlen and Bern: Peter Lang.
[pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “Growing up and growing old on the internet: Influencer life courses and the internet as home.” Pp. 84-94 in Metaphors of the Internet: Ways of Being in the Age of Ubiquity, edited by Annette Markham and Katrin Tiidenberg. Digital Formations Series, Peter Lang.
[pdf | Book] Moon, Jungyoun, and Crystal Abidin. 2020. “Online Ajumma: Self-presentations of contemporary elderly women via digital media in Korea.” Pp. 177-189 in Mediated Interfaces: The Body on Social Media, edited by Katie Warfield, Crystal Abidin, and Carolina Cambre. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
[pdf | Book] Warfield, Katie, Carolina Cambre, and Crystal Abidin. 2020. “Introduction to Mediated Interfaces: The Body in Social Media.” Pp. 1-15 in Mediated Interfaces: The Body on Social Media, edited by Katie Warfield, Crystal Abidin, and Carolina Cambre. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “Hanging out at home as a lifestyle: YouTube home tour vlogs in East Asia.” Pp. 122-131 in The Routledge Companion to Media and Class, edited by Erika Polson, Lynn Schofield Clark, and Radhika Gajjala. London and New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781351027342-11
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Victim, Rival, Bully: Influencers’ narrative cultures around cyber-bullying.” Pp. 199-212 in Narratives in Research and Interventions on Cyberbullying among Young People, edited by Heidi Vandebosch and Lelia Green. New York: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-04960-7_13
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal, and Rob Cover. 2019. “Gay, famous and Working Hard on YouTube: Influencers, queer microcelebrity publics, and discursive activism.” Pp. 217-231 in Youth, Sexuality and Sexual Citizenship, edited by Peter Aggleton, Rob Cover, Deana Leahy, Daniel Marshall, and Mary Lou Rasmussen. London and New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781351214742-20
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Limkangvanmongkol, Vimviriya, and Crystal Abidin. 2018. “Net idols and beauty bloggers’ negotiations of race, commerce, and cultural customs: Emergent microcelebrity genres in Thailand.” Pp. 95-106 in Microcelebrity Around the Globe: Approaches to cultures of internet fame, edited by Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. DOI: 10.1108/978-1-78756-749-820181009
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Origin stories: An ethnographic account of researching microcelebrity.” Pp. 71-81 in Microcelebrity Around the Globe: Approaches to cultures of internet fame, edited by Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. DOI: 10.1108/978-1-78756-749-820181006
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Şimşek, Burcu, Crystal Abidin, and Megan Lindsay Brown. 2018. “Musical.ly and microcelebrity among girls.” Pp. 47-56 in Microcelebrity Around the Globe: Approaches to cultures of internet fame, edited by Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. DOI: 10.1108/978-1-78756-749-820181004
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal, and Megan Lindsay Brown. 2018. “Introduction.” Pp. 1-18 in Microcelebrity Around the Globe: Approaches to cultures of internet fame, edited by Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. DOI: 10.1108/978-1-78756-749-820181001
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Young people and digital grief etiquette.” Pp. 160-174 in A Networked Self: Birth, Life, Death, edited by Zizi Papacharissi. London and New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781315202129-10
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “‘Just Asian’? Inscribing East Asian mixed race in Australia.” Pp. 84-100 in Mixed Race Identities in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, edited by Farida Fozdar and Kirsten McGavin. London: Routledge.
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Vote for my selfie: Politician selfies as charismatic engagement.” Pp. 75-87 in Selfie Citizenship, edited by Adi Kuntsman. London: Palgrave Pivot. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-45270-8_9
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Sex Bait: Sex talk on commercial blogs as informal sexuality education.” Pp. 493-508 in Palgrave Handbook of Sexuality Education, edited by Louisa Allen and Mary Lou Rasmussen. London: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-40033-8_24
[pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Influencer Extravaganza: A decade of commercial ‘lifestyle’ microcelebrities in Singapore.” Pp. 158-168 in Routledge Companion to Digital Ethnography, edited by Larissa Hjorth, Heather Horst, Genevieve Bell, and Anne Galloway. London: Routledge.
[pdf | OA book] Abidin, Crystal, and Mart Ots. 2016. “Influencers Tell All? Unravelling Authenticity and Credibility in a Brand Scandal.” Pp. 153-161 in Blurring the Lines: Market-driven and Democracy-driven Freedom of Expression, edited by Maria Edström, Andrew T Kenyon, and Eva-Maria Svensson. Göteborg: Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research.
[Chapter | pdf | Book] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “#In$tagLam: Instagram as a repository of taste, a brimming marketplace, a war of eyeballs.” Pp. 119-128 in Mobile Media Making in the Age of Smartphones, edited by Marsha Berry and Max Schleser. New York: Palgrave Pivot. Part of DOI: 10.1057/9781137469816_11
SELECTED CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
[Open Access] Divon, Tom, Taylor Annabell, Catalina Goanta, Crystal Abidin, Emma Beuckels, Liselot Hudders, Elisabeth Van den Abeele, Marloes de Brabandere, Ini Vanwesenbeeck, Steffi De Jans, Tama Leaver, Sonia Livingstone, Nigel Cantwell, Didem Özkul, Gazal Shekhawat, and Beeban Kidron. 2024. “The Place of a Child on Platforms: Responsibilities, Obligations, and Expectations.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2024. DOI:10.5210/spir.v2024i0.14165.
[Open Access] Berryman, Rachel, Crystal Abidin, Do Own Donna Kim, Seol Hwang, and Esperanza Miyake. 2024. “Virtual Celebrity Industries in East Asia.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2024. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2024i0.14096.
[Open Access] Cabbuag, Samuel Idris, and Crystal Abidin. 2024. “TikTok ‘Dogshows’ and the Amplification of Online Incivility Among Gen Z Influencers in the Philippines.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2024. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2024i0.13913.
[Open Access] Zhao, Xinyu, and Crystal Abidin. 2021. “TikTok’s ‘Fox Eye’ Trend and Everyday Activism: Gen Z Agency in an Audiovisual Narrative Case study.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12267.
[Open Access] Vizcaíno-Verdú, Arantxa and Crystal Abidin. 2021. “Cross-cultural storytelling approaches in TikTok’s music challenges.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12260.
[Open Access] Poh, Yu Ting, and Crystal Abidin. 2021. “Douyin and TikTok: A Cross-language Systematic Review of Academic Scholarship on Sister Apps.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12226.
[Open Access] Chen, Guo, and Crystal Abidin. 2021. “Liziqi and Chinese Rural YouTube Videos: Scoping a Genre.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12178.
[Open Access] Berryman, Rachel Anne, Crystal Abidin, and Tama Leaver. 2021. “A Topography of Virtual Influencers.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12145.
[Open Access] Tiidenberg, Katrin, Natalie Hendry, Crystal Abidin, D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, Jing Zeng, Patrik Wikstrom, Taina Bucher, Tim Highfield, Tama Leaver, and Jack Qiu. 2021. “Platform Specificities: The Platform Books Panel.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12115.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, and Jing Zeng. 2020. “‘Subtle Asian Traits’: Platformed race on Facebook.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2020. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11144.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “‘Feels Bar’ and masculine vulnerability: Commenting cultures on 9GAG.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2020. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11109.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “‘Please read the comments’: Commenting cultures across platforms.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2020. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11109.
[Open Access] Leaver, Tama, Crystal Abidin, and Tim Highfield. 2019. “Framing Instagram: New Approaches.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2019.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Disappearing data: Monetizing and astroturfing vernaculars on tumblr pre- and post-NSFW ban.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2019.
[Open Access] #Pang, Natalie, and Crystal Abidin. 2019. “Decoding the weaponising of pop culture on WhatsApp in Singapore and Malaysia.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2019.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández, Tim Highfield, and Kate Milner. 2018. “Pictogramic cultures and economies on the internet.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2018.
[Open Access | Video abstract] Leaver, Tama, and Crystal Abidin. 2018. “From YouTube to TV, and Back Again: Viral video child stars and media flows in the era of social media.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2018. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2018i0.10491.
[Open Access] Tiidenberg, Katrin, and Crystal Abidin. 2018. “Unsalable popularity: Economies of NSFW visibility on Tumblr.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2018.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Yes Homo: Gay Influencers, Celebrity, and Activism on YouTube.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2018.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Towards a theory of cross-media networked microcelebrity: Of bedrooms, blogsites, broadcasts, and boardrooms.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2017.
[Open Access] Ask, Kristine, and Crystal Abidin. 2017. “My life is a mess: Self-deprecating relatability and the memefication of student publics.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2017.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Gross is the new like: Allure, visceral camp, and carnivalesque commerce in grotesque microcelebrity.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2016.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Sorry not sorry: Influencers, shamelebrity, and para-apologetic transgressions.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Grief hype-jacking: Global events, publicity grieving, and visibility practices.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2016.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Queer Influencers: Personal illustrations amidst repressive sexuality education.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2016.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Internet (in)famous: The mystification and folklore of microcelebrification.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2015.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal, Vimviriya Limkangvanmongkol, Megan Lindsay, Renee Powers, Angela Cirucci. 2015. “Fame and Microcelebrity on the Web.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2015.
[pdf] Ots, Mart, and Crystal Abidin. 2015. “Commercialism, audience intimacy and brand credibility in fashion blogging.” Communicative democracy: Protecting, promoting and developing free speech in the digital era.
[pdf] Abidin, Crystal, and Mart Ots. 2015. “The Influencer’s dilemma: The shaping of new brand professions between credibility and commerce.” Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Aug 2015.
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “Privacy for Profit: Commodifying Privacy in Lifestyle Blogging.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2014.
[pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “#lifeisgood: Understanding Social Currency in the Female Commercial Blog Industry in Singapore.” ISA eSymposium for Sociology 2013, isa.e-Forum. Dec 2013.
COMMENTARIES & OP-EDS
[Link] Abidin, Crystal, and Arantxa Vizcaíno-Verdú. 2023. “‘TeachTok’, una manera de conectar alumnos y docentes.” The Conversation, 11 April.
[Link] Vizcaíno-Verdú, Arantxa, and Crystal Abidin. 2023. “Put a finger down if you know this song: how TikTok music challenge memes build community.” The Conversation, 6 April.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal, and Arantxa Vizcaíno-Verdú. 2023. “How ‘TeachTok’ is helping teachers connect with their students on TikTok.” The Conversation, 30 March.
[Link] Lee, Jin, and Crystal Abidin. 2022. “The popularity of the Korean oegugin (foreign) influencer is on the rise. But there is a dark side to this pop-nationalism.” The Conversation, 26 October.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2022. “It’s corn! How the online viral ‘Corn Kid’ is on a well-worn path to fame in the child influencer industry.” The Conversation, 14 September.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2021. “Making Sense of Our Digital Lives: A Graphic Conceptual Glossary of the New Ways Attention Is Being Baited, Generated, and Played with Online by Influencers.” Commonplace, 2 December 2021.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal, and Jing Zeng. 2021. “‘OK Boomer’: how a TikTok meme traces the rise of Gen Z political consciousness.” The Conversation, 20 August.
[Link] Leaver, Tama, Crystal Abidin, and Tim Highfield. 2020. “Happy birthday Instagram! 5 ways doing it for the ‘gram has changed us.” The Conversation, 5 October.
[Link] Savic, Milovan, and Crystal Abidin. 2020. “The Politics and Optics of the TikTok Ban.” Points, Data & Society, 18 September.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “Pivot to coronavirus: How meme factories are crafting public health messaging.” The Conversation, 28 July.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal, and Kirsten Han. 2020. “Social Media Influencers and Their Role in GE2020.” We, The Citizens, 14 July.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal, and Thomas Baudinette. 2020. “The Civic Hijinks of K-pop’s Super Fans.” Points, Data & Society, 1 July.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “Slow living and the art of home maintenance: East Asian vloggers celebrate the domestic space.” The Conversation, 16 April.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “From YouTube to TV, and Back Again: Viral Video Child Stars and Media Flows in the Era of Social Media.” Cyborgology, 4 June 2019.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Three opposing barometers between the digital news media and influencers.” Cyborgology, 5 February 2019.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “What you need to know about the rapidly changing world of internet celebrity.” Huffington Post, 25 September 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Shadow Economies Of The Influencer Industry.” Minute Hack, 19 September 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “What is an internet celebrity any way?” Cyborgology, 13 September 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “5 Misconceptions about internet celebrities by Crystal Abidin.” Female First, 31 July 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “What Student Problem Memes Tell Us About Student Life Today.” Cyborgology, 21 May 2018.
[Link | Introduction] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Layers of Identity.” Real Life, 16 April 2018.
[Link | Introduction] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Politica e Poetica a Singapore (Politics and Poetics in Singapore).” Paronama, 3 March 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Elderly Influencers in East Asia.” Cyborgology, 7 February 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Somewhere Between Here and There: Goldilocking Between Fieldwork and Academia.” anthro{dendum}, 29 January 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Private Messages from the Field.” anthro{dendum}, 19 January 2018.
[Excerpt | Buy | Read] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Public Shaming, Peer Surveillance, and the Profitability of Internet Drama.” Mynah Magazine #2, pp. 62-75, January 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Not just another Gangnam Style: Framing politics and internet celebrity in East Asia.” Anthropology News, American Anthropological Association, 24 October 2017.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Instagram, Finstagram, and Calibrated Amateurism.” Cyborgology, 18 September 2017.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Recent developments in the global Influencer industry.” Cyborgology, 19 July 2017.
[Link | German trans. | Video abstract] Leaver, Tama, and Crystal Abidin. 2017. “When exploiting kids for cash goes wrong on YouTube: the lessons of DaddyOFive.” The Conversation, 2 May 2017.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “YouTuber Influencers vs. Legacy Media: PewDiePie, Weaponized microcelebrity, and Cross-media politics.” Cyborgology, 22 February 2017.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Micro-microcelebrity: famous babies and business on the internet.” Parenting for a Digital Future, LSE Blogs, 20 January 2017.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “Code-switching and linguistic acrobatics on the internet.” Cyborgology, 13 January 2017.
[Link | Re-feature] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Every Place at Once.” Real Life, 17 November 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “From Subversive Frivolity to Normativity: A lineage of Trump memes.” Cyborgology, 15 November 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Eyewitness virality, Racism, and Journalistic responsibility.” Cyborgology, 2 November 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Young People and Grief in Digital Spaces.” Edgeryders, 11 October 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen and the Lifecycle of Internet Virality.” Cyborgology, 29 September 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Grief hype-jacking and Saturation fatigue.” Cyborgology, 12 September 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Gross is the new like? Grotesque microcelebrity and carnivalesque commerce.” Cyborgology, 24 August 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Anonymous and trolling in context: An interview with Gabriella Coleman.” PopAnth, 13 April 2016.
[pdf] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “It’s a blog eat blog world.” Asian Creative Transformations, 6 February 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Biracials speak out! The inside world of everyday chameleons.” PopAnth, 3 February 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “The rise of the selfie and the monetization of social media.” The List, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio National (RN), 12 November 2014.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “Microcelebrity Social Media Selfies.” Selfie Researchers, 28 September 2014.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “A day in the life of a Selfies Researcher.” Selfie Researchers, 27 September 2014.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “Off Stage/On Stage.” The Q: Quarterly Newsletter of the Australian Anthropological Society, March 2014.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “#hashtagmylife.” PopAnth, 27 February 2014.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Celebrity blogshop models – Performing cyber-femininity.” socphd, 30 December 2013.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Cyber-femininities.” Murdoch University Postgraduate Student Association (MUPSA), 28 August 2013.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “A day in the life of a postgrad.” Postscript, Spring 2013.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Cyber-femininities.” socphd, 27 August 2013.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Blog bank for the buck.” Gushcloud, 18 April 2013.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Wanna up your game in the blogosphere?” Gushcloud, 15 April 2013.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Why are some blogshops more successful than others?” socphd, 11 April 2013.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2012. “How do you make the most of your supervisor?” Postscript, Spring 2012.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2011. “When mummy is buddy too.” The New Paper, 30 January 2011.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2011. “New’s kid on the blog.” The New Paper, 9 January 2011.
SELECTIONS FROM WISHCRYS.COM
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2020. “How social media Influencers are shaping Singapore’s GE2020.” wishcrys.com, 8 July 2020.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Minority influencers, Satire, and Subversive frivolity.” wishcrys.com, 31 July 2019.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Influencers vs. Creators, Journalists vs. Academics, USA vs. The World.” wishcrys.com, 3 June 2019.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “Quick Thoughts on Influencers and Gender.” wishcrys.com, 30 May 2019.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2019. “K-pop social media, (Anti-)fan labour, and Networks of (mis)information.” wishcrys.com, 11 April 2019.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2018. “Where is the Money on Tumblr? (Part 1).” wishcrys.com, 27 May 2018.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “YouTuber Influencers vs. Legacy Media: PewDiePie, Weaponized microcelebrity, and Cross-media politics.” wishcrys.com, 22 February 2017.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen and the Lifecycle of Internet Virality.” wishcrys.com, 29 September 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “2006-2016: From Lonelygirl15 to Lil Miquela.” wishcrys.com, 19 September 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “#RIPSRNathan and Young People’s Social Memory on Twitter.” wishcrys.com, 23 August 2016.
[Link | Video abstract] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Joseph Schooling and the Rush to Backstory a Champion.” wishcrys.com, 14 August 2016.
[Link | Video abstract] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Joseph Schooling and the Politics of Belonging in Singapore.” wishcrys.com, 13 August 2016.
[Link | Video abstract] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Singaporeans React to the National Day Parade #NDP2016 on Twitter.” wishcrys.com, 10 August 2016.
[Link | Video abstract] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “A few shifts in the Influencer industry.” wishcrys.com, 4 August 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “#ThoughtsAndPrayers, Grief hype-jacking, and Saturation fatigue.” wishcrys.com, 20 July 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Coupling and Legitimacy in Singapore: Trans bodies, Unwed parents, and Wedding branding.” wishcrys.com, 14 April 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Eyewitness virality, Racism and Journalistic responsibility.” wishcrys.com, 5 April 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Instagram Reacts to the Brussels Attacks.” wishcrys.com, 22 March 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “The First Hour Post-#JakartaBlasts on Instagram.” wishcrys.com, 14 January 2016.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Quick Thoughts on #SanBernardino on Instagram.” wishcrys.com, 3 December 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “#PorteOuverte, Instagram algorithms, and Emergent tropes.” wishcrys.com, 14 November 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Digital detox, Media panics, and What’s next.” wishcrys.com, 5 November 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Essena O’Neill, Authenticity, and Vlog wars.” wishcrys.com, 4 November 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “The #LoveWins Weekend on 9GAG.” wishcrys.com, 30 June 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Mr Lee Kuan Yew and the Spectacle of Death: The first twelve hours on social media.” wishcrys.com, 23 March 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “The Politics of Press Lexicon: Chapel Hill Shooting.” wishcrys.com, 12 February 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Instagramming Instagram’s Downtime.” wishcrys.com, 30 January 2015.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Memetic Tropes on #CharlieHedbo on Instagram.” wishcrys.com, 9 January 2015.
[Link Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “Authenticity on Instagram.” wishcrys.com, 31 December 2014.
[Link Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “The Great Instagram Purge: Chaos, Currency, and Commerciality.” wishcrys.com, 19 December 2014.
[Link | Podcast] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “Semiotica Dramatica and a Resistance Ecology on Site: #OccupyCentral at Causeway Bay and Admiralty.” wishcrys.com, 25 November 2014.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2014. “An Organic #OccupyCentral Timeline On-site at Admiralty.” wishcrys.com, 24 November 2014.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2013. “Establishing Blogger Social Currency through Hashtags and Tags.” wishcrys.com, 15 October 2013.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2011. “Approaching LiveJournal as an Anthropologist.” wishcrys.com, 4 April 2011.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2008. “A Look at Celebrity Entertainment Channels.” wishcrys.com, 29 September 2008.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2008. “Rorikon Figurines: How They Survive and Their Interpretations in a Strict Singapore.” wishcrys.com, 28 March 2008.
[Link] Abidin, Crystal. 2008. “Uniquely Singaporean music?” wishcrys.com, 19 March 2008.
THESES
[Open Access] Abidin, Crystal. 2016. “Please subscribe! Influencers, social media, and the commodification of everyday life.” PhD Thesis (Anthropology & Sociology, Communication & Media Studies).
[Department library only] Abidin, Crystal. 2011. “Buymylife.com: Cyber-femininities, Homo-social Desire & Power.” Honours Thesis (Sociology & Gender Studies), National University of Singapore.
Last updated 27 April 2026.
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