ICCIT Book Talk: Jeffrey Boase, The Digital Bind

Join the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology (ICCIT) for a book talk with Professor Jeffrey Boase as he explores how constant connectivity is reconfiguring family, work, and friendship.

Using a new theoretical lens called the “configuration approach,” Boase shows how complex technological and social arrangements explain why individuals often draw on a multitude of apps and devices to stay connected. The Digital Bind offers a comprehensive account of how the apps and devices that we use to navigate contemporary social life have become embedded into our lives and our relationships.

Jeffrey Boase's The Digital Bind: Constant Connectivity and the Reconfiguring of Family, Work, and Friendship is published by the Oxford University Press (2025).

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Bio:

Jeff Boase is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology at the University of Toronto, and holds graduate appointments in the Department of Sociology and the Faculty of Information.

Boase’s research focuses on the relationship between communication technology and personal networks. He is particularly interested in how communication technologies such as mobile phones and social media platforms are woven into personal networks. His research takes an international approach to this topic by examining and comparing personal networks and technology use in several countries, primarily Japan, the US, and Canada. Boase often incorporates digital trace data (so-called “Big Data”) into his project designs, merging it with more traditional survey and interview methods.

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The book talk takes place on Thursday, January 8, 2026 at 4PM at the Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Room VC212 in the Victoria College Building, known as "Old Vic" at the University of Toronto, is located at 73 Queen's Park Crescent, Toronto, ON.