Barbara Sanchez

Barbara C. Sanchez received her B.A. in Sociology at Florida International University with a second major in Interdisciplinary Studies and a minor in Geography. She received her M.A. in Sociology at the University of Florida (U.F.). Barbara is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at U.F. Her research mainly focuses on processes of culture and socialization facilitated by digital media, especially social media, to understand how online communication and general Internet culture influence users’ behaviors and their perceptions of themselves and society. She is specifically interested in these topics within the context of digital natives—a generation brought up from an early age with modern digital technology. Her M.A. study used semi-structured interviews to investigate a sample college students’ (characteristically digital natives) definitions and understandings of cyberstalking within the context of social media—inspired by the inconsistencies in definitions of cyberstalking within the literature. Her findings showed generally shared perceptions of cyberstalking not entirely represented within research, that these perceptions were widely dependent on context and that their upbringing with social media played a major role in the development of these perceptions. Upon graduation she aspires to become a professor at an R1 institute.