Please note: While I am always happy to talk to potential graduate students, I will be on sabbatical from July 2025 to June 2026. My capacity for supervision and committees will be limited until I return.
Kelly Bergstrom is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at York University. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor in the School of Communications at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a Postdoctoral Fellow at York University’s Institute for Research on Digital Learning and a MITACS Postdoctoral Researcher at Big Viking Games.
Bergstrom’s research examines drop out and disengagement from digital cultures, with a focus on digital games and social media. She is co-editor of Internet Spaceships are Serious Business: An EVE Online Reader (University of Minnesota Press, 2016) and her work has been published in journals such as Feminist Media Studies, Critical Studies in Media Communication, and Social Media + Society.
More...
Degrees
PhD, York University
MA, University of Calgary
BA (Honours), Simon Fraser University
BFA, Simon Fraser University
Research Interests
Gender Issues, Labour, Game Studies, Feminist Media Studies, Leisure studies,
True crime
Carter, M., Bergstrom, K., & Woodford, D. (Eds.). (2016). Internet spaceships are serious business: An EVE Online reader. University of Minnesota Press.
2016
Journal Articles
Publication
Year
Bergstrom, K., & Poor, N. (2023). We have always been social: Comparing social expressiveness between single-player and multiplayer gamers. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 15(3), 247-266.
2023
Bergstrom, K. (2022). Ignoring the blood on the tracks: exits and departures from game studies. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 39(3), 173-180
2022
Bergstrom, K. and Poor, N. (2022). Signaling the Intent to Change Online Communities: A Case from a Reddit Gaming Community. Social Media + Society, 8(2), 1-10.
2022
Bergstrom, K. (2022). When a door becomes a window: Using Glassdoor to examine game industry work cultures. Information, Communication & Society, 25(6), 835-850.
2022
Bergstrom, K. (2021). Anti-social social gaming: community conflict in a Facebook game. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 38(1), 61-74.
2021
Bergstrom, K., & Poor, N. (2021). Reddit Gaming Communities During Times of Transition. Social Media+ Society, 7(2). DOI: 20563051211010167
2021
Bergstrom, K. (2021). What if we were all novices? Making room for inexperience in a game studies classroom. Digital Culture & Education, 13(2).
2021
Bergstrom, K. (2021). Who is playing Pokémon GO? An observational activity. Communication Teacher, 35(2), 93-97.
2021
Bergstrom, K. (2020). Destruction as Deviant Leisure in EVE Online. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 13(1).
2020
Bergstrom, K., & Neo, R. (2020). Searching for the stairway to heaven: information seeking about an illegal hiking trail in Hawaii. Leisure Studies, 39(5), 751-764.
2020
Bergstrom, K. (2019). Barriers to play: Accounting for non-participation in digital game play. Feminist Media Studies, 19(6), 841-857.
2019
Bergstrom, K. (2019). EVE Online is not for everyone: Exceptionalism in online gaming cultures. Human Technology, 15(3).
2019
Bergstrom, K. (2019). Moving beyond churn: Barriers and constraints to playing a social network game. Games and Culture, 14(2), 170-189.
2019
Bergstrom, K. (2019). Temporary break or permanent departure? Rethinking what it means to quit EVE online. Games and Culture, 14(3), 276-296.
2019
Conference Proceedings
Publication
Year
Bergstrom, K., & Sherman, J. (2021). Who Stays in the Game? Similarities and Differences Between Current and Former Digital Games Players. In Proceedings of the 54th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 2873-2882)
2021
Please note: While I am always happy to talk to potential graduate students, I will be on sabbatical from July 2025 to June 2026. My capacity for supervision and committees will be limited until I return.
Kelly Bergstrom is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at York University. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor in the School of Communications at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a Postdoctoral Fellow at York University’s Institute for Research on Digital Learning and a MITACS Postdoctoral Researcher at Big Viking Games.
Bergstrom’s research examines drop out and disengagement from digital cultures, with a focus on digital games and social media. She is co-editor of Internet Spaceships are Serious Business: An EVE Online Reader (University of Minnesota Press, 2016) and her work has been published in journals such as Feminist Media Studies, Critical Studies in Media Communication, and Social Media + Society.
Degrees
PhD, York University
MA, University of Calgary
BA (Honours), Simon Fraser University
BFA, Simon Fraser University
Research Interests
Gender Issues, Labour, Game Studies, Feminist Media Studies, Leisure studies,
True crime
All Publications
Books
Publication
Year
Carter, M., Bergstrom, K., & Woodford, D. (Eds.). (2016). Internet spaceships are serious business: An EVE Online reader. University of Minnesota Press.
2016
Journal Articles
Publication
Year
Bergstrom, K., & Poor, N. (2023). We have always been social: Comparing social expressiveness between single-player and multiplayer gamers. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 15(3), 247-266.
2023
Bergstrom, K. (2022). Ignoring the blood on the tracks: exits and departures from game studies. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 39(3), 173-180
2022
Bergstrom, K. and Poor, N. (2022). Signaling the Intent to Change Online Communities: A Case from a Reddit Gaming Community. Social Media + Society, 8(2), 1-10.
2022
Bergstrom, K. (2022). When a door becomes a window: Using Glassdoor to examine game industry work cultures. Information, Communication & Society, 25(6), 835-850.
2022
Bergstrom, K. (2021). Anti-social social gaming: community conflict in a Facebook game. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 38(1), 61-74.
2021
Bergstrom, K., & Poor, N. (2021). Reddit Gaming Communities During Times of Transition. Social Media+ Society, 7(2). DOI: 20563051211010167
2021
Bergstrom, K. (2021). What if we were all novices? Making room for inexperience in a game studies classroom. Digital Culture & Education, 13(2).
2021
Bergstrom, K. (2021). Who is playing Pokémon GO? An observational activity. Communication Teacher, 35(2), 93-97.
2021
Bergstrom, K. (2020). Destruction as Deviant Leisure in EVE Online. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 13(1).
2020
Bergstrom, K., & Neo, R. (2020). Searching for the stairway to heaven: information seeking about an illegal hiking trail in Hawaii. Leisure Studies, 39(5), 751-764.
2020
Bergstrom, K. (2019). Barriers to play: Accounting for non-participation in digital game play. Feminist Media Studies, 19(6), 841-857.
2019
Bergstrom, K. (2019). EVE Online is not for everyone: Exceptionalism in online gaming cultures. Human Technology, 15(3).
2019
Bergstrom, K. (2019). Moving beyond churn: Barriers and constraints to playing a social network game. Games and Culture, 14(2), 170-189.
2019
Bergstrom, K. (2019). Temporary break or permanent departure? Rethinking what it means to quit EVE online. Games and Culture, 14(3), 276-296.
2019
Conference Proceedings
Publication
Year
Bergstrom, K., & Sherman, J. (2021). Who Stays in the Game? Similarities and Differences Between Current and Former Digital Games Players. In Proceedings of the 54th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 2873-2882)