- Jul 2026
- Published our paper on online vigilance and mental fatigue in Communication Research.
- Jul 2026
- Defended my PhD, Lost in Trace-lation, at Ghent University.
- Jun 2026
- Presented at the 76th Annual ICA Conference in Cape Town.
- May 2026
- Published our iOS trace data tool in Behavior Research Methods.
Kyle Van Gaeveren
Postdoctoral researcher · imec‑mict‑UGent
Email · ORCID · Google Scholar · Bluesky · GitHub
I am a postdoctoral researcher at imec-mict-UGent, the research group for Media, Innovation and Contemporary Technologies at Ghent University, where I work on DigiWork, a 100-day study of digital technology use, stress and burn-out. Before that, I was part of DISCONNECT, an ERC-funded project on digital well-being and disconnection.
I study how people use digital media in everyday life, and how we can measure that use well. My work combines digital trace data (smartphone and computer logs) with experience sampling methods and multilevel modelling, with a focus on what such data can and cannot tell us about media use and well-being.
I completed my PhD in Communication Sciences at Ghent University in 2026, with the dissertation Lost in Trace-lation: An Empirical Inquiry into the Role of Theoretical Interpretation, Granularity, and Scope of Digital Trace Data.
Research interests
Digital trace data · experience sampling methods · multilevel modelling · reproducible research workflows.