Deirdre Flynn and Mary McGill eds., "Irish Digital Cultures: Identity, Contexts, Space" (Routledge, 2025)

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Mary McGill's 'The Visibility Trap' examines the intersection of sexism and digital surveillance to show how social media platforms amplify gendered harms and pressures on visibility. The book explores how women’s increased online presence exposes them to targeted abuse and surveillance practices, while also constraining their participation within public digital spaces. McGill combines qualitative data, theoretical frameworks, and case studies to reveal systemic patterns of misogyny and institutional failures. She discusses the consequences for privacy, professional life, and civic participation, and critiques platform and policy responses. The work has been recognized for its contribution to understanding gendered experiences of online spaces and was named a Sunday Business Post book of the year.

This edited volume brings together scholars across media studies, cultural studies, sociology, and Irish studies to examine how Irish identity is produced, circulated, and contested in digital environments. Chapters investigate topics including podcasting, influencers, TikTok and algorithmic culture, archiving of social movements, music and theatre during the pandemic, and online political mobilization. The book foregrounds questions of diversity, race, gender, and the impacts of technologies such as AI and data infrastructures on cultural production in Ireland. It also addresses pedagogical challenges and the fragmentation of media consumption for teaching and scholarship. The collection aims to map an emergent field—Irish digital cultures—while suggesting directions for future research and policy.