Lana Swartz

I have been studying the digital economy for almost as long as there has been a digital economy. Okay, maybe not quite, but long enough. As part of my research, I have hung out with early days cryptocurrency enthusiasts in Las Vegas, ran the Instagram of a nail artist micro-influencer, and interviewed small business owners about how they brought their business online during COVID. Along the way, I have accidentally but necessarily become an expert on scams. To be honest, I'm not even sure what is and what isn't a scam anymore. I think this is because our society-wide economic norms and expectations are changing radically. In my teaching, I seek to help students make sense of changes and imagine their future lives and livelihoods in extremely uncertain times.