Jakob Demant appointed professor in the Department of Sociology

How are disposable e-cigarettes being sold illegally on the grey markets of the internet? And why and how do young people produce and share hateful memes on social media and other parts of the web?

These are two examples of research questions that Jakob Demant, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, has been investigating since 2014. From 1 November 2024, he will continue his work as a full professor.

In his new professorship, Jakob Demant will continue to work on what he terms 'deviant behaviour' among young people.

This includes understanding the behaviour and motivations of young people as they move into closed and criminal online digital environments, but also their own social challenges and the structures that negatively reinforce them. A particular focus is on how social behaviour interacts with technological aspects, such as social media.

In any case, it is only a plus if the research-based knowledge can be used in prevention work, Jakob Demant emphasises.

"I attach great importance to working closely with both practitioners and scientific colleagues in the field of prevention, so that new knowledge can be translated into concrete initiatives aimed at risk behaviour, especially among young people."

Methodologically, Jakob Demant has contributed to the development of digital techniques that can map and explore the darker sides of the Internet, including the closed online environments. This so-called digital sociology includes the qualitative research tool Manuscrape.org. He also runs the Microsociology of Online Deviance lab (MOD), which conducts both online and offline ethnographic work and interviews in marginal, often criminal, environments.

In addition to his research, Jakob Demant has been head of studies and a member of the study board at the Department of Sociology, and in his teaching he has developed courses with a special focus on intervention research and entrepreneurship.