Dr. Esther Rozendaal

Biography

Esther Rozendaal is a full professor of Digital Resilience at Erasmus University Rotterdam, co-leading the Erasmus Movez Lab. Her research emphasizes empowering children and young people to become resilient participants in today's digital society. Rozendaal's work focuses on collaborations with children, parents, schools, youth workers, and relevant organizations to address digital resilience among young media users. In 2020, she received the Vidi grant from the Dutch Research Council for her project ‘Empowering children to behave safely online’, which investigates how teenagers can be empowered to use digital media in a safe and responsible manner. This five-year project utilizes innovative game technology aimed at establishing positive, sustainable changes in children’s media-literate behavior. Rozendaal also studies the responses of children and adolescents to advertising, particularly concerning transparency in sponsored content on platforms like YouTube. Actively engaged in science communication, she co-founded Bitescience.com, an accessible online knowledge portal. She earned her doctorate from the University of Amsterdam in 2011 and has held positions as a postdoctoral researcher and assistant/associate professor at Radboud University’s Behavioural Science Institute. Her contributions have been recognized by multiple awards from the International Communication Association and other esteemed organizations.

Research Interests