SDS Seminar Series – Casey Breen, University of Texas at Austin

The Fall 2026 SDS Seminar Series continues on October 23rd from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. with Dr. Casey Breen (Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin). This event is in-person in the Avaya Room (POB 2.302).    

Title: Digital Technologies, Inequality, and the Diffusion of Global Culture 

Abstract: Mobile internet is diffusing rapidly across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet access remains highly unequal, particularly by gender, and little is known about how connectivity changes the cultural scripts that individuals encounter. This talk presents two related studies. The first develops subnational estimates of internet and mobile adoption by gender for 2,075 regions in 117 LMICs from 2015 through 2025. To construct these estimates, we apply machine-learning algorithms to Facebook user counts, geospatial data, and development indicators, calibrating and validating the models against household survey data. The second study argues that mobile internet constitutes a novel pathway for the diffusion of global cultural scripts. Empirically, we exploit the staggered rollout of 3G mobile networks in Nigeria, finding that expanding coverage reduces fertility by 9%, with accompanying shifts in contraceptive use, ideal family size, and women's autonomy. Taken together, these studies suggest that digital technologies – and inequality in access to them – have important implications for the global diffusion of culture.