Tony D. Sampson’s research examines the influence of intangible environments, such as the internet, on our experiences. His work investigates affective relationships fostered by network architectures and user interfaces, and their role in shaping how experiences are produced, understood, and transformed.
Sampson is the author of the influential Virality: Contagion Theory in the Age of Networks (2012), which challenged theories of memetic reproduction, The Assemblage Brain (2017) which developed the concept of neuroculture, and A Sleepwalker’s Guide to Social Media (2020). The Struggle for [User] Experience will be published in 2026.
He is an active media commentator, appearing on BBC Radio 4, Newsweek, Washington Post, Business Insider, and the Byline Times, among others. He is a Reader in Digital Communication in the University of Essex and co-organiser of the independent Club Critical Theory.
