
Jessica Ramos is a doctoral candidate at USC Annenberg. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Jessica centers her research on the cultural and spatial politics of digital platforms. Her current work explores how algorithmically governed spaces like TikTok shape narratives of place, memory, and identity in cities such as Los Angeles. Drawing from media studies, science and technology studies, and urban cultural history, she examines how platform visibility, creator culture, and digital placemaking intersect with questions of race, resistance, and community representation.
Jessica earned a BA in Sociology and Media Studies with a minor in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She completed a senior honors thesis, Out of the Shadows: A Case Study on Oakland, California Resistance Against Technologies, which examined local resistance to big data technologies in Oakland.
Jessica has presented her research at the National Communication Association (NCA), the Lisbon Winter School, the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA), and the Surveillance Studies Network (SSN).
In her free time, find Jess back in the Bay walking her German Shepherd, Comet.