NEWS & EVENTS

Two faculty members from the Department of Communication Studies have been awarded competitive General Research Fund (GRF) grants from Hong Kong's Research Grants Council, in recognition of research projects that tackle two of the most pressing challenges of the platformized media age: the spread of scientific misinformation and the impact of short-form video on adolescent mental health.

Prof. Stephanie Jean Tsang has received HK$579,500 for her project, "Platformized News and Scientific Misinformation in Hong Kong: Mapping and Mitigation." In today's platformized media environment, scientific information is rapidly distorted into misinformation, undermining public trust, policy support and social cohesion. The study systematically traces how scientific reports are reframed across social media, news portals and messaging apps, and identifies the communities and interpretive frames most vulnerable to distortion. Combined with a survey of Hong Kong residents on echo chambers, news diets and science attitudes, the project fills a critical evidence gap and generates actionable guidance for fact-checkers, educators and platforms working to reduce susceptibility, strengthen science outreach and support science-based policymaking.

Prof. Ken Chu, Visiting Assistant Professor, has been awarded HK$495,400 for his project, "Scrolling into Distress? A Three-Wave Longitudinal Investigation of How and When Short-Form Video Affects Hong Kong Adolescents' Well-being." The research investigates the theoretical antecedents of mindless short video watching on mobile social media and examines its long-term effects on users' digital well-being and mental health. Through a three-wave longitudinal design, the project seeks to help stakeholders recognise who is most vulnerable to this behaviour and to develop practical strategies to reduce its harms and support healthier digital use, particularly among the city's young people. Prof. Chu will formally join the Department as Assistant Professor in September.

Together, these two projects reflect the Department's continued commitment to impactful research on the social and psychological consequences of our evolving digital environment.