On 2 September, the SUSS School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences (SHBS) held the Well-Being symposium which is part of a series started in 2014 examining mental health and well-being topics. The focus for this year was ‘Mental Well-Being in the Age of Mis/Disinformation’, and it was an enriching and thought-provoking session for academics, students, industry partners and practitioners.
Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, SUSS President, provided an opening address, emphasising on the need to examine the detrimental effects of misinformation and disinformation on society and on people’s well-being.
Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, SUSS President, delivering the opening address for the symposium.
Our first speaker, Mr P N Balji, veteran journalist and former editor of TODAY & The New Paper, spoke about the need for society as a whole to develop a sense of scepticism and suspicion about what they hear and the necessity to fact check. Mr Nicholas Fang, founder and managing director of Black Dot Research, examined the vulnerability of closed social media chat groups to misinformation and disinformation.
Dr Omer Ali Saifudeen, SUSS Senior Public Safety and Security Lecturer, discussed the psychological drivers of disinformation beliefs and tips for spotting disinformation. Ms Bhali Gill, SUSS Associate Faculty of the Psychology programme, shared from a practitioner’s perspective on how we can achieve work-life balance amid a hybrid work model.
The symposium ended with a panel discussion with all four distinguished speakers further exploring the strategies that can be adopted to reduce the impact of mis/disinformation on well-being.
.png?sfvrsn=46a49854_2 "(left to right) Associate Professor Kang Soon Hock, SUSS Vice Dean & Head, Behavioural Science Core; Associate Professor Ludwig Tan, SUSS Dean of SHBS; Mr P N Balji, Veteran journalist, Former Editor of TODAY & The New Paper; Mr Nicholas Fang, Founder & Managing Director, Black Dot Research; Professor Robbie Goh, SUSS Provost; Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, SUSS President; Ms Bhali Gill, Director Psychologist, SUSS Corporate Wellbeing Associate Faculty, Psychology Programme and Dr Omer Ali Saifudeen, SUSS Senior Lecturer, Public Safety & Security Programme.")
(left to right) Associate Professor Kang Soon Hock, SUSS Vice Dean & Head of SHBS, Behavioural Science Core; Associate Professor Ludwig Tan, SUSS Dean of SHBS; Mr P N Balji, Veteran journalist, Former Editor of TODAY & The New Paper; Mr Nicholas Fang, Founder & Managing Director, Black Dot Research; Professor Robbie Goh, SUSS Provost; Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, SUSS President; Ms Bhali Gill, Director Psychologist, SUSS Corporate Wellbeing Associate Faculty, Psychology Programme and Dr Omer Ali Saifudeen, SUSS Senior Lecturer, Public Safety & Security Programme.