Linking information with behaviour: Assoc Prof Edson Tandoc Jr

With his background as a former newspaper journalist, Assoc Prof Edson Tandoc Jr of NTU’s  Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information studies journalism from the perspective of news consumers. He has examined how readers make sense of critical incidents reported in the news and how changing news consumption patterns facilitate the spread of fake news.

In a study based on discussions with young Singaporeans aged 21 to 27 held in February—a month after Singapore saw its first case of COVID-19—Assoc Prof Tandoc and his colleague, James Lee, analysed how the information behaviour of young adults in Singapore shaped their views of disease risks, and in turn their behaviour. Published in New Media & Society, the research showed that rather than actively seeking information about COVID-19, many young adults received information on the disease through scanning news on social media and messaging platforms.

This information-seeking behaviour shaped their view that the virus was only risky for older generations, which led to them not wearing face masks in the early stages of the outbreak in Singapore when this practice was not yet mandated.

“The results document how making sense of what is happening in the early stages of a health crisis can go beyond the disease itself and focus more on social order and information quality, impacting behaviour,” says Assoc Prof Tandoc.

“Shaping young Singaporeans’ initial view that they are not vulnerable to the virus, this process of sensemaking might also explain why some young people—such as those reported in other countries—continued to engage in risky behaviour, like going to the beach or partying, during the pandemic,” he adds.