This research direction examines the impact of digital media use—particularly social media and short-video platforms—on psychological and behavioural functioning, as well as on brain function, in adolescents and adults. It focuses on the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying excessive or problematic digital media use and related addictive behaviours. Specifically, this line of research seeks to characterise alterations in emotion regulation, impulse control, reward processing, and social cognition associated with digital media engagement, and to elucidate how these alterations contribute to the development and maintenance of addictive behaviours.

By integrating behavioural assessments, psychometric measures, and neuroimaging data, this research aims to identify key risk factors, developmental pathways, and underlying mechanisms of internet- or social media–related addiction. Ultimately, it seeks to advance understanding of the psychological and neural foundations of emerging addictive behaviours in the digital age, and to inform the development of targeted intervention and prevention strategies.