Newsletter No. 536

陳志敏教授在英國土生土長，父母是香港移民。起初陳教授來港任職編輯，繼而於中大攻讀傳理學哲學博士，復加 入新聞與傳播學院。他跟《中大通訊》談香港這個他父母和現在的他均視之為家的地方，以及新媒體對我們的生 活、傳播學的影響。 Born and raised in the UK by Hong Kong emigrant parents, Professor Chan came to Hong Kong working as an editor first, then studying for a PhD in journalism at CUHK and finally joining the School of Journalism and Communication. He talked to the Newsletter on his parents’ home which he calls home now and what the new media mean to our lives and the study of communication. 新聞與傳播學院副教授 陳志敏 Prof. Michael Chan School of Journalism and Communication 當初為何決定來港？ 命運安排吧。我在英國倫敦畢業，未有具體計劃 接下來要做些甚麼。其後獲得在日本工作的機 會，所以在日本五年，最後於一家互聯網初創公 司任職，開始對互聯網發生興趣。我於2001年 來港，在朗文出版社工作。 來港初期，有沒有感受到文化衝擊？ 不太多。我與不少海外華人一樣，都是看TVB劇 集、聽粵語流行曲長大的，當時正值香港娛樂和 大眾文化的黃金歲月，華人市場遍及全球。這些 娛樂也是我家庭生活的重要部分，讓我來港前 已認識本地文化和語言。 為何於中大攻讀傳理學哲學博士？ 我在城大任教時，開始進修傳播學科，先後兼讀 碩士和哲學碩士學位，於是後來順理成章攻讀 博士。初時沒有想過投身學術界，全因沿途遇上 卓越的教授，我逐漸對教學和研究產生興趣。 如何評價你的學生？ 我所遇上的本科生勤力、熱心學習，他們有自己 一套見解，而且不怕表達出來。這一點是其他亞 洲地區的學生中不常見的。我在中大任教六年， 能夠教導這些聰穎和積極的學生，我深感榮幸。 如今人們習慣在屏幕上溝通，是好是壞？ 互聯網或智能電話是利是弊尚爭論不休。無論 如何，科技已經成為我們生活一部分，把我們聯 繫起來，大多數情況下方便我們整理和掌控生 活。但另一面是，我們可能從中接收太多訊息， 或受網上社交纏累，說到底結果取決於我們如 何運用。 現今政治兩極化，社交媒體是否罪魁禍首？ 人們的立場其實一向都是處於兩極的，社交媒 體只不過把意見相近的人聚在一起，令對立的 情況更顯而易見。但科技並非始作俑者，這些矛 盾早已存在，科技只是加深了矛盾的表達程度  而已。 人們常詬病文化水平下降，尤其是年輕人之間。 但現在人人都在手機發訊息，豈不是寫作能力 應該有所提升才是？ 文化水平的定義常常在變。我們現在大部分都 不執筆書寫，而是打字或按鍵輸入，可見書寫行 為本身也在改變。所謂數碼水平也一樣，不但指 個人可以用裝置收發信息，也是指個人可以分辨 哪些是寶貴資訊，哪些是假新聞，以及明 白涉及私隱的問題。 What made you come to Hong Kong in the first place? Fate. As a fresh graduate in London, UK, I had no definite plan of what to do next in my life. I was then offered a job opportunity in Japan. So I spent the next five years in Japan and ended up working for a Japanese Internet startup. That’s when I got interested in the Internet. I came to Hong Kong in 2001 and worked for the publisher Longman. Did you experience culture shock when you first arrived in Hong Kong? Not much. I belong to the generation of overseas Chinese who grew up with TVB drama series and Canto-pop. That was the golden age of Hong Kong entertainment and popular culture which found a world market in the Chinese diaspora and was an integral part of my family life. That kept me connected to the local culture and language before I arrived here. What made you pursue a doctoral degree in journalism at CUHK? While teaching for the City University of Hong Kong, I began part- time studies on the media, first a master’s and then an MPhil. So a PhD was the logical conclusion to that. Although I had no plan at the outset to embark on an academic career, my interest in teaching and research in media studies was gradually formed due in no small part to the excellent professors I met along the way. How do you find your students? I found my undergraduate students hardworking and eager to learn. They have their own opinions and are not afraid to express them, a quality not always found in students from Asian countries. I’ve now taught at CUHK for six years. I must say it’s a pleasure to teach such intelligent and motivated students. Human interactions are often conducted through a screen these days. Is that a good thing? Whether the Internet or the smart phone is a blessing or a bane is an ongoing debate. Regardless, I think it’s a reality we have to live with. Technology keeps us connected to one another and in many cases makes our lives easier to order and manipulate. The flip side is, we may get information overload or overwhelmed by engaging socially. It all comes down to how we set to manage our screen time. Are the social media culpable for the current polarization in politics? People and their views have always been polarized. Social media allow people with similar views to cluster together and so make the polarization more visible than before. Technology is not culpable of anything. It only facilitates and engenders existing divisions. The drop in literacy, especially among the young, sometimes attract lamentation. But ubiquitous texting means we actually write more. Why the paradox? The notion of literacy is always changing. Most of us do not write but type or press buttons now. So the act of writing itself changes, too. Similarly, the notion of digital literacy is amorphous. It means not only that one can use a device to send and receive messages but also that one should be able to identify valuable information as opposed to, say, fake news and understand what privacy matters are in issue. T.C. 08 # 5 3 6 | 1 9 . 0 4 . 2 0 1 9 口 談 實 錄 / V iva V oce Photo by ISO Staff