Over the past two weeks, our lab had a lot to celebrate! We kicked off the new academic year with a team building day, reflecting on our goals, welcoming new team members, and working together in an escape room challenge. Of course, we couldn't resist capturing the moment with a team photo! 📸

It's conference season! While @matthiasdebondt.bsky.social and @lise-loresteeman.bsky.social presented their research @icahdq.bsky.social (ICA) in Denver, @evagrosemans.bsky.social took the stage in Malta to discuss her research at #DiGRA2025. Congrats to all (co-)authors on their interesting work!

New publication! We validated the Dutch version of the Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents (GADIS-A), a reliable and valid tool for assessing gaming disorder in adolescents. It was also linked to the increasingly blurring lines between gaming and gambling: psychologicabelgica.com/articles/10....

(Some of) DiGRA Belgium et al. at #DiGRA2025! 😀 Been having a great time in beautiful, sunny Valletta.

Made it to #DiGRA2025 in beautiful Malta! 🇲🇹

A snapshot of Belgian game studies (loosely defined) at #DiGRA2025 - and a nice showcase of the variety of games research being done in our little country! Really looking forward to the conference. Thanks to @evagrosemans.bsky.social for the infographic! 👏

I wrote a book chapter! "Empowering the Digital Citizen" provides an overview of digital & media literacy research in Flanders. Together with my @gameable.bsky.social colleagues, I wrote a chapter on gaming and gambling in Flemish adolescents. Find the book here: library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...

Check out the results of our study on sports betting and gambling advertising in Flemish young adults! ⬇️

At the end of May, @evagrosemans.bsky.social and Bruno Dupont, together with their @gameable.bsky.social colleague Lowie Bradt, were invited to a one-day conference on the Exploration of the mechanisms of gaming, organised by UMONS and Nationale Loterij 🎲

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS! Zhiyu Chen and @biekezaman.bsky.social are studying the longitudinal impact of monetization in videogames 🎮 Are you +18 and do you love to play videogames? Interested in taking part in one (or two) of our studies? Check out the link below: forms.office.com/pages/respon...

Last class of the semester today! Views on the way to the classroom could be worse 😎

On today's agenda: a workshop on how to visualize your research findings, hosted by Studio Stift (www.studiostift.be)! (Already tried to visualize the @gameable.bsky.social research, still needs some practice) 🖍️

Second semester of teaching… aka introducing students to the wonderful world of statistics and R!

Our lab had the honor of organising the annual Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap, as part of the KU Leuven Department of Communication Sciences. As a result, we were not only visitors, but also presenters, chairs, and co-organisers of #Etmaal2025 💪. Already looking forward to next year's edition!

Will you also submit to the 1st International Conference for an Inclusive Digital Society (IDS2025)? ⏱️Deadline: 3 March (extended!) IDS2025 provides a global platform for an inclusive digital world, hosted by @digisoc.bsky.social 🗓️ 15 & 16 Sept. 2025 📍 Leuven, Belgium 👉 inclusivedigitalsociety.eu

We had our first "Coffee and Cake Break", where everyone from the Media Culture & Policy Lab gets together to catch up on the latest studies, ask questions and have a nice chat. ☕   Yesterday we celebrated the start of our lab. Here's to many more inspiring and fun times together!

One week ago, I had the privilege of presenting my research on video gaming among adolescents at #Etmaal2025, the annual conference Communication Sciences conference in Flanders and the Netherlands. Looking forward to finishing this paper on gaming motives! 🎮

With presentations by - among others- @ansdenolf.bsky.social, @xiaoxianwang.bsky.social, @lise-loresteeman.bsky.social, @sercankiyak.bsky.social, @elievevrouw.bsky.social and @evagrosemans.bsky.social ⬇️⬇️

At #Etmaal2025, there were no less than 13 presentations by our research team! We discussed gaming and gambling, refugees and discrimination, arts, Islamophobia, data-driven healthcare, digital literacy, mental health, and everything in between. Check out all presentations below!

Curious to see what our researchers are up to? Find all of them in this list: go.bsky.app/UeZprcs

Follow along to stay up-to-date with all our publications and events! ⬇️

Yesterday, I presented my research on gaming motives and problematic gaming in Flemish adolescents at #Etmaal2025 🎮

Arrived at #Etmaal2025!

Today is the day! On my way now 👐

Hi fellow Bluesky-ers, this is the place to be! Bluesky will be our platform of choice for all #Etmaal2025 updates. Be part of the Etmaal Bluesky community during the conference by using our hashtag #Etmaal2025!

It’s Almost time for #Etmaal2025! On Monday, I will present my research on gaming motives and problematic gaming in adolescents 🎮 @etmaal2025.bsky.social

Wishing everyone a very playful 2025! 🎉 We're happy to announce an open call for two positions on the DiGRA Belgium board: (1) Co-Chair and (2) Treasurer. Deadline: 10 February 2025. If interested, please contact Pierre-Yves Houlmont with a letter of motivation!

We encourage the #Etmaal2025 community to continue our engaging discussions in a space in line with our academic values. Therefore, we will gradually switch from X to BlueSky. Up until the conference, we will cross-post all information. During the conference, we will only use Bluesky (1/2)

Help! We're thrilled that DiGRA 2025 has shattered DiGRA's previous record number of submissions - 541 is a lot! But this means we need a lot more reviewers - so, please, I know everyone's busy (tell me about it), but if you can spare some time, please volunteer. forms.gle/832RH4rwh4Ug...

Vandaag werd het kwantitatief seminarie afgesloten met een posterbeurs, de ideale gelegenheid voor de studenten om hun design- en presenteerskills boven te halen. Ze werkten dit semester rond een vragenlijst rond gokken en gamen bij jongvolwassenen. Ik ben alvast zeer trots op het eindresultaat!

Samen met @bzar.bsky.social stoom ik de derde bachelorstudenten communicatiewetenschappen in het Medialab klaar om binnenkort aan de slag te gaan als ware communicatie-experten. Vandaag was het full house voor een workshop rond debattechnieken, gegeven door @rafweverbergh.bsky.social!

New PhD books out! Maarten Denoo maps the dynamics around the design, consumption and production of gambling in games. Eva Grosemans reveals the impact of simulated gambling elements in and around games on teenagers' gambling intentions, attitudes and behaviours. soc.kuleuven.be/mintlab/blog...