Articles tagged with Social Media
A new study found that 41% of teenagers can't tell the difference between true and fake online health messages. The researchers suggest focusing on health literacy and media literacy training, as well as skills like analytical thinking and scientific reasoning to help teenagers spot editing cues.
A new study by University of Pennsylvania researchers found that people share information that is meaningful to themselves or their friends and family. The study analyzed the behavior of over 3,000 individuals and discovered that sharing activates reward centers in the brain and is driven by social relevance.
A multinational study found that caregivers who consume digital media for relaxation are more likely to engage in negative parenting practices. The researchers also discovered that maintaining social connections through digital channels is related to lower levels of anxiety and depression.
A study by University of Cambridge researchers found that short animations can help people recognize and resist misinformation. The experiment, conducted on YouTube with over 30,000 participants, suggests a potential solution for fighting disinformation.
A new study led by York University finds that lower-to-middle-income countries struggle with high unemployment rates after COVID-19 lockdowns and economic restrictions. In contrast, higher-income countries such as Canada have better managed their unemployment rates.
A new study found that social media boycotts of Goya Foods actually caused the company's nationwide sales to rise for a few weeks before subsiding to previous levels. Sales revived after a few weeks, even in geographic areas where customers forgo Goya products, driven by politically motivated first-time buyers supporting the brand.
Researchers explored the global spread of misinformation on spiders, finding that sensationalism and misinformation decrease when experts are consulted. Local events can quickly become international news, emphasizing the need for improved information quality at local nodes to reverberate globally.
A West Virginia University researcher highlights the risks of sharing children's information on social media, including consent and privacy issues, as well as increased vulnerability to online predators. The study suggests that parents should be aware of these risks and take steps to protect their children's digital footprint.
A study analyzing over 2 billion Reddit comments found that 16.11% of users publish toxic posts and 13.28% of users publish toxic comments, with a positive correlation between community growth and increased toxicity
Researchers found that NYC park users prioritized outdoor activities like walking, jogging, and biking during the pandemic. Social media data revealed concerns about social distancing, crowds, and mask-wearing, as well as specific incidents that reflected broader societal issues.
A study published in Patterns shows that five digital medicine companies share browsing data related to health topics with Facebook for lead generation and advertising purposes. The researchers found that two companies targeted ads consistent with their own privacy policies, while the other three did not comply with their policies.
A recent study found that social media platforms like Twitter do not accurately reflect the most pressing threats to wild elephant populations, such as habitat loss and human-elephant conflict. Local communities that live with elephants often face resentment due to their safety and livelihoods being at risk.
A study published in Ocean & Coastal Management reveals that southern right whales are slower than expected at re-establishing a habitat in mainland waters. Social media posts and citizen scientist reports played a crucial role in assessing the species' population demographics, aiding conservation efforts.
Researchers at Rutgers University have disentangled the two ways of thinking about self-control, highlighting the importance of diachronic regulation and the limited effectiveness of synchronic regulation. This distinction has implications for understanding willpower's role in helping people break habits.
A study from the Alpha Generation Lab found that hyperactive children are more likely to use digital devices, while fidgety children may be more prone to social problems. The researchers suggest a two-way street where digital devices and behavior problems influence each other.
A study found that higher empathy in adolescents is linked to lower odds of cyberbullying others based on their race, religion, or other identity factors. Cognitive empathy was the key factor in reducing bias-based cyberbullying.
A team of researchers from the University of Tokyo developed a system called DualCheck, which replaces traditional human verification tasks with educational content on online safety and ethics. Trials showed that users responded positively to the experience and felt they gained something from these microlearning sessions.
A study analyzed 10 years of cable TV news and found that networks like Fox and MSNBC have shifted further to the right and left, respectively. The ideological gap between channels became extreme after the 2016 Presidential election, particularly in primetime programming.
A recent study by the University of Texas at Austin found that C-level executives who regularly promote their knowledge and expertise on Twitter are 32% more likely to land high-paying job offers. This type of personal branding has tangible effects in the form of better job opportunities and higher overall earnings.
A new study by University of California - San Francisco-led researchers found that tweens who spend more time on screens have a higher likelihood of developing disruptive behavior disorders. Social media was most likely to be linked to conduct disorder, while other forms of screen use were associated with oppositional defiant disorder....
A study analyzing Twitter data from May 2020 to January 2021 found that the share of tweets about healthy foods increased by 20%, while fast-food and alcohol tweets decreased by 9% and 11%, respectively. The study suggests that people may have made healthier dietary changes during the pandemic, depending on their neighborhood environment.
Groups of healthcare workers, including nurses and physicians, use Twitter to share accurate health information and combat misinformation about COVID-19. They have faced public harassment but continue to amplify accurate information, creating infographics in multiple languages to reach diverse audiences.
Researchers assessed 539 videos from 16 leading food and beverage brands on TikTok, finding that unhealthy food marketing is prevalent among children. The study highlights the need for policies to protect kids from the harmful impact of food marketing on social media platforms.
A new study from North Carolina State University found that positive YouTube videos of sharks can increase human tolerance and support for shark conservation. The study showed a significant increase in attitudes, acceptance, and intentions to help sharks after watching positive videos compared to negative ones.
Researchers found no statistically significant evidence that beliefs in conspiracy theories have increased over time, despite popular claims. The study suggests that some conspiracy theories are gaining popularity while others recede into history.
A UCLA study found that conversations between liberals and conservatives over Zoom can be meaningful and congenial, with participants reporting less conflict and stress. The presence of an ideological ingroup's audience can make conversations more conflicted, but even then, participants still find them more enjoyable.
A new study published in PLOS One suggests that the number of people believing in conspiracy theories has not increased over time. The research, conducted by University of Miami academics and supported by a U-LINK grant, analyzed data from polls dating back to the 1960s and found no significant increase in belief in these theories. Des...
A Boston University School of Medicine study found that plus-sized models are increasingly present on social media, with 144 plus-sized models having 51 million followers. The study suggests that this shift may lead to increased demand for procedures such as breast and buttock augmentation among plastic surgeons.
The American Journal of Roentgenology has dramatically increased its impact factor from 3.959 to 6.582 in 2021, according to Journal Citation Reports. The journal's new ranking places it in the 83rd percentile in the Radiology category, reflecting the high quality of work by authors and reviewers.
Thousands of people with long covid are traveling abroad for expensive, unproven treatments like apheresis and anti-clotting therapy. Experts question the safety and effectiveness of these treatments, citing inadequate consent forms and lack of evidence.
A large-scale study analyzing 29 studies and 139,624 participants found that people who viewed tobacco content on social media are more likely to report using tobacco. The study also identified susceptible individuals who may be influenced by pro-tobacco content.
A study by University of Sydney neuroscientists found that people's brains can detect AI-generated fake faces with a 54% accuracy rate. However, verbal identification was only successful 37% of the time, highlighting the potential for using brain activity to flag deepfakes on digital platforms.
A new study teaches teenagers to reframe their stress responses from negative to positive driving forces. The intervention improves stress-linked health outcomes, including biological responses, psychological well-being, anxiety symptoms, and academic performance in high-stress environments.
Theatre productions have been shown to promote positive body image in young children by improving body appreciation scores and increasing unique qualities perception. The study evaluated the impact of a body-positive production on 99 children aged 5-9, finding significant improvements in both boys' and girls' body image attitudes.
Researchers analyzed 4,000 Facebook posts to understand how clickbait influences user engagement. They found that both headlines and text can 'bait' users into interacting with a post, with some techniques more successful than others.
Researchers found that partisans tend to justify their own party's falsehoods and view those of opposing parties as unacceptable. The study suggests that this partisan charitability can be driven by a desire for trustworthiness within one's own group, but not necessarily outside it.
Researchers analyzed 47,112 Reddit comments to identify elements of tone and style linked to hyperpartisan echo chambers. Language features such as strong emotion, familiarity pronouns, and face-to-face conversation markers are common in hyperpartisan comments.
During the pandemic, people used social media to bond with friends and family, learn new skills, and stay active. Social media use increased across all demographics, with significant increases among females and 18-24 year-olds, highlighting its potential as a source of social support.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a new method to detect deepfakes, using self-blended images that improve detection accuracy by 5-12%. The team created novel synthesized images with controlled artifacts to train algorithms and found significant improvements in detecting deepfake images and videos.
A retrospective study found over 40,000 Twitter users used pandemic misinformation hashtags in 220,000 tweets. By January 2021, a fifth of these accounts were suspended by Twitter.
A UCI-led study found that repeated exposure to hurricanes is associated with symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and fear. Repeated threat exposure disrupts the natural healing process, potentially leading to a mental health crisis.
Researchers found that user-initiated corrections with reliable sources consistently helped users reject fake news. Individuals with higher health anxiety and conservative political stance were more susceptible to misinformation. The study encourages social media users to correct fake news they see online if they have a reliable source.
A new study from Carnegie Mellon University found that tweeting about an open-source project on GitHub increases its popularity by 7% and attracts more contributors. The researchers also identified characteristics of high-impact tweets and the type of people likely attracted to a project by Twitter posts.
A new study reveals that a high proportion of posts on #mediterraneandiet are confusing and inaccurate, with only 53% of posters listing health credentials. The study emphasizes the need for strategies to communicate about nutrition and counter misinformation online.
Researchers from the University of Bath and Lancaster found that popular scales measuring technology use are related and poorly defined, failing to confirm 'addictive' behaviors. This calls into question current measures of digital technology use and its links to mental health and wellbeing.
Researchers found that increasing the influencer marketing budget increases consumer engagement, but firms are allocating budgets sub-optimally. Selecting influencers who post original content and have more followers leads to greater effectiveness.
A study led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health analyzed health care workers' motivations for vaccination and how they share their experiences on social media. The findings suggest that emphasizing 'freedom from fear' and addressing misinformation can be effective in reducing vaccine hesitancy.
Researchers found a clear tendency for people to assign idealized attributes to their online avatars, particularly regarding psychological traits. This phenomenon suggests that internet users often present an idealized version of themselves, with significant differences between actual and ideal self-representations.
A new study from Trinity College Dublin suggests that teenagers who spend a 'goldilocks amount' of time online may have better mental wellbeing. The research found that low engagement with digital media is also associated with poor mental health outcomes for adolescents, while high engagement predicts worse mental health outcomes.
Researchers found that anticipating future stress related to elections can affect people's emotional well-being before anything has happened. Education was shown to help protect individuals against these stresses, even for those actively engaged in the political process.
A University of Utah-led study found a surge in anti-Asian hate language on Twitter between January and March 2020, with clusters of hateful tweets spreading across the US. The researchers identified 15 geographic regions where anti-Asian hate was statistically higher than expected.
A recent study found that social media is a powerful tool for cities to communicate and collect information during emergencies. The research analyzed data from 23 Florida counties and their use of social media during Hurricane Irma, finding that many counties struggled with managing multiple social media accounts and correcting bad inf...
A research team has developed a self-learning user stance embedding computational model to understand and predict online user stances and polarising views. The model aims to infer psychological foundations about individuals' values, personalities, attitudes, and moral judgments about contentious topics.
A recent study on Reddit climate debates found little evidence of echo chambers, instead revealing a mix of polarized discussions and deliberate debate. The researchers analyzed over 18,000 posts and 267,000 comments from 93,850 users to examine topics, information sources, and community dynamics.
A study by University of Alberta researchers found that language related to depression on social media did not increase in response to COVID-19 waves, but rather decreased as people adapted. Instead, they found spikes in language related to the Black Lives Matter movement and other global events.
A new study found that COVID-19 restrictions in Italy led to a significant increase in relative mobility over seven months, with people spending more time outside and moving around. The researchers analyzed Facebook and Google data from 20 Italian provinces between November 2020 and May 2021.
A study found that people experience a dissociative state when scrolling through social media, leading researchers to design an app that promotes user control and attention. The app, Chirp, incorporates features such as lists and pop-up surveys to help users stay focused.
Analysis of 136,000 films and TV shows reveals increased mentions of STEM, arts, sports, and entertainment occupations, while manual labor and military professions have decreased. The study provides insights into media depictions of professions over time.
A UK survey found that much of the public value of academic research is overlooked in official 'impact' assessments. Researchers use social media to engage with their audience, often through ongoing feedback loops and collaborations, but these are not accounted for in the current system.
Alternative credit scoring systems present challenges not covered by existing regulations, leaving many Americans unable to access the credit system. These systems can be opaque and ripe for abusive lending practices, making it difficult for consumers to contest erroneous information.