Social Media

In places like India, Vietnam and China, churning out weird AI videos is the latest side hustle for students and stay-at-home mothers.

A recent study of TikTok videos by a group of sleep researchers found that over 80% of sleep tips had scientific support.

Young people use social media to connect with culture and community, and to have a voice on political issues that concern them.

Before you take a break from social media, psychologists suggest assessing your existing online habits and what benefits you get from them.

There has been a lot of cultural discussion of the way digital technologies and social media contribute to things like political polarization and adolescent depression. But as I’ll explore with…

Recent research finds that influencers with fewer followers have higher engagement than those with higher counts.

The Albanese government has announced a plan to ban kids under 16 from social media. There’s no explanation why this age was chosen, and the decision flies in the face of expert advice.

YouTube is getting big on TV.

Roblox, Whatsapp and many other tech platforms will need to ‘self-assess’ and ask to be excused from Australia’s looming social media restrictions for under-16s.

Instead of recognising that social media harms mental health and democracy, the former deputy PM and Meta executive repeats company talking points

It feels harmless to share a photo of a rare species. But social media can drive great damage to nature, from poaching to baiting to trampling.

We probably think we use social media as an entertaining distraction. But the deeper drive underlying our urge to keep scrolling is the simple fear of missing out. We ever feel we’re one swipe away…

Online influencers are not governed by laws that regulate political content, and as such, can be leveraged to spread campaign content.

A ‘day in the life’ at the end of a life

Sometimes being the subject of a ‘parasocial’ relationship can be positive. But then come the messages about my body, health or life choices … and it all gets a bit weird

Parents can help mitigate some of the harm that social media may be doing on young people's mental health.

“Retention editing,” a video style featuring bangs and flashes, may have peaked.

Nostalgia abounds for the days when YouTubers filmed with grainy cameras and everything wasn’t so picture-perfect.

How an idealistic community for exchanging free stuff tried to break away from Facebook and ended up breaking apart.

A whole new social media experience that'll feel familiar.

Social media’s unregulated evolution over the past decade holds a lot of lessons that apply directly to AI companies and technologies.

In a recent New Yorker review of Matt Richtel’s new book, How We Grow Up, Molly Fischer effectively summarizes the current debate about the impact phones and social media are ... Read more

Finfluencers — social media stars who make finance fun — are on the rise. But be careful about which investing gurus you trust.

Social media platform under pressure to improve security as it announces plans to block under-13s from signing up

Learn more about external validation. Why we crave it. Why it can be a good. And how to heal from constantly needing external validation.

A social media researcher explains how to analyze your news feed in terms of content, circulation and consumption.

It's the new Got Milk? for the social media era.

Only you can see who viewed your profile, but if you turn on the feature, then you're also consenting to let other people see that you've viewed their profile.

Struggling to focus and hooked on social media? Blaming others for problems might be the surprising connection, according to new research on young adults.

The constant inflow of information from my smartphone, always readily available in my pocket to capture any free moment of attention, had fragmented my attention span.

A recent study published in Acta Psychologica examined the relationship between TikTok use and various aspects of well-being among young people.

Would requiring people inside the EU to use identification before they can post on social media be a good idea?

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So you want to be an artist. Do you have to start a TikTok?

As attention spans shrink, storytelling — and truth — may be the greatest casualties of digital culture.

A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general accuse the company of using addictive features to hook children.

Timeline of most popular social networks from 2003 to 2022. Measured by monthly active users worldwide. Data source: press releases, 10-k sec filings, indust...

Amid literary subcultures, competition has always been fierce and unrelenting and has become even more so in our age of elite overproduction. On social media, these embittered rivalries play out in…

Contenders include YouTube, Instagram, and another Chinese app.

Often, women’s sport isn’t seen on users’ digital media feeds. This is not a glitch, it is a structural flaw in how digital platforms serve content.

Social media is often blamed for young folks' mental health issues—but is it the whole story? Explore the hidden impact of our tech-accelerated lives.

Mark Zuckerberg played up TikTok rivalry at monopoly trial, but judge may not buy it.

Uncover how social media algorithms know you so well by tracking your online behaviour. Explore the mechanics of personalisation, its psychological impact, and ethical concerns surrounding data…

YouTube on Monday announced it will give creators more choice over how third parties can use their content to train their AI models. Starting today,

The next time you catch yourself doomscrolling, take it as an invitation to own your own horror.

Doom scrolling is a contributing factor to brain rot. It describes binging on news or social media content involving disturbing issues that can be hazardous to your health.

Last April, a prankster posted a video to YouTube showing himself asking a homeless man if he wants food. The prankster proceeded to eat a burger in front of the unhoused person, choosing to torment…

Finding it hard to concentrate? Are you glued to social media for longer than you’d like? Well, maybe it’s not you… maybe it’s the phones. Brittany is joined by Magdalene Taylor, writer, cultural critic and senior editor at Playboy, and Fio Geiran, producer at TED Radio Hour and a writer of their Body Electric newsletter, to discuss this phrase: “it’s the phones.” They get into the effects that smartphones have on our brains and our culture, why some people are returning to “dumbphones,” and why it might take more than willpower to manage our relationships with our phones.

There are various methods for estimating or verifying an online user’s age, none of them foolproof. Importantly, is this the social media future we want?

The collective freakout about kids and social media has reached a tipping point.

Regulators suspect some social media accounts have broken the law by giving unlicensed financial advice. Here’s how to avoid them.

Called rage-baiting, making people angry with social media posts can be a business.

YouTube says the rules will help protect younger users.

Sherlock Holmes says in the book, The Study of Scarlet: I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes…

The same day that President Joe Biden signed a new federal law designed to ban the popular social media platform TikTok from use in the United States, TikToK CEO Shou Zi Chew took to the platform with…

Recent research found that heavy social media use has little impact on mental health, with no strong links to depression, anxiety, or stress. Social media’s effects might even be slightly positive in…

Habit-forming features on social media apps are sparking class-action lawsuits. But does moral responsibility lie with product designers?

Social media clip features models in colourful clothing but no car in what Rawdon Glover describes as a ‘reimagining’

The International Olympic Committee has recognised that athletes use their social media accounts to build their personal brands.

With a name that invokes freedom and a clean start and a design that promises to put control back in our hands, the Bluesky platform is attracting users away from Twitter/X en masse.

Neither prospective school board social media lawsuit wins, nor proposed Ontario or federal privacy or AI legislation, would prevent problems related to rampant processing of human-derived data.

I’m going to tell you a few things you already know. Every time you open your phone or your computer, your brain is walking onto a battleground. The aggressors are the architects of your digital wo…

“Thank goodness that the mandate will never be to look what's getting the most Twitter likes.”

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A new study found that song lyrics are now angrier, more repetitive, and vain. Consensus wavers, but what remains incontestable is social media’s impact on the music we hear most.

Thinking about quitting social media? Find out how to decide whether you should deactivate your accounts and how to ditch social media the smart way.

Social media plays a major role in empowering youth as it did in the recent Gen Z protests in Nepal. But its role in protest movements can also be problematic.

Users must learn to understand and navigate digital environments critically.

A look at some of the key trends that will shape social media marketing in 2026.

At the first ever White House Creator Economy Conference, the most popular man to drop by was not a TikTok superstar or a YouTube sensation. It was

Shared by 101

Fediverse, which is a portmanteau of Federation and Universe, is the name for a new protocol for the social internet: a bunch of different social networks and platforms that are connected to each…

Lawyers for the popular video app warned of ‘staggering’ consequences for free speech if ban is allowed to happen.

Climate 200, Advance Australia and the ACTU were some of the biggest third party social media advertising spenders during the 2025 election campaign.

On TikTok Shop, influencers are profiting by promoting sketchy health trends in order to sell products.

Regulators have been investigating potential violations of children's privacy by the social media firm.

Where do you find community? Third places offer belonging, yet many young people today have turned to social media instead of each other and it's affecting their mental health.

Knowledge, for Foucault, is not just what we know. It is who we are. It defines our options, not just intellectually, but in all respects.

X is still the dominant social media platform, but its daily active user base has declined and competitor Threads is seeing higher rates of growth.

Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap? - Freakonomics

Facebook is the zombie internet, where a mix of bots, humans, and accounts that were once humans but aren’t anymore interact to form a disastrous website where there is little social connection at…

To get maximum benefits from using social media for teaching in South Africa schools, many things should be put in place.

I've been off Twitter for two years and I regret nothing. Here's how to build online community now that Twitter/X is a zombie.

The evidence is equivocal on whether screen time is to blame for rising levels of teen depression and anxiety — and rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes.

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In 2017, Jean Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University, penned an article for The Atlantic titled “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” Her answer to that scary question was an…

There have been plenty of shocking images, shareable graphics and heartbreaking stories of the conflict shared to social media. So why has this particular image gone viral?

‘Tis the season of giving—the time to focus on those we love and those less fortunate than us. A time to do things “not for ourselves, but for others,” as Sir Thomas Carlyle once wrote. Which brings…

Online video hosting service accuses the nation’s online safety boss Julie Inman Grant of ignoring parents and teachers

Is TikTok diagnosing our teens? Discover how social media fuels self-diagnoses, the dangers of misleading mental health advice, and how parents can help navigate the digital age.

Unmet psychological needs in romantic relationships are associated with phubbing and social media addiction, which are linked to lower relationship satisfaction

You are what you say you are—not just what you click

Or a glimpse into post-entertainment society (it's not pretty)

Sarah Jeong reflects on the coordinated right-wing campaign to cancel her.

Now, Instagram creators will also be given a warning for first violations.

Has TikTok got you worried you’re not eating enough protein to keep you healthy? Here’s how much you really need, and what that looks like throughout a day.

The Canadian government has ordered the closure of TikTok’s offices in Canada. The reasons are connected to national security concerns, but they appear tenuous.

A two-week social media detox significantly reduces smartphone addiction and improves sleep, stress levels, and life satisfaction among young adults, a recent study reveals.

Sports leagues and teams have realised they need to produce content when games aren’t being played to keep relevance and resonance with their markets.

Thanks to modern-day social media, it’s easier than ever to connect with the people you care about. But is this really the case? Professor Arthur Brooks discusses how social media is actually harming…