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A University of Queensland study highlights a direct link between young people's exposure to alcohol-related social media content and problem drinking. The study led by PhD candidate Brandon (Hsu-Chen) Cheng from UQ's Australian National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research examined results from 30 international studies of more than 19,000 people aged 24 and younger.

A new study involving UCL that aims to inform mathematical models of sexually transmitted infections shows how the number of sexual partners we have changes as we age, with some surprising findings. A team from the UCL Institute of Health Informatics, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and King's College London surveyed more than 5,000 people aged 18 years and older during the 2022 mpox (previously known as "monkeypox") outbreak.

"Downvotes” and "dislikes” from peers could moderate extreme rhetoric and mitigate echo chambers among social media users, according to new research from the University of Michigan. The study finds such "feedback can serve as the whip that regulates the polarization of opinions by encouraging users to moderate their tone.

An experiment in Egypt suggests ways to spread information for women facing domestic violence. The Covid-19 pandemic created a global increase in domestic violence against women. Now, an MIT-led experiment designed with that fact in mind shows that some forms of social media can increase awareness among women about where to find resources and support for addressing domestic violence.

Researchers with the newly formed International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) have found scientific consensus that content labels and corrective information can help people identify and evaluate social media misinformation-but little consensus about strategies to mitigate its negative effects.

Social media play an important role in users' perception of the ideal body - often leading them in an unhealthy direction. Researchers at the University of Würzburg have investigated how this can be counteracted . How can social media contribute to a more diverse concept of body shapes and physical attractiveness? The answer is: body-positive content.

Increasingly divisive messages about science have led some people to see scientists as a group that is "for” or "against” their political or religious social groups, according to new research. This skepticism is happening despite scientists having diverse backgrounds, expertise and identities, said study co-author Ariel Hasell , assistant professor of communication and media at the University of Michigan.

Study: Searching for or reviewing evidence improves crowdworkers' misinformation judgments and reduces partisan bias People make better and less biased judgments about misinformation after searching the internet for corroborating evidence, according to a new University of Michigan study. If members of a large panel of people, described as lay raters or crowdworkers, each make independent judgments after conducting online searches, the research indicates they would make better judgments than a small panel of journalists.

Researchers used Linkedin data to track where professionals want to move within the EU For professionals looking for a new job, Eastern European countries have not been very attractive so far. That's the finding of a study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany, together with a Dutch colleague.

The addition of 'trust' and 'distrust' buttons on social media, alongside standard 'like' buttons, could help to reduce the spread of misinformation, finds a new experimental study led by UCL researchers. Incentivising accuracy cut in half the reach of false posts, according to the findings published in eLife.

Study abstract: Preexisting stereotypes and selection of counter-stereotypical genius representations in entertainment media Entertainment media has increasingly featured diverse representations that have the potential to combat harmful social stereotypes, but a new University of Michigan study raises questions about how effective they can be in the current media landscape.

A new study led by researchers from the University of Sydney has found young women's engagement with social media plays a major role in shaping how they think - and act - in relation to their health. The research, published in the peer reviewed journal Health Marketing Quarterly , studied 30 women aged between 18 and 35 during the 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns to understand the factors influencing them to adopt diet and exercise messages on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Study to investigate swearing and bilingualism in South Africa A study by the University of Vienna, in collaboration with researchers from South Africa and the United Kingdom, is investigating the different emotional responses bilingual people have towards swear words in their different languages. The study will focus on English-Afrikaans bilingualism, examining the perceptions of swear words and swearing behaviors of English-Afrikaans bilinguals in South Africa.

Smoke signals: Reddit users concerned by health risks of vaping Researchers use artificial intelligence to analyze thousands of posts on the popular online forum, gaining valuable insights into how people think about vaping A new artificial intelligence analysis of thousands of posts from the popular online discussion forum Reddit reveals that vapers are concerned about e-cigarettes' possible impact on everything from their respiratory, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular systems to their mental and sexual health and sleep patterns.

With temperatures rising worldwide, more and more people globally consider air-conditioning an essential element of living. However, air-conditioning units are also rather power-hungry and are likely to increase energy consumption in areas where they are used often. To limit the impact of air-conditioners on our energy grids and our climate, we need data to better understand where they're sold globally.

A new study by Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science estimates that 5.3 million people in Ukraine were internally displaced in less than three weeks following Russia's invasion on 24 February 2022. Whilst data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees showed that 5.8 million people in Ukraine crossed the border to neighbouring countries in early May 2022, little was known about the movements of the 38 million people who remained.

Researchers argue that the findings hold lessons for social media companies and the -perverse incentives- driving political polarisation online. Shifting the motivations to post on social media could help rebuild some of the shared reality lost to political polarisation Sander van der Linden Offering a tiny cash reward for accuracy, or even briefly appealing to personal integrity, can increase people's ability to tell the difference between misinformation and the truth, according to a new study.

A study by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and IMDEA Networks analyses fake interaction services on social media. In addition to cataloguing the fraudulent ecosystem of "likes", views, followers or online visits, the study points out the economic models that sustain it and the high level of personalisation that these services offer.

Using green light and a double-layered cell, PhD researcher Riccardo Ollearo has come up with a photodiode that has sensitivity that many can only dream of. Solar panels with multiple stacked cells are currently breaking records. Remarkably, a team of researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and TNO at Holst Centre have now managed to make photodiodes - based on a similar technology - with a photoelectron yield of more than 200 percent.

Study reveals how people resolve dilemmas in online content moderation Online content moderation is a moral minefield, especially when freedom of expression clashes with preventing harm caused by misinformation. A study by a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, University of Exeter, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and University of Bristol examined how the public would deal with such moral dilemmas.