Online Culture Commodifies Girlhood, Harms Young Women
Freya India's magnificent book Girls came out this week in the USA. Beautiful writing, and deep insights into the ways that life online has commodified girlhood and harmed girls: https://t.co/gCLAlap4jN
Mandatory DEI Statements Declining in Faculty Hiring
If you follow trends in higher ed, @HdxAcademy has been putting out such great reports, just the facts, no editorializing, so that we all have a common base for discussions. Here's the latest, on the decline of mandatory DEI statements...
Social Media Harms Marginalized Youth, Contrary to Company Claims
Social media companies try to fend off age limits by claiming they are a "lifeline" for kids from marginalized groups. But as trans activist Lennon Torres shows, from her own experience and from Meta's own research, the opposite is closer...
Trump Funding Cuts Halt Crucial Scientific Research, Now Highlighted
My former UVA colleague Tim Wilson is creating short videos of scientists describing the research that stopped when the Trump admin slashed funding for science: https://t.co/WdzjCofxvB For example, research finding more effective ways to train navy pilots and air traffic controllers: https://t.co/7XDXn593Kl
Greece Raises Social Media Age Limit to 15
Greece will raise the age for opening social media accounts to 15! Bravo Prime Minister Mitsotakis, for speaking so powerfully about this at the UN in October, and for your leadership today. @kmitsotakis https://t.co/zdvJDR48PD
Seven Academic Findings Show Social Media Harms Youth
Interested in the upcoming social media trials? Get your guide to the 7 lines of academic evidence that social media platforms are causing a variety of harms to many young people. This is a condensed version of my essay...
Court Rulings Make Tech Reform a 2028 Campaign Weapon
Here's a really powerful summary of what the 2 social media court cases mean. @jonfavs explains why anyone running for office would do well to embrace and champion reforms.
Chatbots Could Pull Extremists Toward Center, Yet Fake Videos Polarize
.@jburnmurdoch has produced another great essay, showing that ONE effect of AI--talking with chatbots--may nudge extremists toward center. But will that counteract the polarizing effects of millions of outraging fake videos? I'd bet affect beats reason: https://t.co/OZ8dMyWbEF
Seven Scientific Proofs Social Media Harms Users
If you come across someone asserting there is "no scientific evidence" that social media is causing harm, please send them this link. We lay out seven lines of evidence, including RCTs, natural experiments, and testimony from victims &...
Indonesia Adopts Feature‑based Age Limits for Apps
As countries follow Australia's lead, they are innovating. Indonesia's law doesn't define SM APPS; it applies age restrictions based on the risky FEATURES of any app, including chatbots. At After Babel, From Anindito Aditomo & other advisors on the law https://t.co/lSroGS5Q2Q
Rising Teen Social Media Use Harms Cognitive Performance
Powerful new longitudinal study finds that adolescents who increase their social media over a 2 year period show lower cognitive performance, compared to those who did not increase. Fom @jasonmnagata's team, using ABCD data, and controlling for all the right stuff.
Jury to Decide: Meta Confirms Social Media Addiction
The jury in Los Angeles will soon return its verdict on whether social media is addictive. Meta's own researchers said it is. See this quote, and many others, in my new review paper laying out 7 lines of evidence: https://t.co/n6RfRkXbeW https://t.co/F2KubzNIIT
Exploring How Social Media Impacts Regional Happiness
Join us today at 3pm EDT for a zoom discussion of links between social media and happiness. We'll discuss today's World Happiness Report and what we can learn from it about regional variation in well-being and social media use. Via...