SOUTH LANARKSHIRE, Scotland — Facebook can be a breeding ground for misinformation. Now, the husband of one cancer patient is warning that the social media platform could be providing people with bogus treatments for the disease. Cancer patients are being bombarded with “miracle cures” on Facebook, ranging from salt water and sound videos to dangerous …
ATHENS, Ga. — While mouth-watering images of giant burgers or sugary cakes typically dominate social media, researchers from the University of Georgia report that healthier foods can become just as popular online. They just need a little more help than fatty foods. To start, all pictures of food aren’t created equal. Images of fully-loaded entrees or …
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — There was a time when it was more or less easy to spot fake profiles on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. Images were usually pirated from elsewhere and easily traced, and the posts were almost always poorly written in a robotic fashion. Fast forward to today, however, and the AI boom …
WASHINGTON — Being Facebook friends with wealthier or more successful people can make it less likely that you’ll suffer a fatal heart attack or stroke, a new study reveals. Researchers working with the American College of Cardiology say better economic connectedness on social media displays a link to lower rates of premature death from heart …
BATH, England — Millions use social media to fill in the extra minutes and interludes throughout their days, but noteworthy new research suggests we should all find more time to do nothing. Boredom is usually viewed as a bad thing, but researchers posit people who habitually use social media to escape from superficial boredom are unknowingly …
CHICAGO — Social media is a great way for businesses and brands to directly interact with the public, but that also means dealing with some not-so-happy customers from time to time. Business managers often struggle with how best to respond to angry customers and comments online, but new collaborative research is here to help. After investigating …
PROVO, Utah — Browsing social media, it’s easy to get the impression that most people are either staunchly conservative or liberal, with no middle ground in between. After all, most posts that “go viral,” or are propped up by platforms’ algorithms, espouse quite polarizing controversial opinions. New research from Brigham Young University, however, reports that the …
BOCHUM, Germany — You’ve heard it tons of times already: Put down the phone! Excessive screen time and scrolling is a modern epidemic. If you’re in need of some new motivation to take a break from technology, consider new research just released by The Ruhr University Bochum in Germany. Researchers report spending just 30 minutes less …
NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA, Germany — It’s hardly a secret that social media isn’t the best use of our time. Still, millions keep on scrolling, clicking, and commenting for hours on end. Now, researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen have documented some of the unique ways headlines on Facebook “bait” users into interacting with posts. The general topic …
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The next time you find yourself in a debate online, avoid using the term “white privilege.” Researchers at the University of Michigan say doing so will almost certainly lead to a more hostile conversation. Study authors report mentioning the term can create internet discussions that are less constructive, more polarized, and less …