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Social Media
Anita Allen on Facebook, facial recognition, and privacy
Anita Allen on Facebook, facial recognition, and privacy
The expert on privacy and data protection law explains why Facebook’s decision to shut down its facial-recognition system is good for privacy rights.
Social media bots may appear human, but their similar personalities give them away
Social media bots may appear human, but their similar personalities give them away
A new engineering study examines how social media bots disguise themselves to interact with genuine accounts on social media platforms, while suggesting a new strategy for how to detect them.
Into the metaverse: Can Facebook rebrand itself?
Into the metaverse: Can Facebook rebrand itself?
Wharton marketing professor Patti Williams isn’t sold on the stated reasons behind Facebook’s recent name change— to Meta—or the timing.
Ezekiel Dixon-Román on the Facebook whistleblower
Ezekiel Dixon-Román on the Facebook whistleblower
The data analytics expert answers questions about Frances Haugen’s testimony and tech regulation, and why apps are so addictive.
Misinformation on Twitter adversely affects adults’ health decisions
Misinformation on Twitter adversely affects adults’ health decisions
A new study from the Annenberg School for Communication is the first to explore the effect of misinformation on Twitter about e-cigarette harms.
TikTok talk
TikTok talk
Largely characterized as a Gen Z phenomenon, TikTok is a video-sharing app with more than 100 million active users in the U.S. alone—and it’s changing the way that we speak, says sociolinguist Nicole Holliday.
Study finds surprising source of social influence
Study finds surprising source of social influence
A new study co-authored by ASC’s Damon Centola finds that as prominent and revered as social influencers seem to be, they are unlikely to change a person’s behavior by example, and might actually be detrimental to the cause.
The Panoptic Sort: Surveillance Q&A with Oscar Gandy
The Panoptic Sort: Surveillance Q&A with Oscar Gandy
With the second edition of his classic 1993 book “The Panoptic Sort” recently published, Gandy discusses the past, present, and future of surveillance.
Community concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine tracked by Twitter
Community concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine tracked by Twitter
A study of vaccine-related Twitter posts reveals significant differences in concerns people have when broken down by age, race, population density, and religious beliefs.
Partisan politics and the opioid epidemic: A social media analysis
Partisan politics and the opioid epidemic: A social media analysis
Researchers at Penn Medicine explored how partisanship might affect legislative progress on the opioid epidemic by analyzing the content of state legislators’ opioid-related social media posts over time.
In the News
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Many Gen Zers deal with higher rates of mental health challenges and firearm suicides, according to a new report
PIK Professor Desmond Patton says that more young people are speaking openly about mental health, especially on social media. College of Arts and Sciences first-year Anvesha Guru says that cultural attitudes about guns and mental health need more than a simple shift.
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The New York Times
An epidemic of vicious school brawls, fueled by student cellphones
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton says that many schools don’t have a playbook for addressing student violence or helping pupils engage more positively online, in part because few researchers are studying the issue.
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Stat
Social media misinformation is scaring women about birth control
In an opinion essay, postdoc Emily Pfender of the Leonard Davis Institute and Perelman School of Medicine cautions that social media can set back women’s health by perpetuating fear and misinformation instead of empowering informed choices.
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ABC News
Can Harris ride memes all the way to the White House?
Pinar Yildirim of the Wharton School says that people who vote for the Democratic Party tend to skew younger, which makes them harder to reach through traditional media.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
After the Great Valley social media scandal, we must balance free speech with ‘digital citizenship’
Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education writes that school districts must listen to what students have to say in order to craft good policies around online student speech.
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Newsweek
There is one major element missing from the debate on kids and social media
In an opinion essay, PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton says that gun violence needs to be part of the conversation about how smartphones and social media impact young people.
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