3/14
Social Media
Viewership soars for misleading tobacco videos on YouTube
Viewership soars for misleading tobacco videos on YouTube
Misleading portrayals of the safety of tobacco use are widespread on YouTube, where viewership of popular pro-tobacco videos has soared over the past half-dozen years, according to research by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
Do smartphones and social media lead to adolescent suicide?
Do smartphones and social media lead to adolescent suicide?
The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Daniel Romer argues that the tendency to correlate uptick in suicides and social media is not backed by data. Instead, he argues the economic recession may be to blame.
Tweets from Twitter users could predict loneliness
Tweets from Twitter users could predict loneliness
By identifying similar themes across tweets, researchers are uncovering markers that could be used to predict loneliness, something that could lead to depression, heart disease, and dementia.
The culture of coworking spaces
The culture of coworking spaces
As Penn sociologist David Grazian discovered through hundreds of hours of fieldwork, despite today’s digital work-anywhere economy, having a physical place to conduct business still matters.
#OldBoysClub: Twitter and gender disparities in health services research
#OldBoysClub: Twitter and gender disparities in health services research
A JAMA Internal Medicine study of Twitter users find that female health services and policy researchers had considerably less reach and influence on the social media platform than their male counterparts.
Brevity is the soul of Twitter
Brevity is the soul of Twitter
A new study from the Annenberg School for Communication finds that the 280-character limit makes Twitter more civil.
Deepfake detector wins PennApps XX
Deepfake detector wins PennApps XX
An app designed to detect deepfakes took home the grand prize at PennApps XX, beating nearly 250 tech projects developed over the course of a weekend.
When you watch online porn, who is watching you?
When you watch online porn, who is watching you?
A forthcoming study from the Annenberg School for Communication analyzed over 22,000 pornography websites and found that 93% of them were sending user data to at least one third party.
Cross-cultural similarities and differences in emoji usage
Cross-cultural similarities and differences in emoji usage
While the idea of emojis unifying people across language barriers is enticing, people of different cultures might not use emojis in the same way.
Reaching millennial women ‘where they’re at’—on Instagram
Reaching millennial women ‘where they’re at’—on Instagram
Researchers in the Women’s Health Clinical Research Center at Penn Medicine began experimenting with using Instagram for clinical birth control trial recruitment in 2017, and have since seen a surge in research participants.
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →