Social media

Study links anxiety, social media use in young adults

A new study has demonstrated an association between anxiety and social media use for young adults.   The researchers, from the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, surveyed 563 young adults, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two years. Each participant answered questions about his or her anxiety symptoms (if any) and …

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Take a break from social media, study urges

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen say we’d all be better off if we quit Facebook.   The study, published on the Happiness Research Institute’s website, followed over a thousand people. These individuals were surveyed about their social media use and well-being– a social science term for life satisfaction and mood. *Almost all (94%) of …

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Unplugging may improve social skills, study suggests

A recent study suggests taking some tech-free time may improve tweens’ ability to recognize emotional cues from others.   The study, published in the academic journal “Computers in Human Behavior,” tested two classes of sixth graders (aged 11, 12, and 13 years old) on their ability to recognize nonverbal emotional cues. This was done by asking …

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Smartphones “exacerbate the difficulties of growing up,” Melinda Gates writes in Washington Post editorial

Melinda Gates helped invent Microsoft Publisher and Expedia. You’d think she would be well prepared to help her kids navigate technology.   Bill and Melinda Gates are undoubtedly wonderful parents. But, according the Washington Post editorial Melinda penned titled, “I spent my career in technology, I wasn’t prepared for its effect on my kids,” she …

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Your phone distracts you more than you know

Think you can fire on all cylinders with your smartphone out? Think again. A new study suggests simply your smartphone’s presence drains your brain power.   Researchers recruited 520 undergraduate students and randomly assigned them to one of three groups. One group was asked to leave all their belongings outside the lab. The students in …

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How to keep your kids sane on Instagram

The “Facebook Effect” has been well-documented over the last decade– the more time one spends on Facebook, the more likely one is to feel depressed. However, Instagram makes Facebook look well-rounded. Glossy, bright, carefree– no one mopes, rants, or stands on soapboxes on Instagram.   The Instagram Effect, then, is the Facebook Effect taken to …

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Police, Safety Experts Warn Against New SnapMaps

A new SnapChat feature could allow predators to see where your teen lives, where he goes to school, or her favorite hang outs. SnapMaps uses the GPS signal on smart phones to pinpoint users’ locations and identifies their location on a map. This map is visible to all the user’s friends and followers. Furthermore, users’ locations …

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