Conspiracy theory beliefs and (more generally) misinformation may be groundless, but they can have a range of harmful real-world consequences, including spreading lies, undermining trust in media and ...

Building on a post that looked at times in which media influenced real-world behaviors, we will reflect below on why this can happen through a constellation of theories. 1. Social Learning Theory.

In 2025, the journal of Health Communication published a study that was described as a theory-driven content analysis of YouTube videos that focused on promoting mental health among college students.

The facts are well-known at this point (Haidt, 2024): Beginning around 2010, large numbers of American teens bought smartphones and opened social media accounts. Since 2010, rates of anxiety, ...

People’s daily interactions with online algorithms affect how they learn from others, with negative consequences including social misperceptions, conflict, and the spread of misinformation, my ...

For the past few years, a conspiracy theory called “Dead Internet theory” has picked up speed as large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT increasingly generate text and even social media interactions ...

Educators have a pretty bleak outlook on how social media is affecting their students’ social-emotional skills and overall well-being. And that bleak outlook carries over to their adult colleagues as ...

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Conspiracy theory beliefs and (more generally) misinformation may be ...

People’s daily interactions with online algorithms affect how they learn from others, with negative consequences including social misperceptions, conflict and the spread of misinformation, my ...

Preteens using increasing amounts of social media perform poorer in reading, vocabulary and memory tests in early adolescence compared with those who use no or little social media. That's according to ...

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. People’s daily interactions with online algorithms affect how they learn ...