Flinders University: Plus side of app use before bed

Flinders University: Plus side of app use before bed. “Overuse of mobile devices gets a bad rap but an upside may be their ability to create a distraction and positively affect teenagers’ ability to get to sleep, new Flinders University research shows. Feedback from more than 600 teenagers from age 12 to 18 at South Australian schools between June and September 2019 has led the international research group to point to a more nuanced view on using the wide range of mobile content – led by Youtube, music apps, Instagram and Snapchat – before young people’s bedtime.”

TikTok Introduces STEM Feed: Safe, Educational Content For Teens (Search Engine Journal)

Search Engine Journal: TikTok Introduces STEM Feed: Safe, Educational Content For Teens. “To make TikTok more valuable to its users and celebrate Pi Day (3.14), it announced the release of a new feed dedicated to STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics topics. This will appear alongside the Following and For You feeds available when you log into your TikTok account.”

Teen Vogue: Influencer Parents and The Kids Who Had Their Childhood Made Into Content

Teen Vogue: Influencer Parents and The Kids Who Had Their Childhood Made Into Content. “Search Claire’s name online and this is some of what you will find: photos of her as a child, merchandise with her face on it available for sale, and a YouTube channel with millions of subscribers and hundreds of videos featuring Claire and members of her family. In the videos, Claire grows from a toddler to a teenager. On Instagram, fans comment they miss videos from the old days. In public, people sometimes recognize her and ask for photos. Altogether, the family’s YouTube channel has over a billion views but if it were up to Claire, none of the videos would exist.”

More than just risk: LGBTQIA+ young people use social media to sustain and make sense of family relationships (The Conversation)

The Conversation: More than just risk: LGBTQIA+ young people use social media to sustain and make sense of family relationships. “Social media offers new opportunities to be visible, and many people have shared their celebrations of Pride during this time. However, not everyone. Our new research shows that LGBTQIA+ young people are deciding what to post on social media sites with their families in mind, to foster and maintain ties with them.”

New York University: Virtual Reality Boxing Game Effective in Reducing Stress, Improving Cognitive Function in Adolescents, New Study Finds

New York University: Virtual Reality Boxing Game Effective in Reducing Stress, Improving Cognitive Function in Adolescents, New Study Finds. “In a head-to-head between virtual reality boxing and a YouTube-guided boxing exercise, VR boxing takes the win in reducing stress and improving cognitive function among adolescents, shows a new study of high school students.”

Associated Press: Betting on social media as a news destination for the young

Associated Press: Betting on social media as a news destination for the young. “If young people are spending so much time on social media, it stands to reason that’s a good place to reach them with news. Operators of the News Movement are betting their business on that hunch. The company, which has been operating for more than a year, hopes to succeed despite journalism being littered with years of unsuccessful attempts to entice people in their 20s to become news consumers.”

PsyPost: Habitual checking of social media linked to altered brain development in young adolescents

PsyPost: Habitual checking of social media linked to altered brain development in young adolescents. “New neuroimaging research provides evidence that the frequency of checking social media during adolescent might influence how the brains of teenagers develop. The findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, indicate the the use of social media is related to developmental changes in neural sensitivity to anticipation of social rewards and punishments.”

American Psychological Association: Reducing social media use significantly improves body image in teens, young adults

American Psychological Association: Reducing social media use significantly improves body image in teens, young adults. “Teens and young adults who reduced their social media use by 50% for just a few weeks saw significant improvement in how they felt about both their weight and their overall appearance compared with peers who maintained consistent levels of social media use, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.”

Washington Post: TikTok loves Gen Z’s true confessions. Colleges and employers, not so much.

Washington Post: TikTok loves Gen Z’s true confessions. Colleges and employers, not so much.. “While corporate social media campaigns ‘raised awareness’ around subjects like mental health and body positivity, young people shared their experiences in droves. But as they hit college or the working world, they’re met with a harsh reality: The standard of professionalism among older generations hasn’t changed, and it doesn’t make room for the type of authenticity social media companies tend to encourage.”

Tubefilter: An annual study of kids’ habits found that they average 107 minutes per day on TikTok

Tubefilter: An annual study of kids’ habits found that they average 107 minutes per day on TikTok. “If the U.S. government follows through on its proposal to ban TikTok, it will have a lot of angry teens on its hands. A recent survey published by parental control service Qustodio suggests that young consumers are spending more time on TikTok than ever before. According to the report, the average TikTok user between the ages of 4 and 18 spent 107 minutes per day on the app in 2022.”

PsyPost: Exposure to social media can increase adolescent materialism but can be tempered with high self-esteem and mindfulness

PsyPost: Exposure to social media can increase adolescent materialism but can be tempered with high self-esteem and mindfulness. “New research published in The Journal of Psychology finds that increased utilization of internet-based social networks results in increased upward social comparison, subsequently increasing materialism. However, these effects decreased depending on how mindful the subject tended to be and how high their self-esteem.”

Getting to the core of it: Why corecore is more than just another TikTok trend (Michigan Daily)

Michigan Daily: Getting to the core of it: Why corecore is more than just another TikTok trend. “Although the trend lacks a standardized framework, corecore focuses on the creator using multiple types of media, including music, movies, podcast clips and images, combined into a short video. At its core, these videos attempt to convey a given emotion through a conglomeration of different media. Usually, the focus of a corecore video is some sort of nihilistic perspective on society.”

Tech Xplore: Teenagers want interactive technology in museums, research finds

Tech Xplore: Teenagers want interactive technology in museums, research finds. “New research from the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI) in Portugal has revealed that teenagers are not big fans of museums but are keen on interactive technology during their visits. Working with the Natural History Museum of Funchal, the research team conducted participatory design sessions with 155 teens aged 15 to 19, to better understand what would make for a great museum experience for them.”