Social Networking

Back in 2010, one bold chimp at a sanctuary in Zambia started a curious trend: she stuck a blade of grass in her ear ... and left it there. No reason. Then more chimps started copying her, and blades of grass appeared in other parts of their body.

If you have a high level of interaction with patients, students, clients or the general public in your work, you might be at much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And, if you also have poor support at work, it could worsen your odds further.

Scientists have discovered that the giant panda, long considered a bit of a loner, has a surprisingly active social life, communicating with friends and family in a way that's akin to sharing status updates on Facebook.

A new study has found that government legislation like that recently introduced in the EU can be effective at moderating harmful social media content, even when it comes to fast-paced platforms such as X (formerly Twitter).

Using gene editing, researchers have engineered prairie voles with no oxytocin receptors. These monogamous mammals were thought to rely on oxytocin to form social bonds but new results suggest this "love hormone" may be less important than suspected.

A sophisticated new study has tracked the relationship between early teen social media use and changes in their brains over a three-year period, finding more frequent checking of social media was linked with a greater sensitivity to social rewards.

New research published in Nature Communications has found boy and girls can be vulnerable to the negative effects of social media use at different times during their adolescence, with massive variations between different individuals.

A study from the University of Oxford has analyzed 30 years of data tracking the relationship between young peoples’ technology engagement and mental health, from television watching to smartphone social media use, and found little to no association.

New research suggests smartphones, screen-time, and social media have not negatively affected kids’ social skills, and modern concerns over the impact of screen-time recalls past “moral panics” over the effect of new technology on children.

A new study into teen technology use and mental health problems found no link between smartphone use and mental health issues.

In a new commentary, two researchers are questioning the ethics and transparency of Facebook’s suicide prevention system. The algorithm reportedly flags users deemed to be at high-risk of self-harm activating a process where the company notifies local authorities to intervene.

An interesting new study from the University of Pennsylvania has demonstrated the first causal connection between social media use and feelings of depression and loneliness. The findings claim that decreasing one’s social media use can lead to significant improvements in personal well-being.