Social Media News and Research

Latest Social Media News and Research

Study: Many patients struggle to understand online test results

You get a message that a test result is available in your online patient portal. Do you look at it right away, or do you wait to hear from your health care provider?

18 Aug 2026

AI can recreate food convincingly, but there is one thing it still struggles to trigger

AI-generated food images matched real food images in perceived healthiness and estimated calorie content but were rated as less realistic and elicited lower willingness to eat. A subset of hyperrealistic AI images received stronger appetitive ratings, suggesting that perceived realism may shape how synthetic food imagery is evaluated.

17 Aug 2026

Beauty tutorials in social media increase use of hormone-disrupting products by teens

Personal care products are among the largest everyday sources of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and high schoolers who follow social media influencers or watch beauty tutorials seem to use considerably more of them, according to Rutgers researchers.

17 Aug 2026

Many ignore England's heat alerts despite rising temperatures

As temperatures continue to soar and amber heat-health alerts are issued across England, warnings are reaching the public but still failing to change behavior.

14 Aug 2026

New ASTRO guidelines optimize radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer

An updated clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides evidence-based recommendations on the use of radiation therapy to treat adult patients with pancreatic cancer.

13 Aug 2026

Mitochondrial protein deficiency drives increased fat intake and obesity

Obesity is a global health concern that can contribute to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other metabolic disorders.

13 Aug 2026

Social media isn’t simply good or bad for young people, and this review shows why

Social media can support connection, self-expression, help-seeking, and community among adolescents and young adults, but problematic use is associated with depression, anxiety, loneliness, poor sleep, and body image concerns. The review finds that mental health effects depend less on screen time alone than on how social media is used, what content people encounter, and their individual, developmental, and cultural context.

12 Aug 2026

Pregnant women use Reddit to seek Tdap vaccine reassurance

An analysis of Reddit posts about the maternal Tdap vaccine made by pregnant women reveals expectant mothers turning to Reddit to seek advice and reassurance-with fewer outright instances of vaccine hesitation/refusal than has generally been observed for other types of vaccines, according to a study published on August 12, 2026 in the open access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Soojung Jo from Purdue University, United States, and colleagues.

12 Aug 2026

Aging clock analysis identifies key genes in opioid dependence

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging on July 27, 2026, titled "Transcriptomic aging clock analysis identifies key genes in opioid dependence."

12 Aug 2026

Online AI breastfeeding advice causes dangerous delays in infant care

For sleep-deprived nursing moms, artificial intelligence may feel like a lifeline.

12 Aug 2026

The screen-time story gets more complicated as children grow up

Higher screen use was not consistently associated with poorer psychosocial development across childhood and adolescence in a large Scottish cohort. Very high gaming at age 15 was linked to greater difficulties, while some social media use was associated with lower difficulties scores, although causality cannot be established.

12 Aug 2026

IOC urges routine mental health screening for elite athletes

Sports bodies should prioritize routine screening and regular monitoring of elite athletes' mental health to tackle the high prevalence of mental health issues among this group, concludes an International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

11 Aug 2026

ANESTHESIOLOGY 2026 to highlight latest advances in anesthesia care

Ketamine given during C-sections could help ease early symptoms of postpartum depression. Common pain relievers, such as ibuprofen, may reduce the risk of delirium after surgery.

11 Aug 2026

Microcurrent stimulation shows immediate reduction in surgical scar depth

A newly accepted pilot study in the Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies reports that direct-current (DC) microcurrent stimulation was associated with a statistically significant reduction in measured postsurgical scar depth immediately following a single treatment.

11 Aug 2026

Waist size predicts heart disease risk better than body mass index

The size of a person's midsection is a better indicator of cardiovascular disease risk when compared to their body mass index (BMI) alone, according to a study published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology.

11 Aug 2026

New dashboard tracks flesh-eating screwworm threat across the United States

In the 1950s, the New World screwworm cost U.S. livestock producers tens of millions of dollars a year, as much as $50 to $100 million annually in the hardest-hit Southwest, before it was eradicated from the United States and pushed south to Panama.

11 Aug 2026

Researchers introduce framework for understanding how emotional content influences people online

Every day, billions of people scroll through social media posts, online reviews and news feeds filled with emotional content - from glowing five-star reviews to rage-inducing social media rants.

11 Aug 2026

Study links delayed Ewing sarcoma growth to reduced Trk and IGF1R pathway markers

A new research paper was published in Volume 17 of Oncotarget on August 7, 2026, titled "Delayed growth of SK-ES-1 Ewing sarcoma tumor xenografts is associated with reduced Trk and IGF1R pathway markers."

10 Aug 2026

Scientists create single-cell atlas of spinal neurons involved in motor coordination

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital created a single-cell atlas of a key class of spinal neurons involved in motor coordination. From that resource, they identified a small subgroup of interneurons associated with the speed of rhythmic movements such as walking.

10 Aug 2026

Scientific statement reframes cardiovascular care for older patients with cognitive impairment and frailty

Older adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) often have coexisting cognitive impairment and frailty, conditions that can significantly affect treatment decisions, recovery, independence and quality of life and should be considered as part of an aging-informed approach to care, according to a new American College of Cardiology Scientific Statement published in JACC, the flagship journal of the ACC.

10 Aug 2026