Two of our member institutions have released recently released studies done on social media and its impacts on society.
York University has released a report on the huge impact social media has on young women’s body image: York U study.
York Psychology prof says online exposure to idealized images creates ‘infinite’ opportunities for comparison
TORONTO, May 01, 2024 – There’s a large and growing body of evidence pointing to potentially negative impacts of social media on mental health, from its addictive nature to disruptions in sleep patterns to effects on body image. Now, a new study coming out of York University’s Faculty of Health found young women who took a social media break for as little as one week had a significant boost in self-esteem and body image – particularly those most vulnerable to thin-ideal internalization.
… Read the full York News press release here.
Brock University has released a study on the rise of cyberbullying and teen violence.
Cyberbullying on the rise, teen violence decreasing, says Brock co-authored report
WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 | by Cathy Majtenyi
While violence among children and youth has decreased around the world since 2018, cyberbullying is on the rise, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report co-written by a Brock researcher.
“We can celebrate the trend that many of the traditional forms of adolescent violence are going down, but our report issues a word of caution about the uptick in cyberbullying,” says Professor of Health Sciences William Pickett, one of the lead authors of “A focus on adolescent peer violence and bullying in Europe, central Asia and Canada.”
These forms of violence include indicators like bullying, aggression, physical altercations, psychological abuse and cyberbullying.
…read the full BrockNews press release here.