Combatting visual misinformation: an everyday user's guide for times of conflict
In times of war and conflict, the digital landscape becomes flooded with images and stories. However, many of these images are fraudulent or modified, making it difficult to tell fact from fiction. As regular people, we must assume ethical responsibility for the content we consume and distribute as Read More...
Unlocking happiness: The 30-minute secret to better mental health
It's no surprise that in a world dominated by screens, many of us are concerned about how much time we spend connected to our smartphones. While the advantages of limiting screen time are widely recognized, the issue remains: how much is enough? A new study shed light on this quandary, and the Read More...
Teens should be spending the "Goldilocks amount" of time online
It’s nothing new that mental illnesses - like anxiety and depression - are a growing issue among teenagers in recent years. While toxic happiness, high achievement pressure, and societal changes have all played their role, social media is a key contributing factor to this crisis. To shed light Read More...
Why teen anxiety is on the rise and how to help
It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, so here at The Optimist Daily, we want to shine a light on this important subject. We're committed to helping break the stigma around mental illness, educating more people, and showing solidarity with those who are impacted by them. Over the past two years, Read More...
How to be an ally part I: performative allyship
In recent years, and especially in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020, social advocacy and activism around the world have evolved and continue to evolve at an admirable pace. The emergence of activism in the era of social media, which, whether we like Read More...
Pinterest tightens policy on fake news with climate misinformation ban
The popular image-focused social networking platform Pinterest is promising to do its part in the fight against fake news by blocking all content that denies, twists, or in any way spreads misinformation about the climate crisis. As reported by The Guardian, Pinterest’s new policy defines Read More...
Some tips to spot false posts about the Russia-Ukraine conflict
It’s hard to discern what to believe and what to question, what with fake news and improved deep fake videos. Misinformation has been commonly used as a propagandistic tactic to distract, confuse, and redirect public opinion by many countries throughout history. In World War Two, the Germans Read More...
Research finds that empathy is key to ending online hate speech
Many social media platforms have launched more elaborate filters in an attempt to root out hate speech and inappropriate content, but unfortunately, many of these are imprecise and, as any social media user knows, harmful and hateful content still runs rampant on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Read More...
Instagram to launch parental control and time limit features
Following concerning findings about the effect of social media use on teens’ mental health, Instagram has announced plans to implement several new safety and mental health features in early 2022. These include parental controls and a new “Take a Break” feature. New parental control Read More...
Teen saved thanks to domestic violence hand signal circulated on TikTok
Last year, the Canadian Women’s Foundation introduced a hand gesture that is meant to communicate a plea for help due to a violent home environment. This hand gesture was subsequently circulated on the social media platform TikTok and adopted by women around the world who must discreetly inform Read More...