Social media use towards self-diagnosing and health anxiety

Self-diagnosing occurs when individuals who are not medical professionals intrinsically establish themselves as living with a particular medical diagnosis. Self-diagnosing is becoming all the more prominent due to increasing communication about health, symptoms, and diagnoses online, namely on

The Dark Side of Social Media - Unpacking Its Psychological Impact 

Social media has revolutionized the way we connect, communicate, and consume information. However, its darker aspects pose significant challenges to individuals and societies. This Special Issue (SI) seeks to explore the negative psychological consequences of social media, such as their impact on...
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The psychology of digital disconnection: Why we want to use digital media less and if we should even try to

Digital detox, digital minimalism, and smartphone free schools reveal a desire to reduce or change how we use technologies. However, disconnecting from digital communication like smartphones and social media is not always easy or beneficial. We discuss what digital disconnection is, why people

The unbearable heaviness of having an appearance: How society teaches us to judge our bodies

Why do so many of us, especially women, struggle to feel comfortable in our own bodies? This article explores how sociocultural pressures and social media shape body dissatisfaction and drive interest in cosmetic surgery. It also offers evidence-based strategies to build a healthier, more

Viral and harmful: Violence in media and its impact on empathy

From fight videos on TikTok to hate comments on Instagram, violence is omnipresent online, but what does it do to our empathy ? Studies reveal that repeated exposure to digital aggression can reduce our ability to feel concern or discomfort when witnessing others' pain, especially in teens. Yet

What does your selfie say about you?

Selfie is a new form of self-expression in this digital age. In this post, I will discuss our research on how selfies reveal the personality of their owners and how people judge others’ personality based on selfies (Qiu, Lu, Qu, & Zhu, 2015) . Personality expression in social media Psychological...
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What is manifesting all about? The universe as a difficult conversational partner

It sounds too good to be true: "You can achieve any goal with simple affirmations". This is exactly how people on social media try to make their wishes come true by "manifesting". Speak a wish into the Universe and it will come true, it will manifest, it will become reality—it sounds simple and