HadNews.com

You may have seen headlines that link social media to sadness and depression. Social media use goes up, happiness goes down. But recent studies suggest those findings might not be so straightforward. Although it is true that people’s feelings of envy and depression are linked to high social media use, there is evidence to suggest social media use may not be causing that relationship. Instead, your mindset may be the biggest thing affecting how social media connects to your wellbeing. People who feel they are able to use social media, rather than social media “using them”, tend to gain more benefits from their online interactions. Wh...... Read Full article on HadNews

Caryn Marjorie is a social media influencer whose content has more than a billion views per month on Snapchat. She posts regularly, featuring everyday moments, travel memories, and selfies. Many of her followers are men, attracted by her girl-next-door aesthetic. In 2023, Marjorie released a “digital version” of herself. Fans could chat with CarynAI for US$1 per minute – and in the first week alone they spent US$70,000 doing just that. Less than eight months later, Marjorie shut the project down. Marjorie had anticipated that CarynAI would interact with her fans in much the same way she would herself, but things did not go to plan. Users b...... Read Full article on HadNews

Imagine a future where your phone pings with a message that your dead father’s “digital immortal” bot is ready. This promise of chatting with a virtual version of your loved one – perhaps through a virtual reality (VR) headset – is like stepping into a sci-fi movie, both thrilling and a bit eerie. As you interact with this digital dad, you find yourself on an emotional rollercoaster. You uncover secrets and stories you never knew, changing how you remember the real person. This is not a distant, hypothetical scenario. The digital afterlife industry is rapidly evolving. Several companies promise to create virtual reconstructions of deceased ...... Read Full article on HadNews

There is currently a bipartisan push from state and federal governments to introduce laws in Australia banning young people under 16 from accessing social media platforms. Politicians are citing fears that minors are exposed to harmful or inappropriate content online. The proposed reform has been accompanied by federal government plans to pilot “age assurance” technologies. Proposed tools for age verification range from uploading ID documents to the use of biometric face-scanning technologies. Most of these methods are fraught with problems, including privacy risks. Research from overseas has already raised concerns about the potenti...... Read Full article on HadNews

Most Americans are wary of social media companies and their role in politics and the future of the country, according to a new survey of U.S. adults. The Pew Research Center has published findings from a study looking at social media’s impact on politics and the country, political censorship and bias, and the government regulation of technology companies. Since 2020, more Americans now believe social media companies wield too much political power, with Democrats heavily falling into the ‘too much’ category. “Roughly eight-in-ten Americans (78%) say these companies have too much power and influence in politics today,” according to the su...... Read Full article on HadNews

The same day that President Joe Biden signed a new federal law designed to ban the popular social media platform TikTok from use in the United States, TikToK CEO Shou Zi Chew took to the platform with words of defiance. “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere,” he declared. “The facts and the Constitution are on our side.” It was a clear signal that TikTok and its allies would not be going down without a legal fight. The dimensions of that fight are now coming into focus. On May 7, TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, filed suit against the Biden administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argui...... Read Full article on HadNews

UK technology firms have been told to ‘tame toxic algorithms’ and implement practical steps for children’s safety online. This all comes under Ofcom’s new measures titled ‘Children’s Safety Codes of Practice,’ which must be followed by social media sites, apps, and search engines. Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for broadcasting, telecommunications, and postal industries within the United Kingdom. One of the first elements listed is age checks, with “much greater use of highly-effective age-assurance” needed. Anything that promotes suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, or pornography is classed as ...... Read Full article on HadNews

They say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but that hasn’t stopped a research team in the Netherlands training AI to recognize it. Matt Coler, a researcher at the University of Groningen’s speech technology lab, told The Guardian: “We are able to recognize sarcasm in a reliable way, and we’re eager to grow that. We want to see how far we can push it.” He continued: “When you start studying sarcasm, you become hyper-aware of the extent to which we use it as part of our normal mode of communication. But we have to speak to our devices in a very literal way, as if we’re talking to a robot, because we are. It doesn’t have to be this ...... Read Full article on HadNews

You’re hard at work, lying in a hammock, composing the perfect selfie on the beach. The turquoise sea sets off the idyllic sunset, and just visible though the fronds of a palm tree is the logo of the hotel which is paying you to promote it to your millions of followers on Instagram. Click. The perfect shot. And another typically perfect day in the life of an influencer. Or is it? Certainly a career as an influencer can seem appealing. The work generally involves promoting products or services through sponsored social media posts or “branded content”, and communicating with people who are interested in what you do. The industry is ...... Read Full article on HadNews

If you’ve spent time on Facebook over the past six months, you may have noticed photorealistic images that are too good to be true: children holding paintings that look like the work of professional artists, or majestic log cabin interiors that are the stuff of Airbnb dreams. Others, such as renderings of Jesus made out of crustaceans, are just bizarre. Like the AI image of the pope in a puffer jacket that went viral in May 2023, these AI-generated images are increasingly prevalent – and popular – on social media platforms. Even as many of them border on the surreal, they’re often used to bait engagement from ordinary users. Our team of re...... Read Full article on HadNews

The US House has voted 360-58 in support of a bill that would ban the video-sharing app TikTok if Chinese owners ByteDance fail to sell within 270 days. The bill, part of a larger foreign aid bill that includes aid for Ukraine, also includes the option to extend the timeframe by 90 days if a deal is in progress. US officials allege that ByteDance is subservient to the Chinese Communist Party and as a result, the app poses a threat to US security. The next step for the controversial bill is to be approved by the Senate, which will return from recess on April 29. From there, President Joe Biden has expressed his support for the bill. Tik...... Read Full article on HadNews

The world of television can be a wild and unpredictable place, with certain episodes pushing the boundaries of what is considered acceptable content. In this video, we will be diving into the Top 20 Most Controversial TV Episodes that have shocked and scandalized viewers. From taboo topics to jaw-dropping plot twists, these episodes have certainly made a lasting impact on the TV landscape. Join us as we explore the most scandalous television moments that have left audiences talking for years to come. Get ready to relive the shock and awe of these boundary-pushing episodes that pushed the limits of what is deemed appropriate for television. ...... Read Full article on HadNews

Threads is coming to the Fediverse — and it’s happening sooner than you think. On Thursday (Mar.21) Meta, the owners of Threads, announced a beta that allows users in certain countries to share their Threads posts on numerous other platforms. The ability to share Threads posts on other platforms is all down to them being on servers that are compliant with something called ActivityPub. ActivityPub is an open, decentralized protocol that enables social networks to become interoperable. So, for instance, users could share a Threads post on another ActivityPub-compliant server like Mastodon. Protocols like this are nicknamed the ‘Fediverse...... Read Full article on HadNews

TikTok has encountered a barrage of bans, and the U.S. is close to joining the list. Discussions of a ban started last year, gaining attention, especially after a high-profile congressional hearing featuring TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew. By 2024, the House of Representatives, with a significant majority, approved legislation requiring parent company ByteDance to sell its interest in the app or risk being banned in the United States. There has already been a swathe of countries that have imposed varying degrees of limitations on the app, primarily due to privacy and cybersecurity issues linked to its parent company ByteDance and its conne...... Read Full article on HadNews

Instagram is taking significant steps to stop the receiving and sending of nude images to teens by announcing plans to automatically detect and blur explicit photos through its DM (direct messaging) service. The function is expected to be tested in the coming weeks to be rolled out across the globe in the next few months, reports the Wall Street Journal. It’s the latest move from parent company Meta to fight harmful content on its platforms directed at minors. In January the social media giant behind Facebook and Instagram, implemented DM restrictions to curtail adults being able to message under 18s. The latest plan aims to discourage ...... Read Full article on HadNews

With the ban looming, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is trying to diversify by promoting its other social media platform named Lemon8. According to the New York Post, the company is paying influencers to suggest the other app via TikTok. Often described as being similar to Pinterest, Lemon8 allows users to share photos and look for inspiration from others. It’s said to be very similar to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu. A content creator spoke exclusively to The Post saying she was offered $200 for a brand deal where she was asked to upload ‘a video that promotes Lemon8 on TikTok.’ While she didn’t take ByteDance up on the ...... Read Full article on HadNews

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill into law to effectively ban young children from social media. The restrictive measure for minors has been introduced as a response to the growing concerns over the negative influence of various apps on young people in the United States. Under the new legislation to be introduced on 1 January 2025, Florida will prohibit children aged 13 and under from having access to social media, whilst 14 and 15-year-olds will require parental consent to be online. Speaking on Monday (25 March), Governor DeSantis explained his administration is merely “trying to help parents navigate this very diffic...... Read Full article on HadNews

Meta has decided to experiment with a bonus payment initiative for creators who provide engaging content on Threads, its rival app to Elon Musk’s X. An invite-only program will contact eligible users with a pop-up notification with Instagram’s help centre detailing further information on how this venture will work. Creators may be able to earn a cash reward  “based on the performance of your Threads posts and based on the number of posts you create. For example, you may need to create a certain amount of posts to earn a bonus amount per post.” The site also outlined how Threads posts with “less than 2,500 eligible views” will not quali...... Read Full article on HadNews

If you’ve been following recent trends in Portugal, you may have noticed a common theme: digital nomads being blamed for the increase in the cost of living across the country, particularly in Lisbon and Porto. The impact of the digital nomads is seen as twofold: not only have they been welcomed in through various tax incentives including the Non-Habitual Residence (NHR) program, allowing them to pay lower tax rates than the locals, but they have also helped to drive up the rent prices in Lisbon by more than 37% in 2022 alone, according to the Portugal News. Add in the fact that high-wealth individuals, some of...... Read Full article on HadNews

A new method to earn a free premium subscription to Telegram has been discovered, but it comes with the risk of providing your phone number to issue one-time passwords (OTP) to other users of the messaging service. If you are surprised at what you have just read then you’re not alone. Within the terms of service of the new peer-to-peer login (P2PL) functionality, if you opt in you must agree to let Telegram utilize your phone number to send up to 150 texts with OTPs to fellow users to log into their accounts. As long as your number is used to send a minimum number of OTPs each month, you will earn  gift code for a one-month premium s...... Read Full article on HadNews