Social media influencers (SMIs) pose psychological, health and security risks and need tighter regulation, a new study finds. 

SMIs have revolutionised marketing, shaping consumer behaviour, brand strategies, and even societal norms. However, new research exposes a lesser-known side of influencer culture, one that raises ethical, psychological, and regulatory concerns.  

A recent study by the University of Portsmouth systematically examines the negative impacts of SMIs, highlighting issues such as misinformation, endorsement of dangerous products, unrealistic beauty standards, the fostering of a comparison culture, deceptive consumption, and privacy risks.

About The Study: This cohort study found no increase in sudden cardiac arrest/sudden cardiac death in young competitive athletes in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that reports asserting otherwise were overestimating the cardiovascular risk of COVID-19 infection, vaccination, and myocarditis. Many athlete cases shown in social media video montages occurred before the pandemic yet claimed COVID-19 infection or vaccination raised the risk of sudden cardiac arrest/sudden cardiac death.

Researchers at the University of Kansas conducted a study in which they gauged respondents' attitudes about COVID-19 vaccines. They then showed them media content designed to lead to feelings of anger or embarrassment. They found people preferred discussing vaccines with an AI chatbot when they felt embarrassed, but preferred talking to a human when they were angry. The study, which used eye-tracking technology, helps illustrate that health communicators and marketers should take care to use tech like AI in a way that people like to most effectively reach people, researchers argue.

NCSA renews FoDOMMaT opportunity for undergraduate students to learn about and apply artificial intelligence.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's psychology researcher Prof. Florina Uzefovsky has developed a new concept she terms empathic disequilibrium, which she finds better explains social characteristics in a range of clinical conditions such as autism, schizophrenia and more.