Social Sciences
- Home
- Social Sciences
- People in a hurry are less likely to help a stranger in need. But does being in a hurry also reduce niceness? It turns out that this is not always the case, and the key to avoid it is mindfulness.
- A new study from Warwick, Bielefeld University and University of Greifswald has analyzed data from 1,103 participants in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the UK Household Longitudinal Study Understanding Society (UKHLS) to find that life satisfaction is, on average, highest in the year after couples start living together. After that, it remains well above the level reported during single life for several years.
- There has long been an urban–rural digital divide, and the COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on this divide as internet access became crucial. Schools shifted instruction online; workers were asked to work remotely and meet via video conferencing; online grocery shopping and restaurant delivery became a way to keep oneself home and away from crowds.
- In 2022, after Elon Musk bought what's now X, the company laid off 80% of its content moderation team and made Community Notes the platform's main form of fact-checking.
- Social media use has long been part of the everyday lives of most children and adolescents. Many of them exhibit risky, and in some cases even addictive, behavior. While social media use can certainly have positive effects for young people, intensive use can negatively impact mental, emotional, and social well-being, leading to symptoms such as depression and anxiety, impaired attention, and sleep problems.
- Women, non-native English speakers and those from lower-income countries published fewer English-language peer-reviewed papers than men, native English speakers and those from higher-income countries, according to a study published September 18 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Tatsuya Amano from the University of Queensland, Australia, and colleagues.
- Although each generation seems to adopt a particular palette, it would be simplistic to view this as a biological or universal phenomenon. While color is the visual effect produced by the spectral composition of light that is emitted, transmitted or reflected by objects, how we interpret it is above all a social and cultural construct, shaped by customs, ideologies and media influences.
- In 2025, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence access for the public at large also means growing concern about the mental health impact of screen time on children and their AI engagement.
- After the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump claimed that radical leftist groups foment political violence in the U.S., and "they should be put in jail."
- Regardless of political affiliation, Americans took greater precautions during the height of the pandemic to avoid getting sick when COVID hospitalizations and deaths spiked, a comprehensive national survey conducted by Northeastern University researchers has found.
- For years, employees who worked remotely were often regarded as less committed and less influential than their office-bound peers. But new research suggests that hierarchy is shifting—and that distributed workforces may feel more equal than before.
- Body-positive and humorous parody social media inspire women to challenge unrealistic body standardsExposure to body-positive imagery and humorous content parodying negative body stereotypes on social media inspires women to take action against unrealistic beauty standards, according to a new study from the University of Surrey.
- Individuals who like to think critically are better at identifying false information online, while those with conservative political affiliations struggle more with detecting fake medical information on social media, according to a PLOS One study.
- On August 31 at midnight, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Afghanistan's eastern Kunar Province near the Pakistan border.
- Research utilizing cellphone data from 100,000 people has identified where the social melting pots are in Italy's second-largest city.
- Although older generations are traditionally considered more conservative, scientists at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) have proved that this is not always the case. One surprising outcome of their study was that, over the last decade, the young generation of Lithuanians has grown to value safety, stability, and tradition more than risk-taking or openness to change.
- For many parents of babies and toddlers, there is one YouTube channel that is a household name. Ms Rachel and her Songs for Littles has attracted nearly 17 million subscribers, offering a colorful, playful space where music, movement and early learning meet.
- Billions of people regularly eat insects. In the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, chapulines—toasted grasshoppers—stand out as a beloved seasonal treat that follows the start of the rainy season, a period that runs from late May through September.
- A recent study by the University of Portsmouth has found that focusing on audio alone improves the performance of the interviewer during interviews, particularly in criminal investigations.
- A study led by McGill University researchers offers insights into intergenerational memory and the experiences of children born of conflict-related sexual violence and their mothers in post-genocide Rwanda.
Photographer:
