Social Media Abstinence Lowers Anxiety, But Mindful Usage Helps Prevent Loneliness, Researchers Discover

According to a new study from the University of British Columbia, we can still protect our mental health without quitting social media completely. We can do this by prioritizing meaningful connections over mindless scrolling on social media. Doing a complete digital detox doesn't seem realistic and possible for many people because of modern work life, so this study proves that you can still keep your mental health healthy while using social media by stopping yourself from mindless scrolling.

Many young adults use social media, which gives them some advantages as well as disadvantages, as social media is helping people to stay connected to different communities. But prolonged use of social media can also lead to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, which can affect the daily lives of users. For the research, the researchers gathered 393 social media users between the ages of 17 and 29 who had experienced some form of negative effects of social media usage. These participants were then divided into three groups: a tutorial group which learned healthy social media habits, an abstinence group which stopped using social media completely, and a control group which continued their usual social media usage. The researchers tracked the social media activities of these groups for six weeks and assessed their mental health aspects.

The results of the study showed that the abstinence group saw a huge decline in their social media usage, while the tutorial group also became a little mindful and started using social media selectively. The results also showed that the abstinence and tutorial group spent less time scrolling on social media passively and stopped comparing themselves to others. The tutorial group saw significant changes while the abstinence group saw the biggest changes.

The researchers found that the results from each group proved to be effective in different mental health aspects. The tutorial group method is effective in reducing loneliness and FOMO, while the abstinence group method can help reduce anxiety and depression. On the other hand, the abstinence method wasn't effective for reducing loneliness, probably because it cut off social connection. This shows that completely cutting off social media may seem highly effective for various mental health issues, it can also lead to social isolation. The tutorial method helped participants use social media when it truly mattered, and they learned to notice when social media makes them feel good or bad, they started unfollowing or muting accounts that triggered negative feelings in them and they started engaging with their friends and family through comments and messages instead of mindless scrolling.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Did the Biden Administration Order Big Tech to Censor AI Platforms? Republican Congressman Issues New Letter to Find Out

16 of America’s leading tech companies were issued letters, including the likes of Google and OpenAI, to determine whether or not the Biden administration had ordered censorship on AI tools.

The letter was issued by Republican Congressman Jim Jordan who demanded reports of past communications that might give rise to this alarming finding of the former president regarding censorship of lawful speech inside AI platforms.

We’ve seen Trump’s top tech advisors hit on the subject in the past, including how they would be getting to the bottom of this. This matter is the next phase inside the culture war between Silicon Valley and conservatives. Many held the opinion that silencing voices on various social media apps was unlawful to begin with. Now, the Trump administration wants to know if AI giants and other intermediary firms were involved in it or not.

Letters were released to the heads of OpenAI, Apple, and Google, where a report was highlighted that spoke about the Biden administration’s efforts to suppress speech inside AI.

The latest case also saw other tech companies like Amazon, IBM, Meta, Scale AI, Microsoft, Cohere, and more get asked for more details on this matter. The deadline is March 2,7, where all companies are asked to provide replies on this front.

What everyone is curious about is how one leading tech giant is missing from the list, and it’s Musk’s xAI. This obviously has a lot to do with the fact that Musk’s entry into politics and closeness with the president makes him immune to such investigations.

Many companies were anticipating such an investigation to come sometime soon and that’s why many leading AI firms have altered the ways AI chatbot assistants handle all sorts of politically sensitive questions.

During the year’s start, OpenAI shared how it was altering how it trains AI models to represent different perspectives and make sure ChatGPT was not censoring certain people’s views.

OpenAI denied that this was an attempt to appease the Trump admin but instead a means to double down on the firm’s core values. Meanwhile, Anthropic shared how its latest AI model won’t reply to fewer queries any longer. No matter how controversial the question might be, it would try its best to provide a nuanced reply.

Other firms were slower in the race to make changes to their AI systems and how they tackle political prompts. Remember. Google shared how its Gemini won’t be giving out replies to any political themed queries. Interestingly, even after the elections were over, the assistant does not consistently reply to political questions such as who is the head of state of America.

Some tech giant executives like Meta’s CEO appear to have added more fuel to the fire of conservative accusations regarding censorship at Silicon Valley. Zuckerberg mentioned that his firm was pressurized to silence certain kinds of content related to COVID-19 misinformation.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Apple’s Legal Battle Hearing with UK Government Against Access to User Data Heard Behind Closed Doors

A hearing in the Apple legal battle with the British government regarding access to user data was recently held behind closed doors.

The news comes just one day after we saw privacy groups in the UK demand the proceedings be done more transparently as the public’s rights were at stake. Despite that, the press failed to get entry into the courtroom and was denied access.

The American tech giant rolled out an appeal against the decision made by the tribunal regarding the Home Office’s decision to demand encrypted data that’s found on Apple’s iCloud servers. Many media outlets, including the BBC, Computer Weekly, and the Guardian, made submissions for entry, but that did not go as planned and they were denied entry.

It was interesting to see Sir James Eadie, who usually represents the government in top cases, make an entry to the courtroom for this hearing.

The iPhone maker is fighting a tech capability notice rolled out under the nation’s Investigatory Powers Act. This forces organizations to help different law enforcement agencies in getting evidence.

This notice demands access to the company’s ADP service that focuses mostly on highly sensitive encrypted data belonging to users that is stored remotely across servers.

Apple shared how it was not in favor of the decision. Therefore, the order was challenged at the tribunal, which is designed to determine if the domestic challenge service act as per law or not. The news comes after the Cupertino firm chose to withdraw from the ADP in February this year.

Apple time and time again reiterates how it never designed a backdoor or any kind of master key for products and will never be following this kind of practice in the future as well.

The ADP makes use of E2E, which means only account holders get the chance for file decryption. Meanwhile, messaging services like iMessage and FaceTime continue to be E2E through default means.

The government’s hidden legal demands are commonly known as a tech capability notice or TCN. Therefore, recipients of this TCN can’t share the existence of this order until they’re provided with permission from the home secretary. The website also spoke about how hearings should be dealt with in private only when it’s deemed absolutely necessary to do so.

It also mentioned how there needs to be zero information disclosure that might be a threat to the country’s national security. Two days back, American lawmakers were seen calling on the tribunal to get rid of this cloak of secrecy related to the British government’s order and make Friday’s hearing public.

As per a recent report from Bloomberg, officials in the UK rolled out talks with American counterparts regarding this order. Therefore, the UK continues to assure America that it’s not getting any kind of blanket access. It only wishes for data related to serious criminal offenses or terrorist attacks, or matters linked to abuse.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google All Set to Replace Google Assistant with Gemini This Year

Tech giant Google has confirmed that it is closing its doors on Google Assistant as that will be replaced with Gemini later on in 2025.

Google shared how the change would apply to all smartphones, tablets, vehicles, and devices that link to your phone like smartwatches and headphones. The same would be the case for television-linked devices.

The news is not surprising at all for most of us because when the tech giant rolled out Bard, it shared how it would bring forward Bard features to its Assistant. Then last year, we saw the company get rid of a host of features found on Google Assistant.

The company shared the news through a blog post where it mentioned how it was busy upgrading more users on cellphones to make way for this change. Later that same year, it mentioned how Assistant won’t be accessible on most devices for new installs through the mobile app store.

The company shared how it’s busy upgrading tablets, vehicles, and devices that link to your smartphone. It’s also keen on introducing the latest Google-based experience to all home devices such as televisions and displays.

The company posted how the change wouldn’t be for older devices like Android 9 and earlier phones that don’t have the right RAM specifics. The requirements for this device on Android entail the Gemini app being up for grabs on nearly all Android devices having 2 GB RAM and running the Android 10 system and beyond. Other than that, it includes Android tablets like Pixel Tablet featuring 2GB RAM or beyond and again having Android 10 and above.

The news is great as Gemini is really equipped to do a lot of tasks on Google’s behalf. So we don’t think anyone would mind the change. This change also signals how Gemini might be the future for Google in not only Android but also for Search.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Global Smartphone Sales Flat in Q4 2024 as Android Faces Record Lows in India, US

According to a new report by Counterpoint Research, there were little to no changes in global smartphone sales in Q4 2024, which led to only small changes in global OS shares. Android had 74% market share, the same as last year, but still faced some challenges. Even though Android was stable, it hit its lowest quarterly share in India and the US. Google and Motorola sales growth helped in the double-digit YoY declines among smaller brands in the US. The iPhone also has strong market stability with its sales only declining by 1%.

There was a 4% market share reported of Harmony OS, with unchanged YoY. In China, Harmony’s OS share increased by 19% mostly because of sales of new launches. For the fourth consecutive quarter, Harmony OS stayed ahead of iOS. On the other hand, the smartphone subsidies in China boosted local OEMs, which will probably result in further growth.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Meta Adopts X’s Community Notes for Fact-Checking, Testing Begins with 200K Interested Users

Tech giant Meta has confirmed that it’s going to be using Elon Musk’s X technology for its much anticipated crowdsourced fact-checking feature called Community Notes.

The news is not too surprising considering X was the first to have Community Notes as a part of its program. Therefore, Meta shared a post on this matter in detail yesterday. They claim the latest tool for content moderation will feature the same kind of open-source algorithm that X is based on. With time, Meta hopes that the algorithm will be modified enough to serve the Facebook, Threads, and Instagram apps.

Today, X’s algorithm is open sourced, which means other tech giants can learn and use it as they desire. Therefore, Meta wants to build further on what X has created, learn from research experts in the domain, and also better the system for their own array of apps.

As their own variant develops with time, they hope to explore various algorithms that provide support to Community Notes with similar rankings and ratings. As shared by the head of Meta, the feature will be a better alternative to the previous fact checkers and human moderators on the app.

We can confirm that the feature goes into testing by Meta next week. The company has already explained how users can become a contributor for Community Notes, provided they meet its list of requirements. This includes being above the age of 18 and having verified phone numbers.

Contributors won’t get the chance to submit these Community Notes for ads, but they can do so on nearly every other kind of content. This might be a post by Meta, politicians, public figures, and so on. Any post receiving the Community Note cannot get an appeal, but at the same time, there’s no more penalty for that kind of content being flagged online.

• Also read: Meta Considers Age Verification For Apps Using Video ID

The social media giant says it’s well aware of how this feature will give rise to more content, but that will not affect the content on display and how frequently it gets shared online. A spokesperson from the company explained media outlets that this Community Notes won’t be a replacement for any kind of content moderation.

They have no plans in the pipeline to open source or give details about the system and its workings in public. However, that does not mean we won’t see it happening in the future soon.

Today, more than 200k individuals have expressed a desire to become a contributor for the moderation feature. But that does not mean the waiting list is closed for others. If you’d like to take part in it, you can.

Experts are already debating about Community Notes and how well they are at replacing fact checkers. The majority consensus is that while the tool does provide some context for content published online, it can never replace a formal fact checker.

The system is not perfect and it can exploit several groups or companies with an agenda of their own. However, Meta claims that publishing these kinds of notes needs agreement between various individuals and groups. It’s a policy created to protect against organized campaigns trying to influence the system with a personal agenda.

The model for Community Notes will expand across the US after Meta feels they’re comfortable with how things are going from the initial testing phase results. But we can only confirm that as time goes by.

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New Research Shows Frequent App Crashes Result in Lower User Engagement

Mobile crashes can have a strong impact on user engagement. Many developers are releasing rush apps which have missing features and crash consistently. Last year, a crash on the Sanos App made the company lose millions of dollars and the CEO lost his job as well. App companies are rushing to release their apps, but they are not fixing the issues, which is leading to constant crashes and the apps freeze frequently.

Researchers found that these crashes on the apps reduce user consumption and shorten their time span on the apps. When a page is crashed one time, page views increase because users feel the Zeigarnik Effect, which refers to interruptions in user goals, and people start feeling psychological tension and want to complete their goals.

But when an app is crashing frequently, users start feeling frustrated and completely stop using the app. One of the biggest examples of it is HBO Max’s transition to Max in 2023, when frequent crashes annoyed users, they simply stopped using the app. When new features get released on the app, they can also contribute to crashes, which can affect the app revenue. When there are low engagements on an app, its advertising revenue declines as it depends on page views. In-app purchases also get affected because of crashes and hence, the overall revenue of the app goes down dramatically.

The researchers say that it is best to stay cautious with pre-mature app releases because they can lead to clustered crashes. It is best to not mass release updates and first test them with users who are more prone to crashes. If they do well, then the update can be expanded to a broader customer base.

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