social media
Social media dramatically impacts our offline lives and mental well-being; examine its benefits, risks and controversies through scientific studies, real-life anecdotes and more.
The Rise of AI Influencers and Virtual Humans: Fame Without a Face
Scroll through Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube long enough and you may encounter a strange realization: some of the most polished, fashionable, and engaging “people” online aren’t people at all. They don’t age, get tired, make public mistakes, or disappear due to scandal. They are AI influencers—virtual humans designed to look relatable, aspirational, and endlessly consistent.
By Mind Meets Machine10 days ago in Psyche
Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: Creating a Daily Routine That Works
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to forget that self-care isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. Whether you’re juggling work, school, family, or social commitments, taking time for yourself can feel selfish or indulgent. But research in psychology and wellness consistently shows that prioritizing your own health benefits both you and those around you. Creating a daily routine that incorporates self-care can boost mood, increase productivity, and protect against burnout.
By Games Mode On15 days ago in Psyche
The Age of Solitude: Why More People Are Choosing to Be Alone—and What It Means for Society
Introduction: The Quiet Revolution of Being Alone Being alone has never been easy. Throughout history, solitude has been conceived as loneliness—something to be pitied or feared, a condition of the rejected or unwanted. It was the opposite of belonging, an shadow cast by human failure to connect.
By The Chaos Cabinet16 days ago in Psyche
Etsy and the £50 Scented Candle
Whilst browsing the realms of Etsy in order to find some bespoke candles, I was shocked to discover one of the candles on the site was listed for £50 (around $67 at the time of writing). I wondered why and so I clicked ahead. It was a candle, shaped like a Greek Statue, smelling of vanilla (apparently, though I know you can't smell things through a screen and an open candle smells lacklustre for those of us who know our candles) and perched on a piece of plastic. Yes, it looked quite pretty but apart from pouring candle wax into a mould and waiting for the whole thing to dry before cracking the mould off, I'm not sure what the candlemaker did to make it worth £50.
By Annie Kapur24 days ago in Psyche
Grok and the Quiet Anxiety Around Machines That Understand Us
For years, people imagined artificial intelligence as something distant and mechanical. It lived in movies, research labs, and tech conferences far removed from everyday life. Then tools like Grok appeared, and that distance began to shrink. Suddenly, a system could read questions, respond with humor or seriousness, and follow complex conversations in a way that felt unsettlingly human. Grok is not just another name in the growing list of AI systems. It represents a moment where curiosity meets unease. People are fascinated by what it can do, yet unsure about what it means. To understand Grok, we need to look beyond features and focus on the feelings, questions, and quiet worries it brings with it.
By Muqadas khan24 days ago in Psyche
The Algorithmic Fragmentation of Cognition
Whitman Drake The contemporary media ecosystem is increasingly structured around algorithmic environments engineered to maximize user retention through high-velocity, behavior-responsive reinforcement schedules. Short-form video platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels exemplify this shift, replacing narrative continuity with rapidly sequenced fragments of audiovisual stimuli. This paper examines the neurological, psychological, and cultural implications of this transition for individuals under the age of thirty, a cohort whose cognitive development has unfolded within the architecture of digitally mediated attention. Drawing on research in neurobiology, behavioral economics, and media theory, the argument developed here is that the dominance of short-form, algorithmically curated content has contributed to a weakening of sustained attentional capacity, particularly as it relates to engagement with long-form narrative formats such as literature and cinema. What emerges is not merely a change in entertainment preference, but a structural reorganization of cognitive style (Hayles, 2007).
By Whitman Drake26 days ago in Psyche
