Science

: The increasing integration of digital technologies into daily life, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has raised concerns about internet and social media addictions and their potential impact on mental health. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of internet and social media addictions among adults in Cyprus in the post-pandemic period and explore their relationship with demographic characteristics, mental well-being (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress), and self-esteem. Participants included 502 adults from Cyprus recruited using the convenience and snowball sampling methods. The data were collected via an internet-based questionnaire that examined participants’ levels of internet addiction, social media addiction, mental well-being, and self-esteem. The results suggest that (a) while the prevalence of severe addiction was low for both internet and social media addictions, approximately one-third of participants exhibited mild to moderate levels of addiction; (b) younger adults, particularly those between 18 and 28 years of age, were more prone to problematic online behaviors; (c) internet and social media addictions were positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress and negatively associated with self-esteem; and (d) stress was found to be a significant predictor of both internet and social media addictions, while self-esteem acted as a protective factor against problematic use. These findings highlight the enduring mental health implications of increased digital engagement and emphasize the need for targeted interventions to promote healthy online behaviors, manage stress, and enhance self-esteem.

The majority of adolescents encounter unverifiable news as they navigate social media in their daily lives. A survey in Norway where this study is situated found that two out of three teenagers had come across content that they suspected to be fake, and that the teens considered themselves highly competent in distinguishing between credible and fake news. This study draws on teens’ narratives and perspectives as articulated through focus groups and interviews to explore their experiences as well as awareness of how to deal with fake news when they encounter on social media. The study reveals awareness of diffusion of fake news and knowledge of tactics that are important for evaluating online. Specifically, participants regard ignoring; multiple news verification tactics and using social media delete, block, flag and report functions as important for managing fake news. The paper argues that ignoring can be an effective tactic for reducing the diffusion of fake news on social media and should be adopted and incorporated in news media literacy programs. Otherwise, it can lead to disengagement from and passivity towards news.

The popularity of live streaming video has increased dramatically in recent years. In this special issue of Technology, Mind, and Behavior, we feature four articles on various facets of this phenomenon. This introduction briefly summarizes their contributions to our understanding of the psychology of live streaming as well as its effects on individuals, including the motivations of users, the relationships between streamers and their audiences, when and why some streamers are perceived as more authentic than others, and the consequences of streaming influencers’ endorsements of products.

The rise in online-to-offline (O2O) take-out food consumption has become a global urban phenomenon. While links between general fast-food consumption and increased risks of overweight and obesity are well-documented, the specific relationship with O2O take-out food has not been thoroughly examined. This study aims to fill this research gap by investigating the impacts of take-out food consumption on the risks of being overweight and obese among urban residents. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between April and July 2022. 716 adult respondents from the metropolitan areas of Shanghai and Suzhou were recruited. Being overweight and obese were measured using self-reported weight and height. Frequencies and preferences of O2O take-out food consumption behaviors were measured using the validated questions designed based on Food Frequency Questionnaires and Dietary Screeners, respectively. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire’s short form measured the physical activity level. Cronbach’s alpha and Expletory Factor Analysis were used to assess the reliability and validity of the O2O take-out food-related dietary questions. Binary logistic regression models are developed to examine associations between O2O take-out food consumption behaviors and being overweight or obese, adjusting for individual factors, physical activity level, and non-O2O take-out food consumption. The results indicated a direct correlation between frequent O2O take-out consumption and higher risks of overweight and obesity (odds ratio 1.087, 95%CI 1.068~1.106). The preference for ordering Western-style fast-food positively contributed to being overweight and obese (odds ratio 1.071, 95%CI 1.046~1.095). Conversely, a preference for Chinese-style fast food initially appeared to reduce these risks, although the association diminished when accounting for fruit and vegetable consumption. This study represents a pioneering exploration into the effects of O2O take-out food on overweight and obesity. The study results identified an association between the habitual use of O2O take-outs and an increased propensity for being overweight and obese.

: People often perceive their moral judgments as objective and unbiased, yet research indicates that positive interpersonal attitudes lead to more lenient moral character assessments. Here we investigate how likeability towards moral transgressors and the different moral rationalization strategies they may employ impact both the perceived severity of the immoral behavior and the attribution of humanity to the transgressor. In two studies, participants (N = 475) engaged in a 2 (likeability towards the transgressor: high vs. low) × 2 (moral rationalization: reconstruction of agency vs. reconstruction of morality) between-subjects experiment. Participants read information about an individual and an immoral action they engaged in and then evaluated the severity of the behavior and the degree of dehumanization of the transgressor. Results showed that feelings of likeability towards the transgressor, as well as rationalizing by reconstructing agency (compared to morality) reduced behavior severity and transgressor dehumanization. Moreover, likeability and the use of agency reconstruction by the transgressor showed an additive effect, as they combined to generate the most benevolent judgments. Recognizing the influence of these variables enhances our understanding of moral decision-making processes in interpersonal contexts.

: The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on 11 March 2023, and the subsequent depegging of the USDC stablecoin highlighted vulnerabilities in the interconnected financial ecosystem. While prior research has explored the systemic risks of stablecoins and their reliance on traditional banking, there has been limited focus on how banking sector shocks affect digital asset markets. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the impact of SVB’s collapse on the stability of major stablecoins—USDC, DAI, FRAX, and USDD—and their relationships with Bitcoin and Tether. Using daily data from October 2022 to November 2023, we found that the SVB incident triggered a series of depegging events, with varying effects across stablecoins. Our results indicate that USDC, often viewed as one of the safer stablecoins, was particularly vulnerable due to its reliance on SVB reserves. Other stablecoins experienced different impacts based on their collateral structures. These findings challenge the notion of stablecoins as inherently safe assets and underscore the need for improved risk management and regulatory oversight. Additionally, this study illustrates how machine learning models, including gradient boosting and random forests, can enhance our understanding of financial contagion and market stability.

: In the last decade, probiotic yeasts have gained more attention from the scientific community. However, over the decades, researchers have mostly viewed spoilage yeasts as unnecessary and unwanted contamination without considering any of their potentially positive properties. This often led to oversights and the loss of many potentially interesting yeast strains. In this study, we have screened multiple spoilage yeast strains from various spoiled food products and assessed their potential as probiotic candidates. Within this research, we identified two promising probiotic candidates, 113_Metsch_pulcherrima and 101_Pich_kudriavzevii.

When we learn and use language, we deal with two main types of concepts. Concrete concepts, which refer to things we directly experience (like a chair, running or the colour blue), and abstract concepts, which refer to ideas that we are unable to sense directly (like truth, democracy or love).

Most studies have looked at how people process these concepts in isolation, such as by reading single words on a screen. This revealed that the human brain processes each concept differently, with concrete concepts typically activating brain regions involved in sensory and motor experiences, and abstract concepts activating regions involved in emotion and complex thinking.

However, the experiments conducted in these studies do not represent real life situations, where humans often encounter and process both concepts simultaneously. For instance, at the same time as processing language, someone may also be seeing, hearing, and experiencing other things in their environment.

Kewenig et al. wanted to understand whether the brain processes abstract and concrete concepts differently depending on what a person may be visualizing at the same time. To achieve this, they used a technique known as functional MRI to record which regions of the brain are activated as participants watched different movies.

The team found that when abstract concepts (such as love) appeared with related visual information (such as people kissing), the brain processed them more like concrete concepts, engaging sensory and motor regions. Conversely, when concrete concepts (like a chair) appeared without related visual information, the brain processed them more like abstract concepts, engaging regions involved in complex thinking. This suggests that the way the human brain processes meaning is very dynamic and constantly adapting to available contextual information.

These findings could help improve artificial intelligence systems that process language and visual information together, making them better at understanding context-dependent meaning. They might also benefit people with language disorders by informing the development of more effective therapies that consider how context affects understanding. However, more research is needed to confirm these findings and develop practical applications, particularly studies testing whether similar brain patterns occur in other natural situations.