The Internet as Cognitive Enhancement

Is Online Moral Outrage Outrageous? Rethinking the Indignation Machine

Moral outrage is often characterized as a corrosive emotion, but it can also inspire collective action. In this article we aim to deepen our understanding of the dual nature of online moral outrage which divides people and contributes to inclusivist moral reform. We argue that the specifics of violating different types of moral norms will influence the effects of moral outrage: moral outrage against violating harm-based norms is less antagonistic than moral outrage against violating loyalty and purity/identity norms. We identify which features of social media platforms shape our moral lives. Connectivity, omniculturalism, online exposure, increased group identification and fostering what we call "expressionist experiences", all change how moral outrage is expressed in the digital realm. Finally, we propose changing the design of social media platforms and raise the issue of moral disillusion when ample moral protest in the online environment does not have the expected effects on the offline world.

Social media use as a coping mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multidimensional perspective on adolescents' well-being

Introduction

Social media use was previously characterized as both a maladaptive coping mechanism, and a source of engagement with peers, suggesting an ambivalent effect. The present study explored how adolescents might use social media as a coping mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a multidimensional perspective on well-being.

Methods

Our sample consisted of 259 Romanian teenagers aged 11-16 (M = 13.38, SD = 0.93, 57% males). We investigated the potential indirect effect of social media use, i.e., its cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions on the relationship between depressive symptoms and adolescents' well-being.

Results

Across all mediation analyses, our results suggested that social media use positively predicted adolescents' well-being. Given the multidimensional approach to both social media use and well-being, our findings suggested that adolescents' well-being was predicted not only by actual social media use behaviors but also by cognitions related to the expectation of receiving gratification on social media and the intense affective states related to the desire to use social media. Also, our data suggested that adolescents with high levels of depressive symptoms might be more likely to capitalize on social media use and have expectations related to receiving approval from others in the context of social media use.

Discussion

Depressive symptoms might be more relevant when explaining the cognitive and affective involvement during social media use. However, their ability to predict the actual social media use behaviors may be limited. Furthermore, adolescents that present depressive symptoms might be more prone to use social media, in order to improve their well-being.

Remote versus In-Person Health Education: Feasibility, Satisfaction, and Health Literacy for Diverse Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Health education may improve health in geriatric patients. To evaluate differences between remote and in-person education, the DREAMS (Developing a Research Participation Enhancement and Advocacy Training Program for Diverse Seniors) health seminar series compared in-person and remote learning groups to assess feasibility, satisfaction, adherence, health literacy, and cognitive outcomes.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Nonrandomized two-arm interventions occurred remotely or in-person. About 130 diverse, older adults (M age: 70.8 ± 9.2 years; in-person n = 95; remote, n = 35) enrolled. Data from 115 completers (In-person n = 80; Remote n = 35) were analyzed for performance outcomes. Feasibility, adherence, and satisfaction benchmarks were evaluated at baseline, immediately post intervention, and 8 weeks post intervention. Adjusting for baseline performances, outcomes on health literacy and cognitive measures were compared between groups after intervention (at posttest and at 8-week follow-up) using adjusted mean differences (β coefficients).

RESULTS

Eighty in-person and all remote participants completed at least six modules. Both programs had high satisfaction, feasibility, and strong adherence. After adjusting for demographic covariates and baseline values, cognitive and motor cognitive measures between groups were domain specific (e.g., global cognition, executive function, spatial memory, mental tracking capacity, and cognitive integration).

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

This work explores feasible measures of knowledge acquisition and its link to health literacy and cognitive outcomes. Identifying effective delivery methods may increase involvement in clinical research. Future studies may encourage remote learning for increased accessibility.

The Impact of Internet Use on Perception of the Poor–Rich Gap: Empirical Evidence from China

The advancement of Internet technology has provided a great impetus to alleviate poverty and promote economic progress. However, studies on the negative impact that the development of the Internet may have on individual perceptions are still rare. This paper uses data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2018 to construct multiple econometric models to empirically study the impact of Internet use (ITU) on the perception of the poor–rich gap (PPRG) and its mechanism in China. The instrumental variable (IV) model and Heckman model are used to solve potential endogenous problems. The research found that ITU has aggravated the PPRG of residents, and the test results are still robust after considering various endogenous sources. Additional analysis shows that the degree of dependence on the Internet is one of the transmission mechanisms of ITU on the impact of the PPRG, and its mediating effect accounts for 32.12% of the total effect. Another test result of the impact mechanism shows that the Internet media expands the reference group of residents through virtual areas and aggravates the PPRG of residents. Some test results from the perspective of heterogeneity show that: the effect of urban residents’ ITU on PPRG is higher than that of rural residents. ITU of residents in economically developed areas has a significantly higher effect on the PPRG than residents in economically underdeveloped areas. The impact on ITU by residents of different age groups on aggravating the PPRG show an obvious increasing linear law. Our research provides an ITU interpretation path for the impact of PPRG from sociological theory and provides a new entry point for the impact of the Internet and subjective well-being.