Roblox is an online platform that allows users to create games and play those designed by others. A self-described “ultimate virtual universe,” it is hard to pinpoint exactly what Roblox is: Is it a game? Is it social media? Is it a place to create content or consume media? Is it a place to shop […] … learn more→

Whether you’re left, right or ambidextrous, “handedness” is part of our identity. But a lot of people don’t realise that we have other biases too and they are not unique to humans. My colleagues and I have published a new study that shows aligning our biases in the same way as other people may have social benefits. […] … learn more→

A war has erupted around young people’s use social media and it is messy. In the United States, surgeon general Vivek Murthy has recommended cigarette packet-like warnings for platforms like Instagram to remind teens and parents social media “has not proved safe”. In Australia, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he would ban social media for those under 16 within […] … learn more→

Your spacecraft is spiralling out of control, and you will hit planet Arakis unless you fire up the thermal after-boosters. Which of the two buttons below would help you fire up the boosters on time? Would you be more likely to survive if the cockpit designer had installed the button on the left or the […] … learn more→

Based on respect for animal life and its rights, as well as ethical, environmental and health considerations, veganism is distinguished from vegetarianism by excluding from the diet not only meat but also products derived from animals, such as dairy products, eggs, honey or leather… Even if the promotion of a non-meat diet is not new (as shown […] … learn more→

This week, about 50 female students from Victoria’s Bacchus Marsh Grammar School had fake, sexually explicit images of them shared without their consent on Instagram and Snapchat. Images of their faces, purportedly obtained from social media, were stitched onto pornographic images using artificial intelligence (AI). Deepfake porn, or what our team calls “AI-generated image-based sexual abuse”, involves the use […] … learn more→

You don’t have to be in the middle of an election campaign to be concerned about your ability to spot a lie. Psychology research suggests people lie at least once a day. A 2006 review of 206 papers found that we are little better then chance at guessing whether something is a lie or not, 54% to be exact. […] … learn more→

We all remember teachers we deeply admired. Personally, the only teachers who left an impression on me were those who counted for their generosity, the extent of their knowledge, the simplicity with which they managed to transmit something living. The deep interest they had in the subjects they taught made them brilliant. They managed to […] … learn more→

You’ve probably seen the word mindfulness everywhere these days, from the news, to magazines, to social media. Mindfulness is sometimes packaged as a mental health cure-all, and studies do suggest that mindfulness-based therapies support mental health. Your friends or family may even have told you that mindfulness has changed their lives. But if you have tried mindfulness and feel like it isn’t […] … learn more→

Words and phrases change their meaning often as language evolves. In the past, something was “awful” if it was amazing (think “awesome” or “awe-inspiring”). A “naughty” person was poor rather than poorly behaved. Only museum exhibitions could be curated, certainly not wardrobes, flats or social media pages. “Bimbo” meant “reckless man”, but is now a sexist word for a young woman, complicated by […] … learn more→