The internet has always fueled eating disorders. Influencers could be adding to the harm. Algorithms and seemingly innocuous posts like "what I eat in a day" videos are where dangerous eating behaviors begin, experts warn.

Content creators could be doing more harm than good, when sharing their ‘what I eat in a day’ videos.
@katycoduto.bsky.social warns, “I think that’s a different kind of danger, where maybe you are seeing what they eat in a day, but that is also still very curated.”

Despite skepticism, people sticking with dating apps, survey says Reports of the death of dating apps, as Mark Twain might say, are greatly exaggerated. That’s one finding of the…

Despite skepticism around trust and AI, Americans aren’t ditching dating apps.

Use is up, and nearly half believe you can find a soulmate online, according to a new CRC x IPSOS survey led by @katycoduto.bsky.social.

👉 Read full story here: tinyurl.com/y9nrrde8

Is Following True Crime Bad for Your Well-Being? Researcher Kathryn D. Coduto has studied why it’s hard to disconnect from cases like those of Karen Read or Gabby Petito.

This interview with @katycoduto.bsky.social explores the adverse psychological effects true crime and compulsive social media usage has on consumers.

"You’re getting people who are saying, 'I literally can’t help but post and engage'", observes Prof. Coduto.

Read here: tinyurl.com/ms7uc4ym

Why We Swipe When dating apps like Tinder and Bumble were gaining popularity in the mid-2010s, Katy Coduto was not that impressed. “I…

In an expansive piece exploring @katycoduto.bsky.social's work tackling why we swipe, she explores human connection through a virtual reality. She explains, “I’m curious about how people use dating apps, and what their expectations are when they use them."

Read more here: tinyurl.com/yc7hz6e8

I first started thinking about this project when I saw people interacting with Gabby Petito's Instagram account, even after she had been found. I focus on how parasocial relationships with people involved in crimes influence compulsive social media use in these scenarios. DM for PDF!

Really excited to share this latest research, just published in Psychology of Popular Media, where I take a mixed-methods approach to dig into how and why people engage with crime news stories: psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...

Can AI Help You Find a Soulmate? Online daters aren't ready for AI-everything in the search for romance

Online daters are increasingly skeptical of AI, especially generative AI. Some thoughts on why:

Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy

They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.

Digital billboard in Boston's subway station that reads: "Finally, social media that's billionaire-proof."

Finally, social media that's billionaire-proof. ⚡

Bluesky's first IRL ads spotted in @boston.gov @mbta.com.

I Don't Want Her Memory, I Want My Own Doubling and severing ourselves one platform at a time

I've been thinking a lot about Severance, The Substance, and our own social media profiles, where we double (but also sever?) ourselves: lovebytesbykdc.substack.com/p/i-dont-wan...

Weary Ben Affleck standing, holding a cigarette

Live footage of academia right now

Do You Really Need a Tinder Subscription? The potential pitfalls of subscribing to everything, including dating applications

I've spent a lot of time thinking about the increase in subscriptions to all facets of our lives, especially when it comes to online dating: open.substack.com/pub/lovebyte...

Not to mention the erosion of peer review for getting research published in anything remotely close to a timely manner:

🤗🫡

Incoming: Love Bytes Introducing your weekly update on online dating, flirting, sexting, and more

Just in time for Valentine's Day, I've (finally!) started a Substack to share all of my online dating, sexting, and social media musings 💕 open.substack.com/pub/lovebyte...

In my years of covering internet culture I’ve always tried to impress upon people that social media algorithms + audiences actively incentivize and reward behavior and people that are almost comically evil and stupid. Anyways now that culture is running the country

awesome!

Hi all, I'm a WIRED journalist on the science desk. If you're a government scientist or federally funded researcher with info to share about the Trump transition, please feel free to contact me securely on Signal: emullin.06

What's so impressive to me about Wired's handling of the Doge developments is how they have absolutely everyone on staff involved. Feels like every single new development I see there is a different byline.

No one is reporting like @wired.com in this moment, so I purchased a subscription so they can keep doing work like this:

Getting to Know You: Using Text Network Analysis to Identify Key Topics and Word Choice in Initial Online Interactions Many online spaces allow individuals to connect and get to know each other without ever meeting face-to-face. This research explored the contents of the conversations between individuals who met on...

✨New research: An exploratory analysis of how text network analysis can be used to analyze conversations between online-first chat partners. TLDR: Lots of positively valenced words in very little time! www.tandfonline.com/eprint/IS7YD...

Seems like U.S. government’s genius plan to stop Chinese influence over its populace has resulted in the populace downloading Chinese apps en masse out of loyalty to China

very curious to see how Golden Globes conversations are on here tonight 👀

Twin Peaks or Buffy ✨

...and getting inspiration for some spring 2025 projects, too :)

A photo of the cover of the book “Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It” by Kaitlyn Tiffany.

My treat for finishing grading 😌
@kait.bsky.social

Thank you! :)

give the people what we want