Popular Culture News

June 3, 2025

Top Headlines

Social Media Platform Tailoring Could Support More Fulfilling Use, Study Finds

May 7, 2025 — Redesigning social media to suit different needs of users could make their time online more focused, according to new ...

Is Virtual-Only Couture the New Clothing Craze?

May 7, 2025 — As fast fashion continues to fill wardrobes and landfills at a staggering pace, new research suggests that the future of fashion might lie not in fabric, but in ...

Spanking and Other Physical Discipline Lead to Exclusively Negative Outcomes for Children in Low And Middle-Income Countries

May 5, 2025 — Physically punishing children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has exclusively negative outcomes -- including poor health, lower academic performance, and impaired social-emotional ...

Skeletal Evidence of Roman Gladiator Bitten by Lion in Combat

Apr. 23, 2025 — Bite marks found on a skeleton discovered in a Roman cemetery in York have revealed the first archaeological evidence of gladiatorial combat between a human and a ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:52pm EDT

Genes May Influence Our Enjoyment of Music

Mar. 28, 2025 — Does our ability to enjoy music have a biological basis? A genetic twin study shows that music enjoyment is partly heritable. Scientists uncovered genetic factors that influence the degree of music ...

Social Media Can Help Track Species as Climate Changes

Mar. 13, 2025 — Social media can help scientists track animal species as they relocate in response to climate change, new research ...

How 'Self-Silencing' Your Opinion May Change Behavior

Mar. 5, 2025 — People who have a minority viewpoint on a controversial topic are more likely to 'self-silence' themselves in conversation -- and that may lead them to behave against their own beliefs, a new study ...

Nearly 4 of 10 Americans Report Sports-Related Mistreatment

Mar. 4, 2025 — Nearly 40% of adult Americans say they've experienced some type of sport-related mistreatment in their lives, a new study shows. Mistreatment ranged from psychological and emotional to physical and ...

Acoustic Sensors Find Frequent Gunfire on School Walking Routes

Jan. 6, 2025 — A new study used acoustic sensors that detect the sound of gunfire to show how often children in one Chicago neighborhood are exposed to gunshots while walking to and from school. Results showed that ...

World Cup Soccer Is Getting Faster for Men and Women Alike

Dec. 17, 2024 — If the experience of watching a FIFA World Cup soccer final is intense, spare a thought for the players, who are competing at an ever increasing intensity, according to a new ...

Soda Taxes Don't Just Affect Sales: They Help Change People's Minds

Dec. 10, 2024 — The city of Berkeley's first-in-the-nation soda tax a decade ago, along with more recent Bay Area tax increases on sugar-sweetened drinks, have not only led to reduced sales. They are also associated ...

Here's Something Americans Agree On: Sports Build Character

Nov. 21, 2024 — In a polarized nation, there is one thing that nearly all Americans agree on, according to a recent study: sports are good for us. Researchers found that more than 9 out of 10 Americans agreed that ...

New Study Challenges Social Media's Mental Health Impact

Nov. 6, 2024 — A new study has challenged the perception heavy social media use has a significant impact on mental health, finding little to no relationship between the two. In fact, not only does the research ...

The Dangerous Pursuit of Muscularity in Men and Adolescent Boys

Oct. 30, 2024 — Men and adolescent boys are increasingly at risk of resorting to the dangerous use of anabolic steroids in a bid to achieve the desired muscular build modeled on social media, warn body image ...

Kansas, Missouri Farmers Avoid Discussing Climate Change Regardless of Opinions, Study Finds

Mar. 18, 2025 — Researchers conducted interviews with farmers in Missouri and Kansas about their thoughts on climate change. Even though they are on the front lines of the topic, the farmers reported they avoid ...

11 To 12-Year-Olds Use Smartphones Mainly to Talk to Family and Friends

Dec. 26, 2024 — A research group has analyzed the digital ecosystem of 11- to 12-year-old children across the Basque Autonomous Community, and concluded that two out of three own a smartphone. They use smartphones ...

Power of Aesthetic Species on Social Media Boosts Wildlife Conservation Efforts, Say Experts

Nov. 8, 2024 — Facebook and Instagram can boost wildlife conservation efforts through public awareness and engagement, according to a new ...

New Study Sheds Light on the Role of Sound and Music in Gendered Toy Marketing

Nov. 6, 2024 — New research reveals that the music and soundscapes used in toy commercials are reinforcing rigid gender norms, shaping the way children perceive masculinity and femininity. The study uncovers how ...

The Harmful Frequency and Reach of Unhealthy Foods on Social Media

Oct. 31, 2024 — An analysis of social media posts that mention food and beverage products finds that fast food restaurants and sugar sweetened beverages are the most common, with millions of posts reaching billions ...

The Transformative Power of Movies

Oct. 21, 2024 — Docudrama can lead people to be more empathetic toward people who are stigmatized in society, a new study ...

People Hate Stories They Think Were Written by AI: Even If They Were Written by People

Oct. 21, 2024 — AI-written stories are getting better, but people still distrust AI-generated ...

Manliness Concerns Impede Forgiveness of Coworkers

Oct. 17, 2024 — The more men are concerned about appearing masculine, the less likely they will forgive a co-worker for a transgression such as missing an important meeting, a study has found. What's more, such ...

Storms, Floods, Landslides Associated With Intimate Partner Violence Against Women Two Years Later

Oct. 2, 2024 — Climate change-related landslides, storms and floods are associated with intimate partner violence against women two years after the event, according to a new ...

Eyes on the Fries: How Our Vision Creates a Food Trend

Oct. 2, 2024 — Research shows that how we rate food is influenced by 'serial dependence' -- our judgement cascades on from the food we've just ...

How Do New Words Arise in Social Media?

Sep. 3, 2024 — The more centrally connected someone is within their social media network, the more likely that new words they use will become adopted into mainstream language, according to a new ...

Among Viking Societies, Norway Was Much More Violent Than Denmark

Aug. 28, 2024 — A new study sheds light on how Viking Age societies in Norway and Denmark differed in their experiences with violence and the role social structures played in shaping those ...

Geographic Differences in U.S. Homicide Rates Have Decreased Since the 1970s

Aug. 28, 2024 — A new study finds that, counter to expectations, geographic disparities in rates of homicides in the US have decreased in recent ...

Dungeons and Dragons Can Help Autistic People Gain Confidence and Find Their Inner Hero

Aug. 27, 2024 — A new study has shown the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons boosts autistic people's confidence and enables them to feel more comfortable with social ...

Dark Rituals: Understanding Society's Fascination With Death and Disaster

Aug. 14, 2024 — Understanding why the popularity of organized events steeped in themes of death, disaster and suffering, such as the well-known Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Jack the Ripper Walking Tours and ...

We Can Be Heroes -- Research Reveals How Ordinary People Can Become 'Situational Heroes'

Aug. 6, 2024 — How we view real-life 'heroes' is changing according to new research, with more of a focus on acting heroically in certain situations, rather than being a heroic ...

Dance, Dance Revolution: Research Shows Dance and Movement Therapy Can Increase Emotional and Social Intelligence in Middle School Students

Aug. 5, 2024 — An assistant clinical professor developed a specialized dance and movement therapy (DMT) program to meet the unique needs of youth from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to foster a sense of ...

Body Appreciation Varies Across Cultures

July 31, 2024 — People from different cultures show both similarities and differences in how body appreciation, sociocultural pressure, and internalization of thin ideals vary, according to a new ...

Can Doomscrolling Trigger an Existential Crisis?

July 18, 2024 — In a new study on the impact of doomscrolling from an existential perspective, researchers warn that habitual checking of disturbing stories on social media is linked with changes to how we view ...

Why Are Board Games So Popular Among Many People With Autism? New Research Explains

July 12, 2024 — Board gaming is a growing industry, and anecdotally popular among people who display autistic traits. Now new research has highlighted the science supporting the anecdote -- and the important reasons ...