Social networks, perceived, at the state level, as threats

• The Internet boosts well-being

Even if it seems difficult It's hard to believe that the internet has health benefits, say Oxford researchers. The findings could change the way we think about online socialising. The internet has a generally positive effect on wellbeing, an international study has found. The findings suggest that, despite fears to the contrary, internet use appears to have a positive effect on health. beneficial effects on well-being. Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, at the University of Oxford in the UK, analyzed data from about two million people aged 15 to 99 in 168 countries, including Latin America, Asia and Africa. The scientists found that life satisfaction, across all countries, was 8.5% higher for people with internet access, and their level of positive experiences was 8.3% higher. Across 33,000 different models and subsets of the statistical data, the researchers found that 84.9% of the associations between internet use and well-being were positive. Andrew Przybylski, professor of behavioural science and technology at the Oxford Internet Institute, said: "It's a bit of a cliche, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. And if we want to make the online world safer for young people, we can't just attack with preconceived ideas and one-size-fits-all solutions. We need to make sure we're open to changing our views based on the data and hopefully that message gets across and doesn't lead to another stupid debate." The professor noted that, in his opinion, there will come a time when people will no longer be worried about social media use and the effect of internet use on young people because their concerns will be directed towards what comes next.

• Online bullying at a very high level

Earlier this year, in January, a piece of information related to social media shocked. Meta estimates that about 100,000 children using Facebook and Instagram are exposed to online sexual harassment every day, including "images of adult genitalia," according to internal company documents, The Guardian reported. The court filing includes several allegations against the company, based on information the New Mexico attorney general's office received from Meta employee presentations and communications between employees. The company issued a statement at the time in response: "We want teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online, and we have over 30 tools to support them and their parents. We've spent a decade working on these issues and have hired people who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supporting them online." The investigation also revealed how Messenger, Facebook's private messaging service, is being used as a platform for traffickers to communicate to buy and sell children.

In February, a hearing was held in the US Congress in which harsh accusations were launched and apologies were also requested from the highest level, with five executives of major companies in the field being present. Beyond the apologies, the head of Facebook was directly asked whether he would pay, from the billions earned, compensation for victims of sexual abuse and harassment, and the answer was not at all in the "Yes or No" margin. In fact, it is obvious that the heads of social networks are trying their best to minimize the problems. During the Congressional hearing on the alleged online harms to children, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, addressed the parents of the victims in the Senate and apologized, reports The Guardian. "I'm sorry for everything you all went through," Zuckerberg said while the parents held photos of their children who died as a result of sexual exploitation or harassment through social networks. Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel offered similar condolences to parents whose children had access to illegal drugs on Snapchat. Parents of more than 60 teenagers filed a lawsuit in late 2023 against Snap for allegedly facilitating their children's purchase of drugs that were used in overdoses.

• Bot farms that would try to influence the elections in Romania

The Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, Bogdan Ivan, announces that dozens of accounts of organized networks that are trying to obtain illegitimate content to promote a certain candidate have been discovered. The minister specifies that all of these accounts have been blocked. "Today, dozens of accounts were identified in Romania that represent several organized networks that are trying to obtain illegitimate content to promote a certain candidate in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. All of these accounts have been blocked, these networks have been identified and have been blocked in their entirety," said Bogdan Ivan. According to the Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, behind each scammer, dozens or even hundreds of other accounts were discovered. The Romanian authorities' request to the large companies Meta and TikTok came after there were discussions in the public space regarding bot farms that would try to influence the elections in Romania.