Social Networks

Teenage girls are feeling such intense pressure to appear “perfect” on Instagram that many avoid posting altogether, new research shows. The study, led by Dr Eleanor Kilroy, from Loughborough University, found that girls often spend time planning and staging photos – only to decide they are not good enough to share. Instead of posting regularly, many described themselves as “always online but not posting”. The research introduces the idea of ‘expressive stasis’ – a moment where users want to post but stop themselves because the image does not meet their standards. Dr Kilroy said: “For many girls, Instagram is not a space of free self-expression but a high-pressure performance shaped by classed expectations of what is worthy of being seen. If the image falls short of perfection, it simply is not posted online.” Working with 17 and 18-year-old girls in Liverpool, the study found that: Girls feel they must look flawless, with the right outfit, makeup and background Social media creates pressure to present a glamorous lifestyle Fear of judgement, comparison and low engagement stops many from posting Even when they know images are edited or unrealistic, the pressure remains Many experience anxiety and overthinking linked to how they look

April 01, 2026

Following National SBDC Day, Troy University hosted a community-focused meeting in Georgiana to continue building partnerships and increasing awareness of resources available to small business owners across Butler County. The meeting, led by the Alabama Small Business Development Center Network at Troy University, brought together city leadership, economic development officials, business owners and community stakeholders.  Designed as a continuation of SBDC Day efforts, the meeting created space for collaboration while ensuring attendees were informed about services available to support business creation and growth. Juliana Bolivar Butler County Economic Development Director David Hutchinson shared updates on current projects across the county and highlighted success stories of local businesses, emphasizing the importance of aligning economic development initiatives with direct support for entrepreneurs. Mayor Ninna Bonner also addressed attendees, outlining her vision for the City of Georgiana and her commitment to creating an environment that supports both new and existing business owners. Her remarks reinforced the role of partnerships in strengthening the local business community. The meeting also featured participation from SBDC clients, who had the opportunity to showcase their businesses and engage directly with community leaders. Local entrepreneurs, including Rike’s Tacos of Troy and Pasticceria LLC of Ozark, provided samples of their products, offering

Posted By: Larry Felton Johnson April 1, 2026 The Town Center Community Alliance distributed the following recap, with race results, from the popular annual Noonday Shanty 5K/10K: With sneakers laced and spirits high, a record-breaking crowd of nearly 500 runners gathered on Saturday, March 28, for the fifth annual Noonday Shanty 5K/10K, featuring an all-time high of 23 teams. Presented by Avonlea Apartments and benefiting the Town Center Community Alliance, the race transformed a spring morning into a celebration of movement and community. The event featured USA Track and Field-certified 5K and 10K courses, inviting participants of all ages and experience levels to enjoy a run through some of Town Center’s most notable landmarks, including Aviation Park, Cobb International Airport and Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Beyond showcasing the community, the race supported local green space improvements and granted runners an opportunity to qualify for the AJC Peachtree Road Race. “The Noonday Shanty is more than just a race, and in our fifth year, we see the meaningful impact this event has on our community,” said Tracy Styf, executive director of the Town Center Community. “We are thankful for the dedication of our participants, supporters, volunteers and sponsors for making this year’s

Nic Vansteenberghe poses with the Off-Platform Buzz award during The Snappys Awards Show on March 31, 2026 in Santa Monica. Getty Images for Snapchat If anyone’s jonesing for more awards shows after the Oscars, now there’s The Snappys — the inaugural creator celebration from social media juggernaut Snap. Held at the company’s HQ in Santa Monica, the event on Tuesday night drew hundreds of influencers to its yellow carpet, including JoJo Siwa, Chloe Veitch, Candiace Dillard Bassett and Francesca Farago. Comedian and Snap star Matt Friend hosted, and even playfully ribbed the event by quipping, “What’s next, the Venmo Awards?” Cheyenne Davis and Zaina Sesay posing with their awards at The Snappys Awards Show. Getty Images for Snapchat Winners included creator of the year David Dobrik, with 70 million followers, and a lifetime achievement award went to… DJ Khaled, 50, who accepted his trophy via video. Snap’s own CEO Evan Spiegel also made an appearance by video, along with John Stamos. Reality star turned social media sensation Harry Jowsey, 28, who was there, told us of the platform, “Honestly, I would be nowhere without Snap. They sent me to the Paris Olympics. They sent me to the White House. They’ve done so much for me — as well as paid my bills!” After the

Three months after Australia became the first country in the world to ban children under 16 from holding social media accounts, its online safety regulator says the platforms are not doing enough to make the ban work. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant released her first compliance report on Tuesday, alleging that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube have failed to take the “reasonable steps” the law requires to keep young Australians off their services. The numbers tell a story of partial progress and substantial failure. Since the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act took effect on 10 December, some five million Australian accounts belonging to under-16s have been deactivated. But the compliance report, which surveyed 898 parents at the end of January, found that roughly seven in ten children who previously used social media still had an account on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok after the ban. Children are retaining accounts, creating new ones, and passing through  age assurance systems that appear unable to stop them. Inman Grant said her office had “significant concerns about the compliance” of half the ten platforms covered by the law. The five under investigation, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube, could face

Twitter is taking another stab at social shopping. The move comes seven years after the social media powerhouse unveiled its first commerce initiative. The feature, which let users buy goods from shoppable tweets, didn’t get far. Less than three years later, it confirmed it was doing away with the buttons. In the meantime—largely since the pandemic turbocharged the e-commerce market—a swath of rivals has taken up similar endeavors. In May last year, Facebook announced it was launching a new Shop feature on both its namesake app and Instagram, its photo-centric subsidiary. This May, Snapchat expanded its in-app stores—for a year, available only to a limited selection of brands—to everyone. The same month, Bloomberg reported TikTok was testing in-app sales in Europe. Now, it appears Twitter wants back in. On Wednesday, it unveiled the “Shop Module.” The feature, it said, will sit in a dedicated space at the top of a business’ profile and offer a scrollable carousel of products, each of which can be bought in an in-app browser. “Social commerce solves the agility challenges brands have experienced within other e-commerce platforms,” Eric Dahan, CEO of influencer marketing agency Open Influence, said. “Moving forward, we don’t expect this evolution of

An American journalist was kidnapped in Iraq on Tuesday by suspected Iranian-backed militants, according to the State Department and the country's Interior Ministry. The journalist was identified in the hours after her kidnapping came to light as freelancer Shelly Kittleson, with Al-Monitor, one of the publications she works for, calling for her "safe and immediate release." Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global affairs, said in a post on X that the State Department was "aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad, Iraq." He said the State Department had "previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them" and would "continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible." Shelly Kittleson.via FacebookHe said that an individual believed to have been involved in the kidnapping had been captured and was in Iraqi custody. This person had ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah, Johnson said. He added that Iraq remained at a Level 4 Travel Advisory,  » Read More

April 1, 2026, 10:01 AM UTC Alphabet Inc.’s Google is facing demands from child development experts to prohibit videos created with artificial intelligence from being shown or recommended to young viewers across YouTube and YouTube Kids. More than 200 children’s specialists, advocacy groups and schools sent a letter to Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan on Wednesday raising concerns about what they view as a lack of substance in many AI-generated YouTube videos that claim to be educational. In the letter, the advocates also criticized the perceived low quality of kids’ content being mass-produced by AI generators, and the rise ... Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading: See Breaking News in Context Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis. Already a subscriber? Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.

Advocacy groups and experts condemned YouTube for serving up low-quality artificial intelligence-generated videos to its most vulnerable audience: children. Posted 4/1/2026, 10:03:12 AM FILE - The icons for the YouTube Kids and YouTube apps are displayed on a smartphone in New York on April 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File) By KAITLYN HUAMANI — AP Technology Writer Advocacy groups and experts condemned YouTube for serving up low-quality artificial intelligence-generated videos to its most vulnerable audience: children. In a letter to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and Sundar Pichai, the CEO of YouTube’s parent company Google, children’s advocacy group Fairplay expresses “serious concern” about the spread of AI-generated videos on both YouTube and YouTube Kids. The letter, which was sent on Wednesday morning, was signed by more than 200 organizations and individual experts such as child psychiatrists and educators. “This ’ AI slop ’ harms children’s development by distorting their sense of reality, overwhelming their learning processes and hijacking their attention, thereby extending time online and displacing offline activities necessary for their healthy development,” the letter reads. “These harms are particularly acute for young children.” The letter calls on YouTube to clearly label all AI-generated content and ban any AI-generated content on