A US federal judge on Tuesday resurrected Microsoft's $69 billion buyout of video gaming giant Activision Blizzard by refusing to allow the temporary suspension...

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 21, 2023--

By Samuel Shen and Tom Westbrook SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE The trademark Chinese patriotism is back at play in markets. As

Roblox Corp. reported first-quarter bookings that beat analysts’ estimates and record average daily users, even while earnings fell

There is no evidence to suggest using Facebook is detrimental to wellbeing, Oxford scientists have said, challenging the view that the social media platform is linked to psychological harm. Researchers from the University of Oxford’s Oxford Internet Institute analysed data from nearly a million people across 72 countries over 12 years – in the largest study of its kind – to understand more about the impact of Facebook on wellbeing. Professor Andrew Przybylski, who co-led the research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, said: “We examined the best available data carefully – and found they did not support the idea that Facebook membership is related to harm – quite the opposite. “In fact, our analysis indicates Facebook is possibly related to positive well-being.” The research looked at Facebook data from 2008 to 2019, going back to when the platform was in its early stages. “We examined 72 countries’ per capita active Facebook users in males and females in two age brackets, 13-34 years and 35+ years,” the researchers said. The results also showed the association between using Facebook and wellbeing was slightly more positive for males as well as for younger people. It was generally the case that there were positive associations between country-level Facebook uptake and mental wellbeing Prof Peter Etchells Writing in the research paper, the authors said: “Although reports of negative psychological outcomes associated with social media are common in academic and popular writing, evidence for harms is, on balance, more speculative than conclusive.” Professor Matti Vuorre, also of the Oxford Internet Institute, who co-led the study, said: “Our findings should help guide the debate surrounding social media towards more empirical research foundations. “We need more transparent collaborative research between independent scientists and the technology industry to better determine how, when and why modern online platforms might be affecting their users.” Commenting on the study, Peter Etchells, professor of psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University, said: “This is a fascinating study that attempts to link Facebook uptake with measures of mental wellbeing in a broad-strokes manner, using data from over 70 countries. “Contrary to popular sentiment, the researchers didn’t find a negative association between the two; instead, it was generally the case that there were positive associations between country-level Facebook uptake and mental wellbeing. “To my mind, the value in this study lies in proof of principle – it demonstrates that it’s possible to leverage industry data to address meaningful questions about how digital technology interacts with our mental health.” But Prof Etchells said there were some caveats associated with the findings – which the study authors have addressed. He said: “This is a descriptive study, and as such cannot tell us anything about causation – that is, we don’t know how, if, or to what extent, changes in Facebook adoption drive changes in mental wellbeing. “Wellbeing is a complex phenomenon, and even in the context of social media use, we need to be careful drawing any firm conclusions by looking at how people use a single platform such as Facebook.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ozzy Osbourne PlayStation tweet which failed to reveal link to Sony banned Harry and Meghan ring young online innovators after funding awards James Bulger’s mother condemns ‘disgusting’ AI clips on TikTok of murdered son

'Damm got to steal other people’s ideas because he can’t come up with his own,' one social media user wrote

LEHI, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 14, 2023--

By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON Adobe, IBM, Nvidia and five other firms have signed President Joe Biden's voluntary commitments

Scientists have decided it’s official – people do not necessarily have to believe in a “god” to have a moral compass. A group of four University of Illinois surveys found that while there were subtle differences in behaviour between groups of atheists and religious people – or “theists” – they live by the same moral codes. Tomas Ståhl of the University of Illinois said: “The most general take-home message from these studies is that people who do not believe in God do have a moral compass. "In fact, they share many of the same moral concerns that religious believers have, such as concerns about fairness, and about protecting vulnerable individuals from harm.” The first two surveys crowdsourced responses from hundreds of American residents, and found that religion was unrelated to amoral tendencies, whether people would endorse liberty or oppression or whether people cared about being fair to others. The second two surveys compared thousands of people across the US and Sweden, which is a much more secular country. The data came up with the same results. Mainstream religions are on a downward trend worldwide. In the UK, for example, just 46 percent of people identified as Christian in the 2021 census, compared to 59 percent in 2011. The US has seen similar declines. Ståhl added: “However, disbelievers are less inclined than believers to endorse moral values that serve group cohesion, such as having respect for authorities, ingroup loyalty, and sanctity… “It is possible that the negative stereotype of atheists as immoral may stem in part from the fact that they are less inclined than religious people to view respect for authority, ingroup loyalty, and sanctity as relevant for morality, and they are more likely to make moral judgments about harm on a consequentialist, case by case basis.” It’s news that will come as little surprise to the estimated 750 million atheists across the globe, of course. But for people who still think religion is the key to morality, it could be food for thought. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

TL;DR: As of June 26, you can get a refurbished Lenovo 2-in-1 Chromebook for just

You may see lab-grown meat and insects on the menu in future decades, as the world grapples with

Apple's fall product launch next month is all but certain to include a new iPhone, and rumors say it could include faster charging.