social media

Is Generation Z Addicted to the Phone?

By Jenny Hudak and Victoria Leal Studies show that those born in the late 1990s or later and who grew up with the use of digital technology, mainly Generation Z, are spending time online at unprecedented rates. Read about the pros and cons of increased social media use. Now, more than ever, Generation Zers are spending time online. According to the Pew Research Center, 97 percent of teenagers use at least one major online platform, like Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. And, whether a person spends five minutes—or hours—online, social media [...]

2023-03-01T11:47:35-05:00March 1, 2023|Advertising, Public Relations|

Invasion of Ukraine Highlights Social Media’s Role in War

By Barbara Gutierrez New technologies have increased access for everyone to stories, images, and videos chronicling Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the resulting destruction and misery. During the unprecedented incursion that Russia has unleashed on Ukraine, the interconnectedness and the immediacy and importance of social media have been starkly highlighted. Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter are full of photos and videos of shootings, explosions, and burned-out Russian tanks and buildings. There are also videos of protests from Berlin to St. Petersburg, abandoned bodies of soldiers, and a stream of [...]

‘Encanto’ Praised for Authentic Representation of Colombian Culture

By Barbara Gutierrez Social media posts of young children reacting to the sight of characters in the new Disney movie who look like them have gone viral. Members of the University of Miami community share their opinions on the animated film and why it’s important for everyone to see diversity in film. Eight-year-old Emma Gomez has watched the Walt Disney animated movie “Encanto” 13 times. She loves to sing and dance to the movie’s catchy song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” and knows the rest of the musical score by [...]

2022-02-16T13:39:46-05:00February 16, 2022|Uncategorized|

Facebook Faces Challenges in Developing Instagram Kids

By Barbara Gutierrez Regina Ahn, an assistant professor who studies media literacy and education, parental mediation, and social media, notes that creating a social media site specifically for children is a tough task. Facebook recently announced that it will pause its development of Instagram Kids after heated criticism by parents and children advocates who claim that such a platform could be dangerous to kids’ mental health. The announcement comes amid media reports that Facebook knew from its own research that social media platforms such as Instagram—the photo and video sharing [...]

2021-10-08T11:44:02-04:00October 8, 2021|Advertising, Public Relations|