Search Results (120)

The COVID-19 pandemic brought global tourism to a near standstill, rapidly shifting many destinations from overtourism to a temporary state of non-tourism due to lockdowns and border closures. As travel resumed between 2021 and 2022, ‘revenge tourism’ emerged, characterised by a surge in travel as people sought to compensate for lost experiences. This resurgence has reignited overtourism, a phenomenon marked by excessive tourist numbers and negative impacts on host communities, including environmental degradation, infrastructure strain and socio-cultural disruption. While overtourism has been extensively studied in the global North, its manifestations in the global South, particularly in South Africa, remain underexplored. This study addresses the existing gap by exploring the potential of digital technologies, namely, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and social media platforms, as instruments for managing visitor flows and alleviating overtourism in selected hotspots throughout South Africa. Using a qualitative, literature-based design, this study evaluates the contextual relevance and multi-dimensional scalability of these technologies. The findings aim to advance discussions on overtourism and propose innovative, technology-driven strategies, as well as research opportunities tailored to the unique challenges of the global South. Full article

Diet quality, nutrition knowledge, and psychosomatic literacy—defined as the understanding of the interactions between diet, gut microbiota, and mental well-being—may shape weight-related behaviours in youth. This study used a cross-sectional design to integrate these domains with digital information pathways in Central–Eastern Europe. This study assessed diet quality, nutrition, and psychosomatic knowledge, supplement use, and health-information sources among Polish adolescents and young adults, with emphasis on age-related differences and the role of social media. A cross-sectional, anonymous online survey (October 2025–January 2026) was conducted in Poland (final analytical sample: n = 478; adolescents 15–19 years vs. young adults 20–30 years). Of 591 individuals who accessed the survey, 478 were included in the final analytical sample. Diet quality was estimated from FFQ data using KomPAN-derived indices (pHDI-10, nHDI-14, DQI). Nutrition knowledge (0–25 points), psychosomatic/gut–brain indicators, supplementation, and information sources were analysed using χ²/Fisher tests and Mann–Whitney U tests with effect sizes. The primary outcomes measured were dietary supplement use and excess body weight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²). Multivariable logistic regression examined predictors of supplement use and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m². Overall diet quality was low to moderate, with limited intake of whole grains, legumes, and fish, and common nutrition misconceptions. Social media was the most frequently indicated source of diet/supplement information and was independently associated with more frequent supplement use (OR = 2.29; 95% CI: 1.43–3.64). Adolescents reported lower whole-grain intake and more misconceptions than young adults. Predictors of BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² included male sex (OR = 2.46; 95% CI: 1.46–4.15), lower education, and lower nutrition knowledge, while age showed a non-linear positive association with excess body weight. Polish adolescents and young adults show gaps between declared pro-health attitudes and actual diet quality/competencies. Social media reliance appears particularly linked to product-oriented behaviours (supplementation). Prevention should strengthen nutrition and food safety education, digital health literacy, and professional guidance on supplementation, especially in adolescents. Our findings suggest that social media is a primary driver for dietary supplementation among Polish youth, more so than objective nutrition knowledge. While diet quality is linked to weight status, the relationship is complex. These results may inform future public health interventions targeting digital health literacy to promote balanced nutrition and safe supplementation practices. Full article

E-commerce platforms are increasingly adopting cross-platform targeted advertising strategies, and the design of such strategies warrants attention. Focusing on cooperation between e-commerce and social media platforms, this study considers targeting precision, advertising intensity, privacy concerns and social utility on the effectiveness of targeted advertising. Using a game-theoretic model, we examine the decision between single- and cross-platform for e-commerce platforms in fully and partially overlapping user groups. The main findings indicate that (1) the social utility of social media platforms is a key factor in implementing cross-platform targeted advertising; (2) cross-platform targeted advertising is not always the optimal choice for e-commerce platforms; and (3) low-precision cross-platform strategy achieves three-party optimum in fully and partially overlapping user groups. The implications of the main findings include: (1) e-commerce platforms should prudently use social media platforms instead of relying excessively on their traffic; (2) e-commerce platforms should not regard cross-platform cooperation as the default option but as a differentiated, situation-specific decision; and (3) e-commerce platforms should promote co-creation of value and proprietary data accumulation when cooperating with social media platforms. The findings can help e-commerce platforms to choose proper targeted advertising strategy in practice. This study also provides a theoretical supplement for cross-platform targeted advertising research. Full article

Background/Objectives: Thinness is widely idealized as a standard of beauty, and late school-age girls are increasingly exposed to sociocultural pressures that may be associated with excessive drive for thinness and maladaptive body esteem. These body-related cognitive distortions often emerge regardless of actual weight status and may precede unhealthy dieting behaviors and emotional difficulties. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a school-based Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) intervention designed to modify excessive drive for thinness and maladaptive body esteem among late school-age girls. Methods: A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design with repeated measures was employed. Participants were 62 girls in grades 5–6 recruited from two public elementary schools in South Korea (experimental group: n = 30; control group: n = 32). The experimental group participated in a five-week REBT intervention consisting of 10 structured sessions grounded in the A-B-C-D-E model, while the control group received no intervention. Outcomes were assessed at pretest, posttest, and follow-up, including drive for thinness, body esteem, positive affect, negative affect, disordered eating behaviors, and social media overuse. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results: Significant group × time interaction effects were observed for drive for thinness, body esteem, positive affect, negative affect, and disordered eating behaviors, with greater changes observed in the experimental group. No significant group × time interaction was found for social media overuse. Conclusions: The school-based REBT intervention was associated with reductions in excessive drive for thinness and improvements in body esteem and was also associated with changes in emotional outcomes and reductions in disordered eating behaviors among late school-age girls. These findings support early cognitive modification as a preventive strategy within school settings. Full article

Background: The use of digital media in childhood offers both opportunities and risks. Digital stressors—such as excessive screen time, constant availability, information overload, and social media pressures—affect primary school children but have been rarely studied systematically. Despite growing research, no validated instruments adequately capture how younger children perceive and express digital stress. This study presents the development and validation of a three-dimensional instrument for children under 14: the “Digital Stress in Children” scale (DSS-CH). The DSS-CH is theory-driven and child-appropriate, with three interrelated but distinct dimensions: (1) excessive screen time, (2) compulsive media behavior, and (3) approval anxiety. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey of n = 907 Swiss primary school children (grades 5–6; ages 10–14), participants completed an online questionnaire in class. Latent variable modeling with cluster-robust inference accounted for classroom nesting. Competing models (1-, 2-, 3-factor CFA; ESEM; bifactor-ESEM) were evaluated. Results: The 1-factor CFA fit poorly (CFI ≈ 0.81; RMSEA ≈ 0.15), while the 3-factor CFA showed acceptable fit (CFI ≈ 0.96; RMSEA ≈ 0.07). Allowing cross-loadings improved fit substantially in the 3-factor ESEM and bifactor-ESEM (CFI ≈ 0.999; RMSEA ≈ 0.01), supporting a general digital stress factor alongside facet-specific variance. Subscales showed good reliability (ordinal α ≈ 0.81 − 0.89) and moderate intercorrelations (r ≈ 0.28 − 0.47). Scalar invariance across gender and age was supported (ΔCFI ≤ 0.003; ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.012). Conclusions: The DSS-CH demonstrates good reliability, model fit, and measurement invariance. It provides valid evidence for interpreting children’s digital stress as three related facets and can help identify elevated stress profiles to inform preventive efforts. Full article

Background: In recent years, aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery have seen significant growth, reflecting changing sociocultural views on beauty and self-care; however, public knowledge and awareness of associated risks remain inconsistent. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours toward aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery in a large metropolitan population in Southern Italy using the Knowledge–Attitude–Practice (KAP) framework. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between June 2021 and January 2022 among 1079 adults aged 18–72 years residing in the metropolitan area of Naples. A structured questionnaire collected socio-demographic data and assessed knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours related to surgical and non-surgical aesthetic procedures. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Results: Overall, 66.8% of participants reported having undergone general beauty treatments, while 9.8% declared the use of cosmetic medicine procedures. A total of 5.1% had undergone botulinum toxin treatments, 11% reported filler injections, and 9.8% had experienced plastic surgery. A majority had strong knowledge, especially on non-surgical procedures, but there were gaps in their knowledge on side effects, regulations, age limits, and qualifications. Most viewed appearance as important, though with critical views of excessive aesthetic treatments and claimed limited social media influence. Female sex and parental status were positively associated with aesthetic behaviours, while attitudes emerged as the strongest predictor of engagement. Conclusions: Aesthetic practices are widely accepted within this urban population, yet important informational deficiencies persist. Targeted educational interventions based on the KAP framework are warranted to enhance health literacy, promote safe decision-making, and foster realistic expectations regarding aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery. Full article

With the continuous evolution of social media, users are increasingly inclined to express their personal emotions on digital platforms by integrating information presented in multiple modalities. Within this context, research on image–text sentiment analysis has garnered significant attention. Prior research efforts have made notable progress by leveraging shared emotional concepts across visual and textual modalities. However, existing cross-modal sentiment analysis methods face two key challenges: Previous approaches often focus excessively on fusion, resulting in learned features that may not achieve emotional alignment; traditional fusion strategies are not optimized for sentiment tasks, leading to insufficient robustness in final sentiment discrimination. To address the aforementioned issues, this paper proposes a Dual-path Interaction Network with Multi-level Consistency Learning (DINMCL). It employs a multi-level feature representation module to decouple the global and local features of both text and image. These decoupled features are then fed into the Global Congruity Learning (GCL) and Local Crossing-Congruity Learning (LCL) modules, respectively. GCL models global semantic associations using Crossing Prompter, while LCL captures local consistency in fine-grained emotional cues across modalities through cross-modal attention mechanisms and adaptive prompt injection. Finally, a CLIP-based adaptive fusion layer integrates the multi-modal representations in a sentiment-oriented manner. Experiments on the MVSA_Single, MVSA_Multiple, and TumEmo datasets with baseline models such as CTMWA and CLMLF demonstrate that DINMCL significantly outperforms mainstream models in sentiment classification accuracy and F1-score and exhibits strong robustness when handling samples containing highly noisy symbols. Full article

Social media is a valuable resource in many spheres of life in the 21st century; however, excessive, uncontrolled use is associated with various adverse health conditions. In this study, we used a quantitative approach, an observational design, and a comparative scope to compare levels of academic commitment and social media addiction, and their respective dimensions, grouping participants according to various sociodemographic and educational criteria. A total of participants was 1200 students (65.3% female) with an average age of 21.4 years, from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the National University of Chimborazo, Ecuador, and data were collected using the Ultrecht Academic Commitment Scale and Social Media Addiction Questionnaire. When grouped by major, statistically significant differences were found only for dedication (p = 0.038), lack of control over social media use (p = 0.016), and excessive social media use (p = 0.002). When grouped by social media use, there were statistically significant differences in all the dependent variables, with p-values ranging from 0.000 to 0.011. Regarding the frequency of social media use, no significant differences were found in academic engagement (p ≥ 0.05), while the opposite was observed for social media use. A comparative analysis identified categories with significant differences. The results enabling an accurate diagnosis and the adoption of the most appropriate educational strategies; also serves as a theoretical and methodological basis for further research on the subject. Full article

The excessive and inappropriate use of the internet by children and young people increases their exposure to risky situations, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. This study analyzes risky situations on social media among children and adolescents. The objective of this work was to identify the risks associated with the use of social media. A comparative analysis of five clustering algorithms was applied to a dataset developed by eBiz Latin America in collaboration with La Salle University of Arequipa and the Institute of Christian Schools of the De La Salle Brothers of the Bolivia-Peru district. Among the results, it was shown that children around 11 years old display a high prevalence of digital risk behaviors such as adding strangers, followed by pretending to be someone else; adults around 43 years old exhibit a tendency to follow strangers and, even more so, to take photographs without permission; adolescents with an average age of 11 show a heavy use of YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. It is concluded that among digital risks in children and adults, the clusters highlight shared vulnerabilities, such as the addition of strangers and exposure to requests for personal data, which persist throughout the life stages but intensify in early adulthood. These findings emphasize the urgency of preventive policies addressing generational differences in social network use to promote proactive responses to digital harassment. Full article

Background: Despite growing concerns about the impact of excessive digital media use on adolescents’ health, few studies have examined how digital detox practices and physical activity interact to influence it, particularly from a gender perspective. Purpose: This study investigated the effects of digital detox and physical activity on adolescents’ health habits, focusing on gender differences and sociocultural implications. Methods: In February 2025, a self-reported survey was conducted among 652 adolescents (mean age = 15.6, SD = 1.4) residing in Seoul, South Korea, using a quota sampling method. The survey measured four domains: demographic characteristics, digital detox practices, physical activity, and perceptions of health habit improvement. Results: Gender-based analyses revealed that female students reported higher engagement in digital detox practices, whereas male students showed greater participation in physical activity and higher levels of health efficacy. Digital detox had a significant positive effect on adolescents’ health habit improvement; however, its effect on physical activity and the effect of physical activity on health habit improvement were not statistically significant. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the complex interplay among digital engagement, physical activity, and gender-based social norms shapes adolescents’ health behaviors. To effectively improve adolescent health, strategies should be tailored to address sociocultural dynamics and gender-specific needs and experiences. Full article

Background: Social media use has grown rapidly and has been integrated into the lives of many adolescents and young adults worldwide. Research indicates that excessive social media engagement can negatively impact sleep quality through various mechanisms. Objective: This scoping review of reviews aims to explore the relationship between social media use and sleep quality among adolescents and young adults, synthesize existing evidence, identify research gaps, and highlight directions for future research. Methods: Arksey’s and O’Malley’s five-stage framework was used to conduct this scoping review. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Medline, and Scopus for articles published between 2020 and 2025. The inclusion criteria were systematic reviews or meta-analyses focused on adolescents and young adults, examining social media use in relation to sleep quality, and peer-reviewed articles written in English. Ten articles met all eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Results: The findings indicate a small but consistent negative effect of social media use on sleep quality. Problematic social media use showed a stronger association with poorer sleep than general social media use. Specific platforms such as Facebook and Twitter contributed most to shorter sleep duration, later bedtimes, and poorer sleep quality, while Snapchat and Instagram showed moderate effects, and WhatsApp and WeChat showed smaller effects. Conclusions: Problematic social media use is strongly associated with poorer sleep quality, while general use may have smaller effects. Future research focusing on longitudinal studies would help deepen the understanding of the effects of social media on sleep and guide targeted interventions. Encouraging responsible or healthy social media use is vital in reducing the risks of problematic use while highlighting the benefits as well. Full article

The Big Five Model has been widely applied across various areas for detecting problematic or even antisocial behaviors. This research explores its potential to identify behavior patterns and usage profiles in digital environments, such as social media use, digital gaming, and related activities. This study first conducted a literature review on mobile phone use, video game addiction, and social media overuse through the lens of the Big Five Model. Then, empirical data from 492 participants were analyzed to assess how each personality trait is associated with exposure to excessive internet use. The results shown that individuals with high openness and extraversion are more likely to engage intensively with social media and online entertainment, whereas those with higher levels of neuroticism, agreeableness, or conscientiousness display lower exposure. These findings align with previous research linking personality traits to neuroanatomical patterns that shape behavioral tendencies. This study suggests that specific personality traits, as defined by the Big Five Model, influence the use of digital media and advertising channels, potentially fostering addictive behaviors in users with higher openness and extraversion. Full article

Social media is deeply integrated into life, offering new opportunities for learning and communication. However, excessive use has been linked to negative effects on well-being and cognitive functions. A rapidly growing platform, TikTok has been a focal point of controversy due to concerns over its short-form content. The present study investigates the relationship between TikTok usage, problematic social media use (PSMU), and executive function (EF) to distinguish platform-specific features from broader patterns of problematic use. A survey conducted with 346 college students measured EF, TikTok use intensity, PSMU, and mental health variables. The findings indicate that while PSMU and TikTok use correlate with EF dysfunction, TikTok use is not a significant predictor when PSMU and mental health factors are statistically accounted for. Mediation analysis suggests that PSMU mediates the relationship between TikTok use and EF impairment, indicating that problematic media use—rather than platform-specific characteristics—relates to poor cognition connected to social media. These results contribute to the growing literature on digital media’s cognitive effects, underscoring the importance of addressing problematic usage patterns rather than focusing on individual platforms. Additionally, the association of PSMU with EF impairments and poor mental health reinforces the need for interventions targeting excessive social media engagement. Full article

Background/Objectives: Excessive social media usage in the current times and high rates of food advertising can impact the health status of individuals by increasing food cues related to perceived hunger and, thus, dietary behaviour. This study examined the association between social media usage patterns, food-related advertising, and dietary choices among Gen Z individuals. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out amongst 314 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 in Surat city, Gujarat. Data was collected for social media usage, the most used platforms, preferred content, and eating patterns. Anthropometric measurements (height and weight) were also recorded. Perceived hunger responses to 12 social media-based food images were assessed using a ten-point Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (version 26.0), with the significance level set at p < 0.05. Results: YouTube and Instagram were the most used social media apps. There were no significant differences observed between the BMI of participants using social media for 2 h a day and those using it 3+ hours a day. However, a significant association between the BMI of those who viewed advertisements for ready-to-eat foods (p = 0.004) and the BMI of those who viewed advertisements for food delivery platforms (p = 0.001) was seen. A significant difference between usage of Pinterest (p = 0.02), Instagram (p = 0.047), and BMI was also found. Conclusions: Social media marketing and food content are shaping the dietary choices of young adults, and more studies need to be conducted in Pan India to understand the reasons. Such evidence will be crucial for guiding nutrition policies, digital marketing regulations, and youth-focused awareness programmes. Full article

Social media is an essential part of people’s lives worldwide. This study aimed to analyze the predictive capacity of social media addiction on academic engagement among students enrolled in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the National University of Chimborazo during the first academic period of 2023. The Social Media Addiction Questionnaire (ARS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-S-17) were applied to 1200 participants during an analytical study. According to the simple linear regression model, 11.2% of the variance in academic engagement levels was explained by social media addiction, with statistical significance (p < 0.05). The multiple linear regression model was significant, although it showed a low capacity to explain and predict the level of academic engagement, considering the dimensions of the level of addiction to social media (obsession, lack of control, and excessive use). The ROC curve parameters showed statistical significance, showing a moderate ability to discriminate insufficient academic commitment. The results serve as a basis for future studies and as a diagnostic basis for establishing policies and strategies in the institution where the research was conducted to increase academic engagement and reduce social media addiction. Full article