All posts tagged: affect

How Does Pornography Affect Relationships?

How Does Pornography Affect Relationships?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Conversations about pornography often begin with a simple question: Is it good or bad for a relationship? Research suggests that this may be the wrong question. Pornography use is not consistently linked to either positive or negative outcomes for couples. Instead, its effects depend on why it is used, whether partners know about it, and whether it fits within the couple’s agreements and values. When pornography use may have positive effects For some couples, pornography is associated with greater sexual communication, exploration, and satisfaction. More favorable outcomes happen when partners use it together, both genuinely want to participate, and feel comfortable talking about porn and sexuality in general. Pornography may give couples a way to discuss their sexual fantasies, preferences, or activities. It can also provide novelty or sexual stimulation and help some people better understand their interests. Couples in which both partners privately use pornography at comparable levels often report greater closeness and communication than couples with very different patterns of use. This doesn’t mean that couples must use pornography equally, but the goal …

Three hurricanes churn in the Pacific, one that could affect Hawaii, as El Niño ramps up

Three hurricanes churn in the Pacific, one that could affect Hawaii, as El Niño ramps up

Published by Sam Flores

Three hurricanes — Karina, Lowell and Marie — are churning in the Pacific Ocean, a high level of activity that climate scientists say is on brand for El Niño, especially given that this year’s event is likely to become the strongest on record. Two of the storms hit major hurricane status this week. Lowell, which could target Hawaii this weekend, reached Category 5 strength Wednesday and has since weakened to Category 3. The storm is moving west but expected to make a sharp turn to the north over the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center, taking it near the islands of Oahu and Kauai. The forecast comes as Hawaii is still recovering from multiple instances of heavy rain and flash flooding over the last six months. Just weeks ago, parts of Oahu and the Big Island were hit with intense flooding and strong winds from Tropical Storm Lala. Damage also remains from devastating floods in March, when more than 25 inches of rain fell in some parts of Oahu and more than 19 inches …

How freshwater swimming could affect your hearing

How freshwater swimming could affect your hearing

Published by Daniella Wilson

Cold water swimming has surged in popularity in recent years, with countless people sharing videos of themselves plunging into local ponds and lakes online, praising the activity’s many health benefits. However, comedian Harry Enfield has recently spoken about some adverse effects he has personally experienced. The 65-year-old comedy actor told Ed Gamble and James Acaster on their Off Menu podcast that his regular swims in North London’s Highgate Ponds have led to hearing issues. “I’m deaf, partially deaf and because I swim in Highgate Ponds, I’ve got stalactites in my ears,” Enfield said. He now uses hearing aids to help with the hearing loss. “They’ve got tiny little hearing aids you can get now and apparently they’re very good. They cost a fortune, but they’re worth having. So, I went to get them fitted,” he added. Harry Enfield says he has developed bone ‘stalactites’ in his ears from freshwater swimming (PA) To understand why freshwater swimming can affect our hearing, and what preventative measures exist, The Independent spoke to audiologist Ryan Reid, a hearing aid …

‘Per my last email’: how email incivility can affect us at work

‘Per my last email’: how email incivility can affect us at work

Published by Sam Flores

Received a rude email at work? You’re not alone. When I was weighing a move from full-time to freelance work, a terse email from a colleague – demanding I redo a task from scratch over a technicality – settled the matter instantly. I quit on the spot. Around the same time, thousands of US government workers received an email requiring them to justify their employment “with approx 5 bullets of what you accomplished this week” – or resign. None of this, it turns out, was particularly unusual. Research from 2015 shows a third of employees receive at least one rude email per day, and email has become even more central to work since then. Although it might seem like a minor irritant, the consequences of email incivility can be far-reaching. How ‘email incivility’ can affect you “All forms of incivility create emotional wear and tear,” says Sandra Robinson, a professor of organisational behaviour and human resources at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business – and email incivility, or rudeness through email communication, …

How Will AI-Driven Automation Actually Affect Jobs?

How Will AI-Driven Automation Actually Affect Jobs?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Alex Imas and Soumitra Shukla via Ghosts of Electricity, One of the most widely cited findings in AI policy comes from a 2023 paper by Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, and Rock titled “GPTs are GPTs.” The title is a nice double meaning: the paper studies how general-purpose technologies (GPTs) powered by large language models (also GPTs) may reshape the labor market. The headline finding is that around 80% of U.S. workers could have at least 10% of their tasks affected by LLMs, and roughly 19% may see half or more of their tasks impacted. Broadly, these exposure measures try to capture how “exposed” the occupation is to AI as a function of whether AI can augment the tasks involved in the job: direct exposure is defined as “whether access to an LLM or LLM-powered system would reduce the time required for a human to perform a specific DWA or complete a task by at least 50%.” The authors are crystal clear on this in the paper: exposure corresponds to the capacity of AI to …

Tell us: how will the UK’s landline switch-off affect you or your family?

Tell us: how will the UK’s landline switch-off affect you or your family?

Published by Sam Flores

UK telecoms companies are retiring traditional landline services and replacing them with internet-based home phone connections. The industry has set a deadline of January 2027 to complete this switch with roughly 3.2 million homes still to move over. While the digital switchover has been straightforward for most households, for some vulnerable customers, such as those with telecare devices, it has been very stressful. In December 2025 Virgin Media was fined £23.8m for leaving thousands of customers, typically elderly and disabled people, without access to their alarms during the transition. We would like to hear from you. Ho do you feel about this change? Are you concerned about how the move will affect you or a friend or family member? Share your experience You can share your responses in the form below or by messaging us.  Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will …

Why eating disorders affect LGBT+ people more

Why eating disorders affect LGBT+ people more

Published by Daniella Wilson

When people picture someone with an eating disorder, many think of a thin, teenage girl with anorexia nervosa. This stereotype is so pervasive it can feel like a fact. The reality is that eating disorders affect people of all ages, body sizes, cultures, races, sexes, genders and sexualities. In 2023, around 1.1 million Australians (around 4.5% of the population) were living with an eating disorder. A growing body of evidence suggests LGBTQIA+ people are particularly vulnerable to developing eating disorders. But we still need more research to understand how and why they affect this group more. Here’s what we know so far about LGBTQIA+ people’s higher risk – and what treatment actually works for them. What is an eating disorder? Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that affect a person’s eating behaviours. They can harm both physical and mental health. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most well-known eating disorders, but the most common are actually binge eating disorder (eating a lot in a short amount of time and feeling out of control) …