All posts tagged: harm

Reclaim Religious Freedom – Tell Congress to Support the Do No Harm Act

Reclaim Religious Freedom – Tell Congress to Support the Do No Harm Act

Published by skeptic

Photo by Matt @elevenphotographs on Unsplash The Do No Harm Act has been reintroduced in Congress by Senator Cory Booker (NJ) and Representative Bobby Scott (VA-3). This bill is fundamental to the goals of the American Humanist Association—and we have the power to make it law with your help. Act now—tell Congress to cosponsor the Do No Harm Act! Whether we are Black, White, Brown, or Indigenous; whether we identify as women, men, or nonbinary; regardless of whether we’re Muslim, Christian, humanist, Hindu, or Jewish; whether we’re gay, straight, or somewhere in between; we share a fundamental belief: every person deserves the freedom to be their authentic self and have equal access to services and opportunities. In the years since the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was enacted in 1993, the far-right has been misusing it to weaponize religion. Today, the law is being insidiously used to undermine nondiscrimination laws and to manipulate our country’s longstanding definition of religious freedom—a freedom that should ensure all people can practice their faith or philosophy, so long as …

Fitspiration images harm body image, while body positive content benefits both women and men

Fitspiration images harm body image, while body positive content benefits both women and men

Published by José

Viewing body-positive social media content, especially images, led to improved body image outcomes compared to fitspiration content, according to a study published in Sex Roles. Body image—our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors concerning our appearance—develops in a sociocultural context. Research highlights how gendered beauty standards disproportionately affect women, emphasizing thinness and linking appearance to worth. Social media plays a significant role, with platforms like Instagram promoting both “fitspiration” (fitness inspiration) content and body-positive messaging. Rachel F. Rodgers and colleagues examined the relative impact of body-positive versus fitspiration content on body image in both men and women, addressing the gap in research regarding men’s experiences with body-positive messaging. The researchers recruited 509 women and 489 men aged 18-25, who were fluent in English, regular users of social media, and had corrected vision. Before the experiment, participants completed baseline measures of state appearance satisfaction and body appreciation, which assessed how they felt about their bodies in the moment. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of five experimental conditions, each representing a distinct type of social media content: …

New study challenges assumptions about social media’s harm to mental health

New study challenges assumptions about social media’s harm to mental health

Published by José

A new study published in Social Science & Medicine challenges widespread beliefs about the effects of heavy social media use on mental health. Contrary to popular opinion, the researchers found that the amount of time spent on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook has little to no significant impact on mental health indicators such as depression, anxiety, or stress. In some cases, the effect of social media use may even be neutral or positive, suggesting that the relationship between these platforms and mental health is more complex than previously thought. Social media has become a central part of daily life for billions of people worldwide, sparking debate about its psychological consequences. Some researchers have raised alarms about potential harms, linking excessive use to issues like depression, anxiety, and stress. Others have highlighted its benefits, such as fostering connections and providing entertainment. However, many studies rely on self-reported data, which can be prone to bias and misrepresentation. The new study sought to address these gaps by using objective data on social media usage to provide a …

Feminine advantage in harm perception obscures male victimization

Feminine advantage in harm perception obscures male victimization

Published by José

A review published in Biology Letters highlights that harm toward women is perceived as more severe than similar harm toward men, a disparity rooted in evolutionary, cognitive, and cultural factors. Maja Graso and Tania Reynolds explore this “feminine advantage” in harm perception, examining how societal responses prioritize harm against women while often minimizing harm against men. The authors trace this bias to evolutionary pressures. Women’s reproductive roles historically made their survival critical for group continuity, fostering norms that prioritized their protection. These norms persist today, shaping moral judgments. For instance, experiments reveal that people are less willing to sacrifice women than men in hypothetical moral dilemmas, particularly when the women are of reproductive age. This tendency diminishes for older women, reinforcing its evolutionary roots. Cognitive biases, such as moral typecasting, further reinforce the asymmetry. Typecasting associates women with victimhood and men with agency, making women more likely to be seen as vulnerable and men as perpetrators. This cognitive shortcut leads to systemic blind spots: male victimization is often ignored or trivialized, while female perpetration of …

The potential psychological harm of being labeled as “addicted” to pornography

The potential psychological harm of being labeled as “addicted” to pornography

Published by José

A recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior offers new insights into how labeling oneself as addicted to pornography might influence both personal and relational outcomes. The study found that while identifying as addicted to pornography is linked with various negative outcomes, it is particularly associated with communication discomfort about pornography and a higher likelihood of relationship dissolution. Notably, these relationship outcomes persisted even after accounting for the degree to which individuals reported their pornography use as compulsive or difficult to control. Instead, “problematic pornography use” refers to cases where individuals’ consumption of pornography becomes excessive, dysregulated, and has a negative impact on their lives. This might manifest as an inability to control one’s use despite wanting to stop, leading to personal distress, relationship problems, or interference with daily responsibilities. The term “problematic pornography use” is preferred over “addiction” in the scientific community for several reasons. One key reason is that the term “addiction” carries significant stigma and moral judgment, which can exacerbate negative outcomes for individuals who feel they have a problem …

Proposed sex education guidance in England goes against evidence and may well lead to harm

Proposed sex education guidance in England goes against evidence and may well lead to harm

Published by skeptic

The UK government has released new plans for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in primary and secondary schools in England. This would see age parameters introduced for key issues in sex education, with no education on sex at all for children under the age of nine. A consultation on these plans has been launched. If adopted, this guidance will diminish years of progress in how young people are educated about sex and relationships – education that keeps them safe. The recommendations set out in the policy are in direct conflict with many years of research in this area of education. The age limits in the new draft guidance set out that puberty should not be taught before year four, when pupils are aged eight and nine. Sex education, which should be in line with what children learn in science about conception and birth – the “factual description of conception in the science curriculum” – shouldn’t be taught before year five, when children are nine and ten. Issues regarding sexual harassment shouldn’t be taught before …

First Minister Humza Yousaf says toxic leadership contest would harm SNP and independence movement | UK News

First Minister Humza Yousaf says toxic leadership contest would harm SNP and independence movement | UK News

Published by skeptic

Outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf has told Sky News the SNP and independence movement would be harmed by a toxic leadership contest. Mr Yousaf, who this week announced he was standing down as SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister, refused to be drawn on his party’s future direction, and said any suggestion of him being forced out of office to make way for John Swinney was “complete and utter rubbish”. The departing leader refuted that Scottish independence was further away than ever before but admitted there’s no “shortcut” to Indyref2. And having “reflected” on his role in last year’s bruising leadership campaign, Mr Yousaf is urging potential candidates to support each other rather than talk each other down. In an interview with Sky’s Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies, Mr Yousaf said he expects a “rollercoaster of emotion” over the coming weeks and months. He said: “I will certainly be regretting the way it ended.” Image: Humza Yousaf announced he was stepping down as SNP leader and first minister of Scotland on Monday. Pic: PA Mr Yousaf …

Deepfake of Principal’s Voice Is the Latest Case of AI Being Used for Harm

Deepfake of Principal’s Voice Is the Latest Case of AI Being Used for Harm

Published by skeptic

The case is yet another reason why everyone — not just politicians and celebrities — should be concerned about this increasingly powerful deep-fake technology, experts say. “Everybody is vulnerable to attack, and anyone can do the attacking,” said Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who focuses on digital forensics and misinformation. Here’s what to know about some of the latest uses of AI to cause harm: AI HAS BECOME VERY ACCESSIBLE Photos You Should See – April 2024 Manipulating recorded sounds and images isn’t new. But the ease with which someone can alter information is a recent phenomenon. So is the ability for it to spread quickly on social media. The fake audio clip that impersonated the principal is an example of a subset of artificial intelligence known as generative AI. It can create hyper-realistic new images, videos and audio clips. It’s cheaper and easier to use in recent years, lowering the barrier to anyone with an internet connection. “Particularly over the last year, anybody — and I really mean anybody …

Northern Ireland legacy act will harm Britain’s reputation, rights panel warns | Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland legacy act will harm Britain’s reputation, rights panel warns | Northern Ireland

Published by skeptic

Britain’s reputation will be severely damaged by the Northern Ireland “legacy” act, an international panel of human rights experts has warned while calling for the government to scrap moves to grant conditional amnesties for Troubles-era crimes. The warning is being made as the legislation comes into force on Wednesday, offering soldiers and paramilitaries a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences for those who cooperate with a new body aimed at truth recovery. Victims’ families, who are in effect being banned from future legal challenges, welcomed a report due to be published by the panel, which was convened by the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR). In one of the first authoritative studies of state impunity, Britain is accused of having operated a “widespread and systemic” practice of protecting security forces from sanction during the conflict. The panel investigated claims that the state not only engaged in collusion but blocked proper police investigations into conflict-related killings to protect security force members and agents implicated in crime. The family of Stephen McConomy, an 11-year-old …

Commentary: Banning TikTok won’t solve social media’s foreign influence, teen harm and data privacy problems

Commentary: Banning TikTok won’t solve social media’s foreign influence, teen harm and data privacy problems

Published by Sam

DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY Proponents of the TikTok sale-or-ban law also claim that the app constitutes an unacceptable threat to data privacy. Gallagher asserted that the Chinese government could use TikTok for espionage to “find Americans, exfiltrate data and track the location of journalists”. Yet, there is little reason to believe Americans’ data is safer with US-based companies. Meta has had a wide range of data privacy scandals. Last year, leaked documents showed that even Meta engineers themselves have minimal understanding or control over how people’s data is used. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, co-sponsor of the House Bill on TikTok, invoked a case involving the dating app Grindr as a successful precedent for forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok. In 2020, the Chinese company that owned Grindr sold the app to a US company following security concerns similar to those surrounding TikTok. But, just last year, a fringe Catholic group in Denver purchased location and usage data from Grindr and other dating apps to track LGBTQ+ priests. Additionally, the Chinese government hardly needs control of TikTok to …