Impact of various media on health

Governor Gavin Newsom signed landmark bipartisan legislation strengthening California’s nation-leading protections for children online and when using artificial intelligence (AI). The new laws strengthen safeguards for companion chatbots, prohibit social media platforms from offering addictive features to users under 16, and expand privacy protections for children. The bills will protect children by:

Among the 27% of U.S. adults who use AI systems for social, emotional and personal purposes, a third consider their AI as a friend. Many have other striking views:

• 59% Agreed that “AI gives me the support I need”
• 53% Agreed that they “turn to AI for advice on how to handle difficult situations with other people”
• 50% Agreed that they use AI to “talk through personal problems or feelings”

Just over half of U.S. adults say they spend too much time on their smartphone. About a third of adults say their smartphone use is about right, while just 3% say they spend too little time using these devices. Younger adults stand out for describing their smartphone use as excessive. Seven-in-ten adults under 30 say they spend too much time on it, as do about two-thirds of those ages 30 to 49.

More and more Americans are using AI chatbots, including turning to them for health information. These chatbot health users are motivated by a host of reasons, ranging from making diagnoses to learning about their lab results.

On June 25, 2026, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) seeking comment on a wide array of questions about how to update the E-Rate program to reflect how schools and students actually use the Internet.  This item is part of the FCC’s “top-to-bottom” review of all Universal Service Fund programs to promote efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The E-Rate program was created in an era when many schools and libraries lacked access to the Internet, or service would be too expensive for schools to purchase themselves.

Electricity demand is becoming the clearest measure of the AI industry's extraordinary expansion and a test of how long that pace can last. The huge amount of energy required for AI is raising questions about whether the industry's push toward ever-larger models is producing benefits that justify these growing resource demands. In recent interviews, top sustainability executives at tech companies didn't directly answer if they would reconsider growth in the face of environmental concerns. The potential for AI to improve people's lives and c

Although health providers are the most common place Americans turn for information about their health, social media influencers and podcasts also play a major role. This is especially true for young women: 57% of women ages 18 to 29 say they ever get health and wellness information from influencers.

The European Commission preliminarily found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act for the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook. The investigation focuses on features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and the platforms' highly personalised recommender systems.

While there is robust literature on the negative impact of adolescent device use on physical and psychological health, there is less research on the use of technology in the presence of others and its implications for key relationships. Known as “technoference” and “phubbing,” these device-based behaviors have only recently been examined in parent-child contexts. The present study investigated adolescents' perceptions of their primary caregivers' device-centric behaviors, the emotional appraisal of that behavior, and their association with the caregiver–adolescent attachment relationship.

This publication that sets out a new financial logic for sustaining digital adoption programs in the United States, arguing that digital adoption programs are essential services that create measurable economic value that benefits a range of sectors.