By Yew Lun Tian BEIJING Hours after China's top legislature convened a special meeting last week to remove

Hong Kong-born singer and songwriter Coco Lee has died by suicide

Britain’s Treasury chief is announcing a hike in the national minimum wage

Duelling protests at Columbia University show a widening generational divide on Israel and Gaza.

By Greg Bensinger, Akash Sriram and Max A. Cherney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Alphabet's second-quarter profit exceeded Wall Street expectations on

European Union lawmakers have decided to fast-track legislation to boost ammunition and missile production in the 27-nation bloc to support the war effort in Ukraine

There is no evidence to suggest using Facebook is detrimental to wellbeing, Oxford scientists have said, challenging the view that the social media platform is linked to psychological harm. Researchers from the University of Oxford’s Oxford Internet Institute analysed data from nearly a million people across 72 countries over 12 years – in the largest study of its kind – to understand more about the impact of Facebook on wellbeing. Professor Andrew Przybylski, who co-led the research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, said: “We examined the best available data carefully – and found they did not support the idea that Facebook membership is related to harm – quite the opposite. “In fact, our analysis indicates Facebook is possibly related to positive well-being.” The research looked at Facebook data from 2008 to 2019, going back to when the platform was in its early stages. “We examined 72 countries’ per capita active Facebook users in males and females in two age brackets, 13-34 years and 35+ years,” the researchers said. The results also showed the association between using Facebook and wellbeing was slightly more positive for males as well as for younger people. It was generally the case that there were positive associations between country-level Facebook uptake and mental wellbeing Prof Peter Etchells Writing in the research paper, the authors said: “Although reports of negative psychological outcomes associated with social media are common in academic and popular writing, evidence for harms is, on balance, more speculative than conclusive.” Professor Matti Vuorre, also of the Oxford Internet Institute, who co-led the study, said: “Our findings should help guide the debate surrounding social media towards more empirical research foundations. “We need more transparent collaborative research between independent scientists and the technology industry to better determine how, when and why modern online platforms might be affecting their users.” Commenting on the study, Peter Etchells, professor of psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University, said: “This is a fascinating study that attempts to link Facebook uptake with measures of mental wellbeing in a broad-strokes manner, using data from over 70 countries. “Contrary to popular sentiment, the researchers didn’t find a negative association between the two; instead, it was generally the case that there were positive associations between country-level Facebook uptake and mental wellbeing. “To my mind, the value in this study lies in proof of principle – it demonstrates that it’s possible to leverage industry data to address meaningful questions about how digital technology interacts with our mental health.” But Prof Etchells said there were some caveats associated with the findings – which the study authors have addressed. He said: “This is a descriptive study, and as such cannot tell us anything about causation – that is, we don’t know how, if, or to what extent, changes in Facebook adoption drive changes in mental wellbeing. “Wellbeing is a complex phenomenon, and even in the context of social media use, we need to be careful drawing any firm conclusions by looking at how people use a single platform such as Facebook.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ozzy Osbourne PlayStation tweet which failed to reveal link to Sony banned Harry and Meghan ring young online innovators after funding awards James Bulger’s mother condemns ‘disgusting’ AI clips on TikTok of murdered son

State agencies are warning people not to eat mountain whitefish caught in the Yellowstone River in the area where a train carrying chemicals went off the tracks in June, according to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The African Union on Tuesday suspended Niger from all of its institutions and activities following last month’s coup “until the effective restoration of constitutional order.”

Israel’s shekel has recouped its losses since the war between Israel and Hamas began, with the central bank

Just five days after winning in Las Vegas, Max Verstappen will climb into his Red Bull for the final time this year on Friday when he begins his bid for another record-extending triumph...

Criminal justice advocates have struggled at the Louisiana Legislature as they seek legal relief for hundreds of people convicted of serious crimes by nonunanimous juries