Latest news with #focusgroups
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Teenagers aren't good at spotting misinformation online
Misinformation is found in every element of our online lives. It ranges from fake products available to buy, fake lifestyle posts on social media accounts and fake news about health and politics. Misinformation has an impact not only on our beliefs but also our behaviour: for example, it has affected how people vote in elections and whether people intend to have vaccinations. And since anyone can create and share online content, without the kind of verification processes or fact checking typical of more traditional media, misinformation has proliferated. This is particularly important as young people increasingly turn to social media for all kinds of information, using it as a source of news and as a search engine. But despite their frequent use of social media, teenagers struggle to evaluate the accuracy of the content they consume. A 2022 report from media watchdog Ofcom found that only 11% of 11 to 17 year olds could reliably recognise the signs that indicated a post was genuine. My research has explored what teenagers understand about misinformation online. I held focus groups with 37 11- to 14-year-olds, asking them their views on misinformation. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. I found that the young people in the study tended to – wrongly – believe that misinformation was only about world events and scams. Because of this, they believed that they personally did not see a lot of misinformation. '[My Instagram] isn't really like 'this is happening in the world' or whatever, it's just kind of like life,' one said. This may make them vulnerable to misinformation as they are only alert for it in these domains. There was also wide variation in how confident they felt about spotting misinformation. Some were confident in their skills. 'I'm not daft enough to believe it,' as one put it. Others admitted to being easily fooled. This was an interesting finding, as previous research has indicated that most people have a high level of confidence in their personal ability to spot misinformation. Most did not fact-check information by cross-referencing what they read with other news sources. They relied instead on their intuition – 'You just see it, you know' – or looked at what others said in comment sections to spot misinformation. But neither of these strategies is likely to be particularly reliable. Relying on gut instinct typically means using cognitive shortcuts such as 'I trust her, so I can trust her post' or 'the website looks professional, so it is trustworthy'. This makes it easy for people to create believable false information. And a study by Ofcom found that only 22% of adults were able to identify signs of a genuine post. This means that relying on other people to help us tell true from false is not likely to be effective. Interestingly, the teens in this study saw older adults, particularly grandparents, as especially vulnerable to believing false information. On the other hand, they viewed their parents as more skilled at spotting misinformation than they themselves were. '[Parents] see it as fake news, so they don't believe it and they don't need to worry about it,' one said. This was unexpected. We might assume that young people, who are often considered digital natives, would see themselves as more adept than their parents at spotting misinformation. Taking responsibility We discussed whose role it was to challenge misinformation online. The teens were reluctant to challenge it themselves. They thought it would not make a difference if they did, or they feared being victimised online or even offline. Instead, they believed that governments should stop the spread of misinformation 'as they know about what wars are happening'. But older participants thought that if the government took a leading role in stopping the spread of misinformation 'there would be protests', as it would be seen as censorship. They also felt that platforms should take responsibility to stop the spread of misinformation to protect their reputation, so that people don't panic about fake news. In light of these findings, my colleagues and I have created a project that works with young people to create resources to help them develop their skills in spotting misinformation and staying safe online. We work closely with young people to understand what their concerns are, and how they want to learn about these topics. We also partner with organisations such as Police Scotland and Education Scotland to ensure our materials are grounded in real-world challenges and informed by the needs of teachers and other adult professionals as well as young people. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Yvonne Skipper has received funding from the ESRC, Education Scotland and British Academy.
Medscape
23-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
AID Systems Need Upgrades for Premenopausal Glucose Control
Insulin requirements fluctuated significantly throughout the menstrual cycle without a consistent pattern, prompting a substantial proportion of premenopausal women with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to manually adjust their automated insulin delivery (AID) system settings to achieve better glycemic control. METHODOLOGY: Although insulin requirements vary across phases of the menstrual cycle, understanding specific adjustments and strategies to manage cycle-induced changes in glucose control remains limited. Researchers conducted a combined quantitative and qualitative study to determine how often premenopausal women with T1D manually adjust their insulin delivery settings to offset hormonal fluctuations and maintain glucose control. They analyzed 354 menstrual cycles from data provided by 70 women with T1D using AID systems and complemented the quantitative results with qualitative insights from seven focus groups, including semi-structured interviews with 38 participants. TAKEAWAY: A substantial proportion (43%) of women regularly adjusted their insulin delivery settings to counteract hormone-related fluctuations. Women who made insulin adjustments achieved a 5-percentage point greater time in range than those who did not adjust settings. To counteract menstrual cycle-induced glucose swings, women mainly tweaked their basal insulin rates, target glucose settings, and correction factors and — in some cases — resorted to ad hoc tactics like inputting fictitious carbohydrate amounts or deliberately underbolusing. IN PRACTICE: "Our findings highlight the limitations of current AID systems to fully automate glucose control for premenopausal women. As AID systems play an increasing role in diabetes care, it is crucial that they can appropriately adapt to factors affecting glucose levels," the authors wrote. SOURCE: The study was led by Stefanie Hossmann, University of Bern in Switzerland. It was presented on June 23, 2025, at the American Diabetes Association 85th Scientific Sessions held at the McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago (June 20-23, 2025). LIMITATIONS: No limitations were discussed in this abstract. DISCLOSURES: One author disclosed being an employee of Tidepool and serving on the Advisory Panel of Diabetes Center Berne. Another author reported being an employee of Abbott. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Older people ‘bombarded' with ads for funerals, care homes and mobility aids
Older people say they are being 'bombarded' by campaigns for funeral services, care homes and mobility aids by 'out-of-touch' mainstream advertising, a study has found. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said more than a third of the UK population (35%) agreed that older people tended to be negatively stereotyped in ads, with other depictions such as forgetfulness, frailty or not being able to use technology also seen as potentially offensive. While not offensive, depictions such as older people always being wealthy or grumpy, or ads that showed them doing extreme and unrealistic activities, were found to be cliched and irritating. Almost half (49%) said ads using humour at the expense of older people were likely to cause offence. Some 44% believed that older people were either underrepresented or not represented at all in ads, particularly in categories like fashion, beauty, technology and household goods. Respondents also raised concerns about how ads were targeted, saying they felt 'bombarded' by promotions for end-of-life services such as funerals or cremations, life insurance and care homes. The ASA's report, based on focus groups and a survey of 4,000 UK adults, said older people were not only living longer but also continuing to lead full, active lives, contributing to workplaces, families, communities and the economy for longer. However, many of those surveyed said that advertising too often painted a 'very different and outdated picture'. The watchdog said ads showing older people as lonely, purposeless or powerless could be harmful – especially for those aged 75 and over, for whom these portrayals reinforced fears about ageing and social isolation. It also flagged beauty ads that suggested ageing must be 'fought' as potentially harmful. In particular, women aged 65 and over recognised the potential for these ads to cause harm to the self-esteem of women of all ages. The ASA said the findings suggested the ad industry may be 'out of touch' with the reality of ageing. Instead, the public wanted advertising to focus on individuals rather than their age, and portray a diverse range of later-life experiences. The ASA said: 'When ads show older people as vibrant, capable and real, they help rewrite the story of ageing and how we perceive older generations. 'Not only this, but older people represent a significant market with substantial spending power, making them a vital audience for brands that want to stay relevant. 'While we're not currently proposing any new rules, we're hoping that by sharing this research, advertisers will understand how some portrayals of older people are landing with the public today – and where there may be unintended consequences.' Kam Atwal, research lead at the ASA, said: 'As a society, we're living longer, richer and more varied lives. 'Our research reveals that some of today's portrayals of older people in advertising are not being received positively, and that the public want ads to better reflect the varied lives older people lead today. 'This is a real opportunity for brands to embrace the true diversity of later life and take a leading role in challenging outdated perceptions.' Harriet Bailiss, co-head of the Age Without Limits campaign, run by the Centre for Ageing Better charity, said: 'We really welcome this excellent report from the ASA. 'We live in a society where ageism is the most common form of discrimination. We should all want that to end and we all have a role to play in making that happen. 'Advertising has such a powerful influence on society and can help bring about that change and be a force for good, as it has already been for changing other outdated perceptions.'
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Older people ‘bombarded' with ads for funerals, care homes and mobility aids
Older people say they are being 'bombarded' by campaigns for funeral services, care homes and mobility aids by 'out-of-touch' mainstream advertising, a study has found. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said more than a third of the UK population (35%) agreed that older people tended to be negatively stereotyped in ads, with other depictions such as forgetfulness, frailty or not being able to use technology also seen as potentially offensive. While not offensive, depictions such as older people always being wealthy or grumpy, or ads that showed them doing extreme and unrealistic activities, were found to be cliched and irritating. Almost half (49%) said ads using humour at the expense of older people were likely to cause offence. Some 44% believed that older people were either underrepresented or not represented at all in ads, particularly in categories like fashion, beauty, technology and household goods. Respondents also raised concerns about how ads were targeted, saying they felt 'bombarded' by promotions for end-of-life services such as funerals or cremations, life insurance and care homes. The ASA's report, based on focus groups and a survey of 4,000 UK adults, said older people were not only living longer but also continuing to lead full, active lives, contributing to workplaces, families, communities and the economy for longer. However, many of those surveyed said that advertising too often painted a 'very different and outdated picture'. The watchdog said ads showing older people as lonely, purposeless or powerless could be harmful – especially for those aged 75 and over, for whom these portrayals reinforced fears about ageing and social isolation. It also flagged beauty ads that suggested ageing must be 'fought' as potentially harmful. In particular, women aged 65 and over recognised the potential for these ads to cause harm to the self-esteem of women of all ages. The ASA said the findings suggested the ad industry may be 'out of touch' with the reality of ageing. Instead, the public wanted advertising to focus on individuals rather than their age, and portray a diverse range of later-life experiences. The ASA said: 'When ads show older people as vibrant, capable and real, they help rewrite the story of ageing and how we perceive older generations. 'Not only this, but older people represent a significant market with substantial spending power, making them a vital audience for brands that want to stay relevant. 'While we're not currently proposing any new rules, we're hoping that by sharing this research, advertisers will understand how some portrayals of older people are landing with the public today – and where there may be unintended consequences.' Kam Atwal, research lead at the ASA, said: 'As a society, we're living longer, richer and more varied lives. 'Our research reveals that some of today's portrayals of older people in advertising are not being received positively, and that the public want ads to better reflect the varied lives older people lead today. 'This is a real opportunity for brands to embrace the true diversity of later life and take a leading role in challenging outdated perceptions.' Harriet Bailiss, co-head of the Age Without Limits campaign, run by the Centre for Ageing Better charity, said: 'We really welcome this excellent report from the ASA. 'We live in a society where ageism is the most common form of discrimination. We should all want that to end and we all have a role to play in making that happen. 'Advertising has such a powerful influence on society and can help bring about that change and be a force for good, as it has already been for changing other outdated perceptions.'
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How To Earn $750 a Week in Passive Income
If using your spare time to earn good money with minimal effort sounds like a dream gig, it probably is. That's mainly because it's more dream than reality. But there are ways to earn a tidy income via your side gig — $750 a week or more — that don't require a huge investment of time and energy. Read Next: Consider This: Before getting to that, though, know what not to do. As the Best Life website reported last year, some side hustle promotions promise more than they can deliver. These often involve focus group websites that purportedly pay $75 to $150 an hour for testing products online. The problem is, that some of these sites merely connect you to surveys that 'may or may not be trustworthy,' according to Scott Lieberman, personal finance expert and founder of Touchdown Money. 'Personally, I've been in focus groups and made money,' Lieberman told BestLife. 'But the problem is exactly what you think it is: Everyone wants this easy money, so there aren't enough opportunities to go around.' Let's dig a little deeper into how to make some weekly passive income. But certain options provide a legitimate shot at earning $750 a week. Tom Blake, founder of This Online World, recommends focus group websites such as User Interviews and 'Both companies also connect participants with research studies and focus groups,' Blake told Best Life. 'The main difference is studies pay participants, and payments are processed through each website, so you're making money with each platform. Plus, both websites have opportunities paying $50 to $100 per hour or even more, so they're quite lucrative.' Consider This: If you want to pad your income with a side gig, here are some other ways to earn up to $750 a week in passive income: Online reseller: As previously reported by GOBankingRates, you can earn an average of $40 an hour reselling items on platforms such as eBay and Craigslist — or apps like Poshmark. The key is to find bargains on items you have expertise in and then resell them at a profit. Lead generation specialist: Companies and business development teams hire these specialists to find, qualify and generate leads. It's a gig that pays an average of $31.86 an hour. Consultant: If you have built up expertise in an area with heavy demand you can earn an average of $100 an hour as a consultant. This typically involves reviewing an organization's processes and providing advice on how to improve them. There is a particularly high demand for IT consultants. Advertise on your car: Some companies are willing to pay you just to put their ads on your car, which means you earn money for doing something you do anyway. You can earn hundreds of dollars a month just for driving around. Rental income: Renting out a room (or remodeled basement or garage) is a popular way to earn passive income. Just make sure you properly vet all applicants. It's also good to consult a legal/property management expert for a lease covering all the bases. More From GOBankingRates 7 Things You'll Be Happy You Downsized in Retirement The 10 Most Reliable SUVs of 2025 Sources Best Life, Side Hustle Pro Shares 'Super Simple' Way to Make $750 a Week Scott Lieberman, Touchdown Money Tom Blake, This Online World This article originally appeared on How To Earn $750 a Week in Passive Income Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
