In Bits podcast

We had the best time at the @bpscyberpsychology.bsky.social conference this week. It’s the friendliest and most interesting conference. So many incredible presentations from researchers doing interesting and important work! And we got to chat to some of them!

Perfect timing after the conversation we had 😄

We loved being there to chat to all the researchers doing incredible work!! Thanks for getting us a space to set up!

a couple of hours before my keynote, I went through an intense negotiation with the organisers (for over a hour) where we went through my slides and had to remove anything that mentions 'Palestine' 'Israel' and replace 'genocide' with 'war crimes'

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What kinds of people are trolls?

#Cyberpsychology

New Paper! 📱Are Social media mental health policies and wellbeing tools meaningful interventions or superficial solutions? 🤔
#socialmedia #techforgood #trustandsafety

great postdoc opportunity in a lovely place with people doing v important and thoughtful work on health, mental health and employment

The Pod Squad: In Bits | Newstalk Welcome to The Pod Squad!We review podcasts every week so you always have something new to liste...

I was delighted to review @inbitspodcast.com from @nicolafh.bsky.social and @drliam.bsky.social for Newstalk's Pod Squad this week. Find out what we thought about it here: www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...

Anonymous messages! Anonymous messages!

We’ll do another episode on incels - so if that’s what you’ve seen it may go into that episode.

You can answer here or let me know if you’d be happy to record a short voice note to be included.

Or I have a totally anonymous option below

ngl.link/nicolafh

#cyberpsychology

Working on a new podcast episode on radicalisation.

Have any of you an experience you’d like to share? Has someone you know been radicalised - by right wing extremism, white supremacy, religious extremism, or any other type.

#cyberpsychology

How do we process toxic feedback?

We explore how negativity bias impacts us, especially with online feedback. Our brains aren't built for constant hate.

#OnlineHate #Cyberpsychology #OnlineTrolling #OnlineHarassment

Tomorrow - we’ll be talking about trolling. You’ve all seen hateful harassment online - but how prevalent is it, who gets the worst of it, and how does it affect people?

The second episode of this in two weeks will look at who the trolls are.

#cyberpsychology #OnlineHarassment #OnlineTrolling

This is such a great book - it’s the one I recommend to everyone interested in how tech affects our lives. No scaremongering, cherrypicking evidence, or other nonsense. Just really good nuanced and evidence based discussions of the core issues with tech. Easy to read & I loved the audiobook!

A key axiom in media effects research is that effects are nuanced, varied, and indirect. Although this is true ontologically, asking for ever-more ’nuanced’ analyses of media effects is problematic epistemologically as it stands in the way of more insightful, falsifiable, and robust theorizing. For this reason, we advocate a shift in research priorities and propose four guidelines for future research: 1. Value description; 2. Prioritize regularities; 3. Formalize models; 4. Unify theories. A collective effort along these lines will allow for better cumulative theorizing and, in turn, a stronger understanding and explanation of media effects.

New Preprint: "A Simple Future For Media Effects"

@lennertcoenen.bsky.social, @yesuncomm.bsky.social, & I critically discuss our field's current emphasis on complexity.

Instead, we argue to value description, prioritize regularities, formalize models, and unify theories.

osf.io/preprints/os...

Social media use in adolescents with and without mental health conditions - Nature Human Behaviour Using a nationally representative UK sample of adolescents with clinical-level mental health symptoms, this Registered Report examined differences in social media use. The results suggest that adolesc...

11-19-yrs-old with mental health difficulties use social media more and differently. This does not mean that social media cause poor mental health, but that those who are vulnerable use social media in ways that may worsen their mental health doi.org/10.1038/s415...

If you missed our last episode - this is the bit you want to hear! Why do men send d*ck pics?

#cyberpsychology

@drliam.bsky.social @nicolafh.bsky.social

Thank you - we’re glad you enjoyed it!

Online Dating - Part 2 Podcast Episode · InBits · 15/04/2025 · 40m

Listen on Apple Podcasts here

podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/i...

Online Dating - Part 2 InBits · Episode

Listen on Spotify here

open.spotify.com/episode/3VPb...

Do you want to know why men send d*ck pics, and not just on dating apps? Then this episode is for you!

We talk about why they do it (it might not be what you think), how different groups of people react to them (women, including young women and girls, men)

We also talk harassment! It’s fun! 🫠

Online Dating - part 1 Podcast Episode · InBits · 08/04/2025 · 1h

podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/i...

Online Dating - part 1 InBits · Episode

Ever wondered if the dating scene has changed over 20 years?

We talk about who is dating online, all the different motivations for using, beyond relationships, what people are getting out of it, and what makes people more successful at it

#cyberpsychology

open.spotify.com/episode/6Jz4...

Online Dating - part 1 InBits · Episode

Our first online dating episode is out. We focus more on the positive aspects - who dates online and why, what are the benefits beyond meeting a partner? Also how does it work - what works and doesn’t work in dating profiles from the research?

#cyberpsychology

open.spotify.com/episode/6Jz4...

Episode 3 - online dating - is out tomorrow!

This is the first of two parts - because apparently Nicola can’t stop talking about this topic!

Part one is the who, why, and what people get out of it episode.

Part two - next week - will be the darker side

#cyberpsychology

Thanks John! We weren’t responding to Adolescence - we recorded before that. But moral panic about phones has definitely risen since the show came out. A lot of that discourse doesn’t look at the issues around toxic masculinity which are a significant issue. We will do another episode on that later!

#Adolescence itself has created a moral panic as a reaction to it! Thanks to @inbitspodcast.com for expressing a level head approach, without even mentioning the series! @simonharrisireland.bsky.social Read or listen!

Are we really 'addicted' to our phones? In print @irishexaminer.bsky.social wed!

Tomorrow!! Our episode about technology addiction!

What’s are we in bits about in episode two?

#cyberpsychology

This is a great introduction to In Bits (love the title!) and will help anyone listening to better parse the reporting and research around tech and wellbeing, and spot when bold proclamations in that space are worth questioning. Well done @nicolafh.bsky.social and @drliam.bsky.social!

A screen grab of the podcast charts for mental health podcasts in Ireland. In Bits, my podcast on cyberpsychology, is placed at number two, behind Fearne Cotton’s pod Happy Place

Delighted that so many people are listening to our first episode!! 🥳

#cyberpsychology #podcast