Policy@Manchester Articles

Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues

  • All Posts
  • UK Politics
  • Energy and Environment
  • Growth and Inclusion
  • Health and Social Care
  • Urban
  • Science and Engineering
Policy@Manchester Articles: Archives
Tag Archives for: "social media"
You are here: Home / Archives for social media
Harmful online content image

The challenges of regulating online speech

Author headshot By Mihaela Popa-Wyatt Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Digital Futures Posted: July 27, 2023

Hate speech or harmful speech is any expression (speech, text, images) that demeans, threatens, or harms members of groups with protected characteristics. It includes slurs, name-calling, discriminatory and exclusionary speech, incitement to hatred and violence, harassment. Online communities are a particularly fast way to spread hate. In this article, Dr Mihaela Popa-Wyatt explores the main questions […]

Tagged With: digital, Digital Futures, online safety, online safety bill, social media, technology

Phone showing social media app icons

Infodemic: tackling conspiracy theories on social media

Professor Peter Knight By Peter Knight Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Digital Futures, Growth and Inclusion Posted: March 29, 2021

In February 2020 the Director-General of the World Health Organisation warned that “we’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic,” because “fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.”  There has been large debate around ways to control the spread of misinformation and disinformation, especially on […]

Tagged With: conspiracy theories, COVID-19, digital, Health & Social Care, journalism, media, News, SALC, social media, technology, vaccinations

Social media and mental health: Can we trust what we’re being told?

By Margarita Panayiotou Filed Under: Digital Futures, Health and Care Posted: May 19, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent lockdown initiated in much of the world, has highlighted the crucial role of social media in social connectivity and news dissemination. In this blog, from our publication On Digital Trust, Dr Margarita Panayiotou explores whether social media is as bad for our mental health as we are led to […]

Tagged With: children's mental health, digital, mental health, mental health awareness week, MHAW20, MIE, OnDigitalTrust, public health, social media, technology, Youth mental health

Don’t panic! Keep calm and help young people to benefit from social media

By Neil Humphrey and Margarita Panayiotou Filed Under: Digital Futures, Health and Social Care Posted: February 7, 2019

In our final blog for Children’s Mental Health Week, Professor Neil Humphrey and Dr Margarita Panayiotou discuss mental health and social media. A causal link between young people’s use of digital technologies and their subsequent experience of mental health difficulties has not been proven. Social media can have both positive and negative effects on mental […]

Tagged With: #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek, #SDG, #SDG Good Health and Well-Being, Children & Young People, children's mental health, CMHW, digital, Digital Futures, Health & Social Care, mental health, MIE, screen time, social media, World Mental Health Day, Youth mental health

Toxin in the System?

By Stephen Hutchings Filed Under: All posts, British Politics Posted: April 9, 2018

Stephen Hutchings, Professor of Russian Studies at The University of Manchester, examines the role RT, the Russian International Television Network, plays in Russia’s ongoing ‘War on Truth’ and offers advice as to how UK security policymakers can address the challenges posed by the television network. Russia Today (RT) When the Salisbury poisoning story broke, RT […]

Tagged With: intelligence & security, international relations, National Intelligence, social media, technology

Banner image with Policy@Manchester visual branding

Young people, social media and the Internet: part of the problem and the solution?

By Terry Hanley Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Health and Social Care Posted: February 22, 2017

In the coming weeks, the House of Commons Education and Health Select Committees will be hearing oral evidence on their inquiry into children and young people’s mental health and the role of education. Members of the Manchester Institute of Education have written three blogs expanding on some of the key issues in their submission and […]

Tagged With: children, education policy, education select committee, Health Select Committee, internet, mental health, MIE, select committee inquiry, social media, young people, Youth mental health

Banner image with Policy@Manchester visual branding

How effective is social media in getting people to the polls?

Rachel Gibson By Rachel Gibson Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted: October 28, 2013

The question of whether Web 2.0 technologies work in ‘getting out the vote’ is one that remains the subject of some debate. Professor Rachel Gibson, who is leading research into the impact on the electorate, suggests that while online has its place, traditional methods still remain powerfully persuasive. This post is an adapted version of […]

Tagged With: campaign, campaigning, election, polling, social media, vote, voting, web 2.0

Our RSS feed

Receive our latest content and timely updates by subscribing to our RSS feed.

 Subscribe in your reader

Become a contributor

Would you like to write for us on a public policy issue? Get in touch with a member of the team, ask for our editorial guidelines, or access our online training toolkit (UoM login required).

Disclaimer

Articles give the views of the author, and are not necessarily those of The University of Manchester.

Policy@Manchester

Manchester Policy Articles is an initiative from Policy@Manchester. Visit our web site to find out more

Contact Us

policy@manchester.ac.uk
t: +44 (0) 161 275 3038
The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

Copyright © 2025 · Policy Blog 2 on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in