Social Media Addiction, Strength Training, and Patient Portals

Social media addiction is not a clinical diagnosis. The concept refers to the idea that specific design features on social media platforms, including infinite scroll, notifications, and platform-specific algorithms, may cause harm to users by robbing them of their ability to exercise free will to leave. Social media addiction is most often used to describe mental health harms to youth and teen users.

> Are children losing the ability to pay attention? (More)
> There are seven main arguments for holding social media companies responsible for harms against users. (More)

Some researchers suggest that the addictiveness of social media hinges partly on the dopamine hit individuals receive from the unpredictability of the response to content—including not knowing whether a user's connections will share or "like" someone's posts, which can trigger anticipatory cycles that keep users glued to their screens. Relatedly, users may remain enthralled because they don't know if the algorithm will next feed them a piece of content they don't want to miss.

> A psychologist suggests turning off phone notifications to help our brains. (More)

> See why some researchers liken social media use to gambling. (More)

> More Americans support cellphone school bans than oppose them. (More)

Numerous ongoing lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms are seeking damages for designing allegedly addictive features. Most recently, in a landmark settlement in August 2026, Meta agreed to pay as much as $17.1B and implement restrictions on teen accounts. That followed a major decision from a Los Angeles jury in March 2026 that found Meta and YouTube negligent regarding addictive features that harmed a young user. It awarded the user $6M in damages. Separately, that same month, New Mexico was the first state to win a trial against Meta for design choices that harm users. A judge later ordered Meta to pay out penalties of nearly $1B.

> Internal Facebook documents reveal that the company found Instagram fuels mental health issues for teens. (More)

> A legal loophole allows celebrities to skip over side effects when promoting drugs on social media. (More)

Discover more: 

> Parents can add friction to app use to reduce their kids' use. (More)

> Social media platforms deal in users' personal data. (More)

> Learn how social media platforms have evolved over the decades. (More)
>... explore everything we've learned about Social Media Addiction. 

 News in Context 

1440 brings you the knowledge and context behind recent intriguing stories:

An exciting update: The FDA approved the pancreatic cancer drug we wrote about in our News in Context section last month.

"Airport malaria" killed two employees at Frankfurt Airport and sickened four others since July; most likely, infected mosquitoes traveled to Germany on an airplane. (More, free w/email)

> Lizards, monkeys, birds, rodents, apes, and livestock can get the disease, too.

> See how malaria transmission works and what happens in the human body.

Two unvaccinated individuals died from measles complications in Pennsylvania, marking the first measles-related deaths of this year and underscoring how the highly contagious disease has taken hold again decades after it had been eliminated in the US. (More, and also read about one of the affected families)

> The 2026 measles count has already far exceeded the total 2025 figures, with almost 3,000 confirmed cases so far.

> Discover how measles infects people and its toll during the Civil War.

Food recalls from the FDA actually aren't higher than normal this year—data reports indicate we're actually 15% below recent historical levels. (More)

> Explore why food poisoning makes us feel nauseated.

> In an average year, one in six people contract food poisoning.

The newest DSM, which defines mental health disorders, will integrate biology for the first time. (More)

> Mental illness in the US costs roughly $282B annually nationwide.

> 88% of US adults say a mental health disorder is nothing to be ashamed about.

 Medical Developments Spotlight 

We love spending time learning about the latest medical breakthroughs and spotlighting research that piques our interest, may influence future research directions, or inform healthcare conversations. Here's what we found this week.

The latest shingles vaccine is linked to reductions in heart problems.

Science | Catherine Offord. Though scientists remain uncertain how Shingrix may help the heart, a new analysis comparing people who received it with those who received an older shingles vaccine concluded that Shingrix-vaccinated individuals had better heart health. Other observational studies report similar heart health benefits in Shingrix-vaccinated people versus unvaccinated people. One theory is that something in the Shingrix vaccine reduces molecules associated with heart disease, such as inflammatory cytokines. (More)

> Recent research found that people with eczema had a 28% higher risk of developing shingles.

> Shingles virus reactivation is something NASA worries about for astronauts.
> The shingles vaccine also appears to slow biological aging. 

Science says a doctor is more likely to respond to your patient portal message if you use their name in your salutation, have an upbeat tone, and write 100+ words.

HealthDay News | Dennis Thompson. Analysis of more than 3.6 million patient portal messages from about a half million separate patients helped researchers arrive at these conclusions, providing new insights about how to boost our chances of getting a clinician's response while they juggle myriad other tasks. (More, paywall may apply)

> Recent research suggests portal message volumes have risen by 157% since 2020.
> Patient portals post test results before doctors provide context, which can lead to stress and misinterpretations.

Brain buildup of tau, an Alzheimer's-linked protein, may manifest as depression symptoms years before memory problems become apparent.

Newsweek | Melissa Fleur Afshar. Repeated brain scans to detect tau, coupled with questionnaires measuring depressive symptoms over time, led to this conclusion. The finding suggests patients and clinicians should flag mood changes because they could be an early warning sign of neurodegeneration in older adults. (More)

> Alzheimer's was first recognized 120 years ago.

> Some researchers suggest microbial brain infections may be responsible for many dementia cases incorrectly labeled as Alzheimer's.

 You're Never Too Old to Gain Muscle

 Etcetera 

> Click any muscle to see targeted exercises, including video workout instructions.

> This compelling interactive allows users to navigate anxiety-inducing scenarios, make choices, and see the repercussions.

> Scientists are creating hypoallergenic cats.

> See how the eight most common blood types are identified.

> Following the NFL's landmark concussion settlement, numerous victims were denied their payouts.

> A baby's due date is not calculated based on when sperm met egg.

> Yo-yo dieting can permanently hurt someone's metabolism.

> Eighty-six common drugs have different results for men versus women.
 

> Black teenage girls are the largest users of social media.

> An influential social psychologist says, "most people have a device addiction."
 

> The oldest medical account of a near-death experience dates to around 1740.

> Griefbots are avatars of dead loved ones, often created with living relatives' input.