Recent social media lawsuits have addressed concerns about mental health. But what about its cognitive effects?

A few years ago, when I’d just started graduate work, I was waiting with a grandmother finishing a questionnaire I’d handed her about her 19-year-old granddaughter who was in the testing room next door. They were participating in a study that used brain imaging to look at adolescent development. The older woman had a soft southern accent and a warm laugh.

“What’s funny?” I asked.

Disturbing and AI-generated versions of Dr Seuss character have been used to threaten schools and communities

Schools and law enforcement authorities in the US are issuing warnings against a viral “Cat in the Hat” social media trend in which disturbing or AI-generated versions of the Dr Seuss character are used to threaten students, schools and communities.

The latest warnings come as safety concerns increase and several teenagers have been arrested or charged over posts connected to the trend.