The Dark Side of Social Media - Unpacking Its Psychological Impact
Social media has revolutionized the way we connect, communicate and consume information. However, its darker aspects pose significant challenges to individuals and societies. This Special Issue (SI) seeks to explore the negative psychological consequences of social media, such as their impact on interpersonal communication, the formation of political beliefs, mental health and body image, consumer behavior, and information processing. We invite research that examines these issues from psychological, media, and communication science perspectives and sheds light on the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral mechanisms that drive these phenomena.
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At In-Mind, we strive to make psychological research accessible and engaging for a broad audience, bridging the gap between academia and the public.
Article Format and Submission Guidelines
- Authors should be active researchers in psychology, communication science or related disciplines.
- Articles should be short review articles of a maximum of 2,000 words with up to 15 references.
- Previous experience in science communication is beneficial, but not required.
Potential topics
We invite contributions on topics including, but not limited to:
- Digital hate, online aggression and cyberbullying
- Mental health and body image
- Radicalization and polarization
- Misinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories
- Illusion of knowledge and belief formation
- Digital divide
- Misdiagnosis of mental disorders
Timeline and Important dates:
All deadlines refer to 23:59pm in the last time zone worldwide.
- Abstract submission deadline: May 2, 2025
- Article submission deadline: June 30, 2025
- Expected publication: Fall 2025
Abstracts of no more than 300 words can be submitted here by May 2, 2025. After evaluation by the editors, selected authors will be invited to submit a full-length article by June 30, 2025, which will undergo anonymized peer review by at least two independent experts. The editors will provide feedback on clarity, language, and suitability for a science communication context. The SI will be published in early fall 2025.
Submission page: Link
Editors
- Rina Meerson (University of Vienna)
- Jana Dreston (University Duisburg-Essen)
Questions regarding the SI and abstracts should be directed to special-issue@in-mind.org.
article author(s)
Rinat Meerson
Rinat is an editor of the international edition of In-Mind magazine. With a background in psychology from the University of Würzburg, she is currently...more
Jana Dreston
Jana Dreston is editor-in-chief of the International version of In-Mind magazine. She studied at the Universities of Düsseldorf...more