Media Perception Of Social Workers

The puppet influencers are coming...in 2025. | Image: The Verge / Adam Mosseri Instagram is planning to introduce a generative AI editing feature next year that will allow users to “change nearly any aspect of your videos.” The tech is powered by Meta’s Movie Gen AI model according to a teaser posted by Instagram head Adam Mosseri , and aims to provide creators with more tools to help transform their content and bring their ideas to life without extensive video editing or manipulation skills. Mosseri says the feature can make adjustments using a “simple text prompt.” The announcement video includes previews of early research AI models that change Mosseri’s outfit, background environments, and even his overall appearance — in one scene transforming him into a felt puppet. Other changes are more subtle, such as adding new objects to the existing background or a gold chain around Mosseri’s neck without altering the rest of his clothing. View this ...

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge Instagram will now let you showcase your favorite moments from 2024 by adding a collage to your story. The new feature, which is only available through the first week of January, lets you combine a bunch of pictures from throughout the year and share them with friends. You can currently only create collage-like stories by adding a photo to your story, resizing it, moving it around the screen, and then adding more images as stickers. Instagram’s layout feature also lets you add multiple photos to a story, but they only appear in a grid format. Image: Instagram Instagram is rolling out some other temporary features as well, including end-of-year-themed “Add Yours” templates , allowing your friends to reply to your story with one of their own. There are also new “New Year” and “Countdown” text effects, holiday chat themes for DMs, as well as secret phrases, such as “happy New Year,” in notes and DMs ...

Image: The Verge Threads is about to begin testing the ability to schedule posts, according to Instagram’s Adam Mosseri. “Replies cannot be scheduled,” he added , explaining that “we want to balance giving people more control to plan their Threads posts while still encouraging real-time conversation.” Mosseri also makes sure to note that Instagram has been working on this feature “for months.” I’m choosing to take as a sign that the Instagram chief is fed up with the notion that Bluesky is the motivating factor behind every new improvement that comes to Threads. Last week, Threads introduced curated collections of people to follow, which drew comparisons to Bluesky’s starter packs. Yesterday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Threads now has over 100 million daily active users, marking the first time that the company has revealed a DAU figure for its Twitter / X competitor. Threads also has more than 300 million monthly active users. No matter how Me...

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge In a series of Threads posts this afternoon, Instagram head Adam Mosseri says users shouldn’t trust images they see online because AI is “clearly producing” content that’s easily mistaken for reality. Because of that, he says users should consider the source, and social platforms should help with that. “Our role as internet platforms is to label content generated as AI as best we can,” Mosseri writes, but he admits “some content” will be missed by those labels. Because of that, platforms “must also provide context about who is sharing” so users can decide how much to trust their content. Just as it’s good to remember that chatbots will confidently lie to you before you trust an AI-powered search engine , checking whether posted claims or images come from a reputable account can help you consider their veracity. At the moment, Meta’s platforms don’t offer much of the sort of context Mosseri posted about today, alth...

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images Nearly half of US teens are “almost constantly” online, though the platforms they spend their time on vary significantly, according to a new Pew survey . Despite some variety in their overall online habits, virtually all teenagers use YouTube. Of the 1,391 teenagers polled by the Pew Research Center, 90 percent said they use the site, a slight decrease from 95 percent in 2022. And 73 percent of them go on YouTube every day, making it by far the most popular platform for teenage users. The second-most popular app is TikTok, which 63 percent of teens say they use. Pew Research Center Almost all teenagers polled by Pew use YouTube, but very few are on Threads. But there’s a gender divide, especially among teenagers who say they “almost constantly” use either app: 19 percent of girls say they use TikTok that often, while the same share of boys are constantly on YouTube. And even thi...

Broadcast channel replies allow participants to respond to messages as they can on Instagram posts. | Image: Meta Instagram is adding some new features to broadcast channels that give platform creators more ways to directly interact with their followers. Meta announced that creators can enable “Replies” in their broadcast channel limited group chats, allowing participants to respond to messages and each other’s comments — just like they already can on Instagram posts. Creators can also publish time-sensitive “Prompts” to their channels, presented as questions like “what are you having for dinner today?” to encourage audience engagement. Channel participants have 24 hours to respond with text or photos, and can like their favorite comments left by other users. Instagram is also rolling out new metrics for creators to track, including total number of interactions, story shares, and poll votes, alongside “personalized, actionable guidance” that can help them gr...