presentation topic of social media

120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

Updated: January 15, 2024

Published: August 09, 2023

Cooking is easy. The puzzle is figuring out what to eat. As soon as you know that, you can get started. The same holds for presentations. The sooner you can whip up a good, informative, and catchy topic, the easier the rest of the process becomes.

Pick a good topic that resonates with you and your audience to set a strong foundation. But select the wrong topic, and it becomes difficult to connect with your audience, find mutual interests, or hold their attention.

So, let’s learn how to develop thought-provoking and relevant topics for your presentations. You’ll also find some best practices to make your presentation memorable.

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How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps

120 presentation topic ideas, 5 presentation tips.

4. Choose an appropriate presentation style.

There are many ways to present a topic. Your personality, the topic at hand, and your audience’s personas will help you determine which style would best fit you and your audience.

Select a presentation style that will communicate the main idea clearly and have a lasting impact on your audience.

For instance, explore a freeform style presenter by Sir Ken Robinson.

5. Engage with your audience.

Work on your presentation skills to make a strong connection with your audience, get through to them and leave a mark.

Think of the presenter as the link between the topic and the audience. A strong or a weak presenter can make a difference between a presentation being a thriving success or a boring failure.

Hone your skills by engaging and interacting with your audience. Make them feel like a part of the presentation and not just spectators. 70% of marketers have found presentations with interactive content to be more effective than those without.

Here are a few ways you can make your presentation interactive:

• Start your speech with uncommon questions to your audience. Involve them from the get-go, like ask to raise their hands if X.
• Make eye contact to build credibility and show confidence. Don’t stare at your slides or notes. Smile occasionally and talk to the audience directly.
• Have an active and confident body language. Don’t stand in the same place the entire time. Move around the stage.
• Don’t be monotonous. Speak as you would to a colleague — with enthusiasm.
• Ask close-ended questions in between to keep the audience engaged without losing time. Address them using their names to keep things interesting.
• Share personal experiences and stories that your audience will find fascinating and relatable.
• Practice thoroughly before you present so you’re fluent with the material and delivery.
• Energy and excitement can be quite contagious. Make sure you exude enough to spread some to your audience.

Feeling Inspired Yet?

Now you have all the right ingredients for choosing amazing topics and a hundred ideas to drive inspiration from. So, go ahead and start cooking presentations that will blow your audience away.

Don’t forget to choose a super-relevant topic and add meaty information. Do it with excitement to make it enjoyable for you and your audience. Best of luck!

Don't forget to share this post!

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FAQs About Social Media Presentation Templates

What are social media presentation templates.

Social Media Presentation Templates are pre-formatted designs that can be used for creating professional and visually appealing presentations related to social media. These templates can be used across various presentation software like PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote. They typically feature elements such as infographics, charts, and diagrams related to the social media realm.

These templates are used to present data and analytics, marketing strategies, campaign overviews, and other related topics in an easy-to-understand and engaging manner. They are ideal for social media managers, digital marketers, business owners, or anyone who needs to showcase information about social media in a professional context.

Why should I use Social Media Presentation Templates?

Using Social Media Presentation Templates comes with several benefits. First, these templates can save you a lot of time and effort. Instead of starting from scratch, you only need to input your data and adjust the design according to your branding or preferences. They provide pre-made layouts, so you no longer have to worry about designing your slides.

Second, templates ensure consistency in your presentation. All slides follow the same design, which contributes to a seamless and professional look. Lastly, these templates help in delivering your message effectively with the help of relevant visuals, making your presentation more engaging.

Why do I need a Social Media Presentation Template when I can use traditional ones?

Social Media Presentation Templates are designed specifically for presenting social media-related content. These templates usually include graphics, icons, and layouts that are tailored to present social media data and strategies. Traditional templates may not have these specialized components.

In addition, using targeted templates for your presentation can make it more focused and relevant to your audience. It also helps in keeping your audience engaged as the visuals are more relatable and easy to understand.

How customizable are Social Media Presentation Templates?

Social Media Presentation Templates are usually fully customizable. You can insert your text, photos, logos, or any other necessary graphics. You can also adjust design elements like color scheme, fonts, and backgrounds to align with your company branding or specific preferences.

Moreover, the included charts, graphs, and infographics are often data-driven, which means you just need to replace the presented dummy data with your own. This feature can make a significant impact in terms of achieving a personalized and professional presentation.

Where can I find quality Social Media Presentation Templates?

Quality Social Media Presentation Templates can be found on various online platforms. These platforms include template marketplaces and specific tools for presentations like SlidesCarnival, SlideModel, Envato Elements, or TemplateMonster. These platforms offer a wide range of templates to satisfactorily cater to your needs.

When choosing a template, be sure to evaluate its design, customization features, and relevance to your content. A preview function is usually available to help you choose the most suitable template. It's also worthwhile to check reviews or ratings if available to ensure it's a reliable choice.

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How to give better social media presentations (free templates included)

Written by by Ronnie Gomez

Published on  December 11, 2023

Reading time  6 minutes

Public speaking skills are a career accelerator, especially in social media marketing . According to the 2023 Sprout Social Index™ , more than half (61%) of marketers agree the most effective way to share social metrics with executive leadership is through in-person presentations or meetings. Whether you’re on Zoom or in a meeting room, you have to speak on your data if you want to get ahead.

If that makes your palms sweaty, don’t panic. Skills can be learned. It just takes time and practice.

If you’re ready to start giving more compelling social media presentations, you’re in the right spot. In this article, you’ll find a list of the essential elements of a social media marketing presentation, expert advice on speech delivery and templates to speed up your deck creation process.

What is a social media presentation?

A social media presentation is a speech, lecture or pitch in which elements of a social media strategy are shared and explained to an audience—senior leaders, internal stakeholders, clients, etc.

Like a snowflake, no two presentations are the same. Every social media marketing presentation is tailored to the needs of a specific situation or goal. Broadly, these presentations can be categorized into the following:

• Pitch presentations : Here, the speaker aims to persuade the audience on a strategic initiative. This could involve pitching services to a potential client in an agency setting, or in-house teams pitching a new tool or process.
• Update presentations : These presentations keep stakeholders informed about the progress of a strategy—wins, opportunities, lessons learned, etc.
• Knowledge-sharing presentations: The speaker aims to educate stakeholders on insights gained through social media data collection .

Each of these presentations has the power to give your social media efforts new meaning. They clarify the return on investment (ROI) of your social media strategy by creating more tangible connections between your work and its results.

The 4 elements of a persuasive social media presentation

It can be difficult to tell when a presentation is ready to share. After spending hours developing a talk track and creating a deck, the lines between critical information and fluff can blur. The following list will help you plan and audit presentations to ensure they’re well-received every time.

1. A cohesive narrative

Why are you delivering your social media presentation?

Behind every exceptional presentation lies a central thesis—a significant idea or perspective that you intend to convey to your audience. Even routine performance updates should have a driving purpose.

Starting from this point will align all of the information you incorporate—from your opening hook to your concluding thoughts—to create a cohesive, compelling story.

2. Succinct slides

Each slide you present should be simple, focused and void of unnecessary distractions. According to Paul Jurczynski, a TED Talk coach and cofounder of Improve Presentation, “The golden rule is to have one claim or idea per slide. If you have more to say, put it on the next slide.”

3. Compelling data visualizations

Social media marketing presentations often come down to proving ROI for stakeholders. Data visualization like graphs and charts are a compelling way to make your case.

In data journalist David McCandless’s TED talk , he explains that the beauty of data visualization is “that we can see the patterns and connections that matter and design that information so it makes more sense, it tells a story or allows us to focus only on the information that’s important.”

Don’t get bogged down in mapping out every single data point you uncover during your research. The best graphs are simple graphs with takeaways that are quick to spot.

4. Room for conversation

Engaging your audience goes beyond simply presenting great content. It’s about fostering a connection with them. It’s not enough to ask “any questions?” at the end of your presentation. You need to create space for everyone to absorb and interact with their newfound knowledge.

Create space throughout your presentation to seek feedback on crucial concepts or areas of concern. Tailored questions create engaged audiences.

Expert advice for delivering your next social media presentation

If you’re looking for presentation advice, who better to turn to than a salesperson? That’s why we went to John Barrows, CEO of JB Sales for his guidance on presenting. Barrows provides professional sales training to companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn and Amazon, plus he has over 25 years worth of presentation experience.

We asked him for his expert advice on giving exceptional presentations. Here’s what he had to say.

Know the ins and outs of your business priorities

A great presentation is all about delivering value. You need to draw distinct lines between the content and its business value . Otherwise, you risk losing your audience’s attention right from the start.

“We have seconds to get people’s attention these days,” says Barrows. “A person’s most valuable asset is their time.”

You can give more engaging presentations simply by staying up to date on company goals and priorities. Get to know what’s top of mind for senior leaders and other stakeholders so you can tailor your presentation content accordingly.

On sales calls, Barrows does this by asking each individual attendee what they’d like to get out of the meeting. You can mimic this approach by setting up regular 1:1’s with team members to stay up to date on their priorities.

Practice, practice, practice

According to Barrows, practice can and will make perfect. “Public speaking is one of the biggest fears that most people have, but a lot of it comes down to confidence and preparation. The more prepared you are, the more confident you’ll be in your presentation.”

Barrows refers to confidence and preparation as the art and science of giving a good presentation. The art can be seen in skilled delivery and a snazzy deck, but it’s preparation that keeps everything on track. “If you come in unprepared to a meeting and you get one curveball of a question, you tend to fall apart. Preparation gives you the confidence you need to adjust on the fly.”

Watch your playback footage

It may make you cringe, but the best way to improve your presentation skills is to record yourself and watch it back.

Barrows figured this out after taking a presentation skills course, but not through instructor feedback. It was watching himself back on video that showed him everything he wanted to fix. Common public speaking issues—like overusing filler words and standing with closed body language—are easy to spot on tape.

The good news is, in increasingly distributed workforces, you don’t have to set up a camera during your Monday morning stand up to get footage of yourself speaking in front of an audience. You can just watch the Zoom recording.

Remember you’re a person speaking to people

This is especially important to keep in mind when talking to business leadership. You may look around and see a group of senior executives but at the end of the day, it’s really just another person.

“When I was first starting out in sales, I would get nervous presenting in front of CEOs and people who I perceived to be smarter or more important than I was,” says Barrows. “Presenting can cause imposter syndrome. But, if you take a minute to connect with your audience, you’ll see they’re not that intimidating.”

We can all agree “picture your audience naked” is universally bad advice. Instead, picture your audience as your friend’s dad or a neighbor. Thinking of people as who they are in their daily lives can be a powerful way to fend off nerves.

3 social media presentation templates to build off of

It happens all the time: You set aside 30 minutes for deck creation and an hour later, you’re still trying to figure out the layout of your third slide. A good presentation deck takes time, but that’s time you could be using to practice.

Instead of stressing over your design chops, try one of these pre-built social media marketing presentation templates. Update them to match your brand guidelines, fill in your information and you’re all set to present.  

Social strategy workshop template

Download the 2023 Sprout Social Index™ Report for a customizable deck template that will help you align stakeholders around key opportunities for your social strategy. Use it to lead conversations around how your business can maximize the utility of:

• Emerging technologies, like AI and automation
• Changing consumer engagement preferences and patterns
• Team structures and collaboration norms
• Revenue impact from social

Social media strategy pitch template

  This leadership presentation deck will help you pitch a compelling vision for your next campaign, initiative or annual strategy. Update it with historical performance insights to bridge the gap between raw data and direct business value.

Social insights analysis template

Your social insights can’t do anything for your business if they live and die within your marketing team. This social insights analysis deck template will help you synthesize findings from social media listening to provide key stakeholders with actionable insights to inform work across the org.

Your next social media presentation will be your best one yet

  It’s perfectly normal to feel nervous before speaking in front of a group; most people do. Some of the world’s best public speakers get the same increased heart rate and sweaty palms as the rest of us. Thankfully, now you have everything you need to give great presentations despite those nerves.

Go prep for your next presentation, and use insights from the 2023 Sprout Social Index™ Report to infuse even more value into your work. With it, you’ll get a presentation-ready insights deck that you can tailor to further establish your expertise.

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How to create a social media presentation for any business and brand (+ bonus tips for newbies)

What is social media presentation.

In the digital age, where attention spans are shrinking, creating an effective social media presentation is crucial for capturing and retaining any client’s interest. For example, when a business is looking for a social media manager (SMM) to boost their company’s social media presence, they want to know what will be done before it is actually done: what results they’ll get and what methods will be used to achieve them. That’s when a social media presentation comes in handy as the most attractive and informative way to introduce a business PowerPoint presentation .

If you wonder how to present a social media strategy, consider the below tips to help guide your path forward. In today’s article, we’ll walk you through the essential steps to create an impactful social media strategy PPT for any platform that not only conveys your message effectively but also engages your client, so dive right in!

How to create a social media strategy presentation?

Before you design slides, you need to have text, images, or infographics to add. A social media PowerPoint presentation must be related to content such as your social media strategy. Below, we share the steps that will help you craft an impactful social media marketing presentation for client they will never forget!

Disclaimer: You should not limit yourself to just one slide, e.g., to show the target audience, and we’ll now give you an approximate skeleton to follow.

Set goals: Slide 1 ⎼ Social media goals

To present informative social media presentation slides, you should have a solid discussion with the client to discover their business goals and transform them into social media goals. It will impact further brand presentation and research on the target audience, competitors, and promotion methods. In such a presentation, your clients will expect clear and tangible metrics.

For example, a shoe company wants to boost its sales using Instagram. In this case, you have to create goals of getting more conversions in sales, like increased clicks to the company’s website. Your social media analytics presentation should depict how a specific promotion method on a specific platform will give specific numbers.

Pro advice: Use Google Analytics for enhanced tracking and PowerPoint redesign services to create compelling diagrams.

Research your audience: Slide 2 ⎼ Target audience

Most clients know the “persona” they are marketing to, but your task is understanding if desirable business goals match the typical buyer persona. If the client doesn’t know their target audience, you should make recommendations but still try to discover the location, age, occupation, or favorite game of the people they want to reach. The more criteria you know, the more targeted tone and voice you will be able to use to influence people’s choices.

Research competitors: Slide 3 ⎼ Competitors

An effective social media marketing presentation ppt has to analyze direct competitors that definitely exist. And their SMM has already tried promotion strategies for you to learn from or avoid. Researching competitors is about thinking outside the box and analyzing their mistakes or successes. Your client should not be present on every platform, so do research and explore which ones will work best for their business.

When looking at competitors, consider two main things:

• MARKET GAP (e.g., there is no podcast about house plant care).
• LEAD ENGAGEMENT (e.g., they get fantastic traffic from Instagram).

Remember, researching competitors teaches you what to do and what not to do: posting frequency, type of content, followings of their followers, and more.

Do social media audit: Slide 4 ⎼ Social media analysis

Any social media report presentation must summarize what the company is already doing. It may be a new company you have to launch social media channels for, and it may be an experienced business looking for a new strategy.

If you create a social media strategy for an existing company, you have to audit its media to define baseline metrics: the number of followers, demographic data, average engagements, content performance, and other important analytics.

If you create a social media strategy for a startup, you will have what to offer only after researching their personas and suitable social media. For example, the target audience is women aged 40 to 55 living in the suburbs, so you offer to go with Facebook.

Set up the infrastructure: Slide 5 ⎼ Content posting tools

In the case of a new company, setting up the infrastructure means doing manual work or making use of SOPs to automate processes.

Answer the following questions if you’re going to do everything manually:

• Am I going to post things natively?
• How are we going to get the content calendars approved?
• Am I the only one to contact/answer the audience in DM/messaging?

In the case of established companies, they will most probably onboard you on a tool they already use and assign a colleague for you to master it quickly.

Create a content calendar: Slide 6 ⎼ Instagram/Facebook/TikTok content calendar

The last thing is putting together your content calendar and content into motion, which can be the hardest part. The last slides in the social media presentations ppt show an example of a post and calendar in tools like CoSchedule. For instance, you will post stories daily, behind-the-scenes images twice a week, and share product posts thrice weekly.

Regardless of plenty of scheduling tools, we advise building a simple content calendar in Excel Spreadsheets to send directly to a client and get approval/feedback.

6 bonus tips for newbies

Tip #1: develop a compelling storyline.

Every effective presentation tells a story, and social media presentations are no exception. Craft a compelling narrative that takes your client on a journey, keeping them engaged from start to finish. Begin with a strong introduction, followed by a clear progression of ideas, and conclude with a memorable closing. Remember, a well-structured storyline can enhance the overall impact of your social media content strategy presentation.

Tip #2: Design eye-catching visuals

Visual elements play a crucial role in any presentation. Create visually appealing graphics, images, and videos that complement your content and are consistent with the brand’s aesthetics. Then, ensure they are optimized to maintain a professional and cohesive look across different devices.

Pro advice: If design is not your cup of tea, consider hiring a professional PowerPoint redesign company to create beautiful icons, diagrams, and other visuals for you.

Tip #3: Incorporate engaging multimedia

Diversify your content by incorporating various multimedia elements. Leverage the power of videos, GIFs, and interactive elements to captivate your client even more.

Tip #4: Keep your social media presentation ppt concise

In the fast-paced world of social media, conciseness is key, so keep your presentation focused on the essential points. Avoid overwhelming your client with excessive information. Instead, prioritize clarity and simplicity to ensure your message is easily digestible. Consider using bullet points, short sentences, and impactful visuals to convey your ideas efficiently.

Tip #5: Leverage data and statistics

Support your claims and statements with relevant data and statistics. Incorporating credible information not only adds authenticity to your presentation on social media strategy but also helps build trust with your client. However, be sure to attribute your sources to enhance credibility.

Tip #6: Optimize for mobile

With the increasing use of smartphones, optimizing your presentation for mobile devices is crucial. Ensure that your content is responsive and looks appealing on smaller screens. Test your presentation on various devices to identify and address any formatting issues. A mobile-friendly presentation enhances accessibility and caters to the preferences of on-the-go clients.

Creating an effective social media campaign presentation requires a thoughtful combination of understanding the client’s needs and their target audience, compelling storytelling, and visually engaging content. By following the tips outlined above, you’ll be well-equipped to craft presentations your client will most definitely appreciate.

In case you need any help with social media slide design, don’t hesitate to contact us for professional assistance. Our presentation design experts are available to help 24/7/365!

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• Social Media Presentation 101: How to Properly Pitch Your Strategy to Your Clients

In 2024, social media marketing has become an essential part of modern business. If you’ve ever wondered why that is, take a look at these statistics:

• In 2021, over 4.26 billion people used social media worldwide—a number projected to increase to almost six billion by 2027.
• 78% of consumers say they’re willing to buy from a company after having a positive experience with them on social media.
• 91% of executives plan to increase social media marketing budgets in the next three years.

Free to use image sourced from Unsplash

These are just a few of the reasons why all kinds of businesses, from car dealerships to sellers of online communication technologies, are keen to invest in social media marketing. While the demand for services is growing, however, the industry is also becoming fiercely competitive.

Persuading your prospective client that you know how to build a high-converting social media marketing funnel or organize their social media calendar isn’t enough; if you want to stand out among your competitors, you need to convince them you can help to achieve their specific goals.

A strategic social media presentation is where you can showcase your skills and tell your client what value you can deliver for their business. Are you looking for tips on how to pitch to a prospect? Then read this brief guide to find out what makes the best possible presentation!

In-depth research

Preparation is key to delivering high-quality work. Make sure you base your presentation on thorough research. Learn as much as you can about your client, from their brand to their industry, products, customers, and competitors.

Gathering information about your prospect can also protect you against a potentially bad client , as you may be able to spot certain red flags at this stage.

This could involve:

Getting to know your client

Learning as much as you can about your client will enable you to build a tailor-made strategy for them. You can research their website, social media profiles, product catalogs, and customer reviews. Find out about their brand, industry, and business, as well as their values, objectives, needs, and problems.

It’s helpful to establish who is in charge of marketing in the company, who the members of the marketing team are, and what their budget is. Equipped with this knowledge, you’ll be able to optimize your strategy and the process of implementation. For example, you might suggest your client explores the application of integrations to streamline their approach.

Finding out about their audience

Developing a successful strategy for a business requires knowing its customers and social media audience. At the very least, it’s useful to understand which platforms they’re present on, the groups and demographics they appeal to, and who they wish to attract. It may also be worth your while to test and track ad creative elements they currently have on their social channels to see how these are performing.

Knowing these things will allow you to propose well-informed solutions and strategies. For example, you can help your client find ways to expand their social media reach or attract a specific demographic such as GenZ.

Researching their competitors

A successful social media marketing strategy will make your client stand out. To achieve this, you need to know about their competitors’ social media presences and strategies, as well as the products or services they offer. Only then can you design a campaign that will differentiate your client and emphasize their advantages.

For example, if your client is a new online communications technology provider, check out industry rankings and comparison sites to find out what other competitors to eVoice have to offer, and then design your strategy around the things that make your client special. Perhaps they can offer their customers a useful feature free of charge? If so, this might become the central theme of your campaign.

A personalized approach, trust, and good communication

The information you gather at the research stage will help you develop a strategy based on a personalized approach . Your presentation should reflect this. Use it to persuade your client that you’re there to help them solve their problems and achieve their goals and have the experience and resources to do it.

To do this:

Focus on the client

Image sourced from semrush.com

A 2019 Semrush study showed personalization is the most important factor determining the success of a sales agency pitch and matters more than the pricing strategy, value proposition, or relevant stats and benchmarks. So, it’s definitely a good idea to tailor your presentation to your specific client! Let them know you’re aware of their needs, challenges, and preferences. It’s also useful to specify what you’ll need from them to make your strategy work.

Back your plan up with examples and case studies from your past work that your prospect can relate to. Coming back to our previous example, a new online telecommunications technology provider may be keen to learn what you achieved for a virtual call center solutions business previously, but less interested in your campaigns for a fashion brand.

Establish your credibility

In addition to showcasing your experience and expertise and demonstrating your track record of successful campaigns, you can establish credibility by telling clients more about yourself and how you work. A Stanford study showed people tend to remember stories rather than facts and figures.

Telling a prospective client about your professional journey or how you started your agency can leave a lasting impression on them. Introducing your team and their respective roles or describing the business process (i.e. how you work with your clients) can be helpful too.

Foster good communication

Be open to answering your client’s questions after the presentation and leave your contact details so they can reach you with any queries at a later stage (letting them call you on a virtual number free of charge may encourage them to get in touch).

It’s good practice to send a “thank you” email after the presentation in which you also ask for feedback.

Planning, design, and delivery

There’s little need to emphasize the importance of good planning, attractive design, and professional delivery in business presentations.

You’re probably already familiar with the principles of designing and delivering a strong presentation, and there are plenty of resources available to consult for inspiration and guidance. Nonetheless, below you’ll find a brief recap of the basics to refresh your memory.

Structure your information

A good presentation must be well structured and focused on the main objectives. Include all the relevant information and present it in a logical order, so your audience leaves the room having a clear idea of what you wanted to say. Make the content informative but not overloaded with facts and figures.

There are various approaches to structuring your presentation. One helpful piece of advice is to follow the 10/20/30 presentation rule , which states presentations should have 10 slides, last no more than 20 minutes, and have a font no smaller than 30 points. You may want to modify this model or adopt a different one that suits your purposes better.

Make it visually attractive

American psychologist Jerome Bruner popularized the theory that people only remember 10 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they read, and about 80 percent of what they see and do. This means the visual side of your presentation is really important. Visualizing information, such as numerical data and stats, can help your audience understand and remember the content.

Visual elements can also make your presentation more aesthetically pleasing. After all, you are showcasing your social media marketing skills ! Looking at your presentation, your client should believe you can turn any content (be it a sample bookkeeping business proposal or a perfume) into something exciting.

Explore online resources

Remember, there are tools and resources available to help you achieve the best results with the presentation design and visual elements. You can reach for  free PowerPoint templates and focus on the content, while having the visuals taken care of by professionals. These can be accessed online from a variety of providers.

If you prefer to develop the presentation yourself but would like some guidance on how to maximize its visual appeal, you can look for advice on industry-related websites. There, you’ll find articles on the latest trends in slide design, valuable PowerPoint add-ins, and a lot more.

Showcase your skills like a pro

As you’re preparing a social media presentation, you will need to give your client a preview of how you can transform their social media profiles . Using screenshots of social media test pages is a solution that many agencies still implement, though it appears less professional and less attractive than some of the innovative options available today.

Instead, you can turn to dedicated tools which will enable you to create, edit, and approve social media content. With it, you can give your prospect the most accurate idea of what you can deliver for them. Moreover, it allows you to modify posts as and when needed. The tool will help you plan and schedule a social media campaign using predefined time slots.

Ensure a smooth delivery

Delivery is both about your presenting skills and the format of your presentation. In addition to employing top-level public speaking to engage your audience, you need to choose the best presentation environment and file type.

A good way to catch the audience’s attention early on is to tell a story or quote astonishing statistics. Then, keeping them engaged depends as much on your speaking skills as on attractive visuals.

Remember that choosing your presentation environment and format is an important decision—will you use PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides? Will you rely on templates or prepare the presentation yourself?

Finally, make sure the format you chose will be compatible with the equipment you’ll be using during the presentation and that everything is working smoothly.

Virtual presentations? You’ve got it covered!

Following the expansion of remote working we saw in recent years, virtual presentations have become ubiquitous. Some organizations have adopted them as the delivery method of choice. So, it’s definitely good to have a good grasp of the art of preparing and delivering presentations remotely.

When there is no direct face-to-face interaction between the presenter and the audience, the task of captivating and sustaining the listeners’ attention falls largely on the material. This makes visual and technical aspects of a virtual presentation even more crucial. While presenting remotely may feel less stressful than doing it in person, it also requires adjusting your technique.

Experts point out that a good virtual presentation responds to the challenges of the virtual environment, such as multiple distractions, the distance between the speaker and the audience, and the risk of technical errors. You can largely mitigate them with the right solutions and approach.

Use dynamic elements

So, attractive, eye-catching visuals become more important than ever. It’s a good idea to include dynamic elements, such as animations and videos, though you need to remember not to overload the audience. When it comes to text, slides should ideally contain one or two points expressed in short and punchy sentences. Using an AI slide maker will automate design elements and suggest visually appealing layouts, ensuring that your slides are concise and visually engaging.

Complex ideas and data can be conveyed in infographics and visualizations, while the presentation itself should be well structured and follow a logical plan. You can experiment with different presentation software, check out alternatives to PowerPoint, and make your tools more powerful by reaching for interesting add-ins.

Free to use image sourced from Pexels

Interact with your audience

The listeners’ attention can also be captivated with creative ideas and interactive elements, such as polls and quizzes. Though you don’t see them face to face, you can still maintain eye contact using a webcam, and emphasize some points with gestures. An interactive presentation as it will be more engaging and be more memorable to your audience in the long-term.

You may not be able to eliminate technical issues on the viewers’ side, however, you should ensure a perfectly smooth delivery on your end. Test your equipment and rehearse the presentation to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Sending a copy of your presentation to your audience after the event will give those who may have experienced technical issues to familiarize themselves with it and create an opportunity for a follow-up interaction.

Time to get started

This brief guide should have given you a general idea of what makes a good social media strategy presentation and how to prepare one. Now, you can look for more material and explore each point in-depth, or you can start working on your presentation straight away and consult additional sources as you go along.

Whichever path you take, remember to do your research, plan your slides well, make them visually pleasing, take care of technicalities and—above all—focus on your client and social media productivity . If you fail to address their needs, you won’t be successful, no matter how visually appealing or technically advanced your presentation may be. Good luck!

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Need a good presentation topic? Here are hundreds of them.

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Anete Ezera November 04, 2022

If you’re looking for good topics for presentations, you’ve landed on the right page. In this article, you’ll find plenty of good presentation topics, tips on choosing the most suitable topic for you, and essential design elements to make your presentation a success. 

Many factors go into an excellent presentation. You need to have confident body language and engage your audience to hold their attention. You also need eye-catching visual aids like images, data visualizations, GIFs, and others (all of which you can find in Prezi ), not to mention a great opening to grab attention and a strong closing line to stay memorable. However, the most essential aspect of your presentation is the topic. It’s the core of your presentation, so it has to be strong, insightful, attention-grabbing, and appealing to yourself and your audience in order to evolve into a successful presentation everyone will love. 

How to choose a good presentation topic

There are millions of topics you could create a presentation on, but what defines a good topic? If you’re struggling to either come up with a good topic for a presentation or you can’t decide between multiple ones, here are a few questions you should ask yourself before choosing a topic. 

What’s the goal of your presentation? 

When you’re choosing a topic, consider the meaning behind it. Ask yourself what the purpose of talking about this topic is, and what you want to say about it. Whatever topic you choose to present, the conclusion needs to provide a takeaway or lesson you want to communicate to your audience. A meaningful goal will make your presentation more memorable.  

Are you interested in the topic?

If you’re not interested in the topic, others won’t be curious either. Interest, enthusiasm, and passion enrich your presentation and are noticeable when presenting. Interest shines through and inspires others to find the topic as fascinating as you do. Think about the last time you saw someone sharing something they were passionate about – their excitement drew people in to pay closer attention to what they were saying. 

When choosing a topic, you need to find it or a particular angle of it interesting for yourself. For example, perhaps you’re not a pop music enthusiast, but you’re passionate about studying cultural phenomena. In this case, you can talk about pop music’s influence on early 2000s youth culture. 

Will your audience find this topic relatable? 

While you have to find the topic you’re presenting interesting, you also have to think about your audience. When choosing a subject, consider your audience’s background in terms of demographics, interests, culture, and knowledge level about the topic. Think about what others will find fascinating and relevant, so they’re not bored or confused during your presentation.

Do you have prior experience or knowledge about this topic?

Personal experiences are always great to share in a presentation, providing your unique perspective for anyone listening. While you can easily prepare your presentation based on a quick Google search, it won’t make the same lasting impact on your audience. Choose a topic you have some prior knowledge about, or have an interesting opinion you can share with others. It’ll make your presentation more engaging and memorable.

Ideas for good presentation topics

It’s not easy to come up with a good presentation topic from scratch. It’s much easier to get inspired from other good presentation topics to build your topic on. Whether you’re looking for presentation ideas for work, about me presentation ideas, unique or easy presentation topics, you’ll find them all here.

Without further ado, here are some good presentation topics to choose from or get inspired by.

Presentation topics about social media

• The role of social media in portraying gender stereotypes
• How social media impacts our body image
• How social media shaped Gen Z 
• The most significant differences between the Facebook and TikTok generations
• The negative effects of social media
• The positive impacts of social media 
• The effects of social media on behavior 
• How social media impacts our physical (or mental) health
• How social media has shaped our understanding of mass media
• Should we teach about social media in schools?
• The rise of social media influencers
• How AR Instagram filters impact our self-image
• How to go viral on social media?
• The origins of social media echo chambers
• Social media as a news outlet

Author: Ish Verduzco

Presentation topics about movies

• How movies influence our understanding of good and evil
• Beauty standards represented in movies
• How female characters are depicted in Hollywood movies
• How horror movies and global fears have developed through time
• The adverse effects of romance movies
• How movies have changed our understanding of the Western culture
• Charlie Chaplin and the silent movie era
• The globalization of culture: Hollywood vs. Bollywood
• The psychology behind the music in films
• The ethics of using animals in movies
• Social media’s influence on the film industry
• The history of filmmaking
• The role of color in movies
• The cultural impact of romance movies
• How are gender stereotypes depicted in Hollywood movies?

Author: Cinto Marti

Presentation topics about music

• The impact of pop music on beauty standards
• Should digital music be free for everyone?
• The psychology behind the music in advertisements 
• The effectiveness of sound therapy
• Can music inspire criminal behavior?
• The psychological effects of metal music
• The origins of K-pop
• How does music influence our understanding of the world?
• Can music help in the learning process?
• The positive effects of classical music
• The history of hip hop
• Why is music education essential in schools?
• The psychological benefits of playing piano
• Can anyone become a famous musician?
• The role of music in fashion

Author: Prezi Editorial

Presentation topics about health

• The link between food and mental health
• Inequality in the healthcare system
• Myths about healthy practices
• Simple practices that help you stay healthy
• Health education in schools: Should it change?  
• Toxic positivity and mental health
• The impact of superfoods on our health
• The psychology behind unhealthy eating habits
• Sex education in schools: Why should we have it?
• How to trick yourself into getting better: The placebo effect
• How to strengthen your immune system
• How to tell if someone is depressed
• The health benefits of regular exercise
• The impact of junk food on mental health
• Stress-caused diseases

Author: Prezi Education Team

Presentation topics about human psychology

• What is social depression?
• What triggers panic attacks?
• The impact of testosterone on aggressive behavior
• How to overcome social anxiety
• Differences in the functioning of the brain of a child and adult
• The impact of violent video games on children’s brain development
• How does the use of social media influence our attention span?
• How to overcome childhood trauma
• The influence of marijuana on the human brain
• How does behavioral therapy work
• The psychology behind fame
• The causes of personality disorders
• The differences in brain functioning between men and women
• What happens in therapy sessions?
• The psychology of substance abuse 

Presentation topics about self-development

• The impact of exercise on productivity
• How to deal with stress
• How to deal with procrastination
• The positive effects of meditation
• Why new–year’s resolutions don’t work
• How to overcome bad habits
• The impact of negative thoughts
• The negative effects of self-criticism
• The role of creativity in self-development
• Benefits of journaling
• How to learn something fast
• How to be mindful
• The importance of curiosity 
• How to become more self-aware
• Why it’s essential to spend time with yourself

Author: Nir Eyal

Presentation topics about education

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of online education?
• The positive effects of a gap year
• Should university education be free?
• Inequality in education access
• How language learning benefits brain development
• Emerging gender issues in education
• The importance of socialization in school
• School bullying and student development
• The benefits of reading 
• Is the education system broken?
• What you don’t learn in college
• The link between education and brain development
• The history of schools
• The gender gap in STEM
• The connection between equality in education and economic growth

Presentation topics about culture

• Is graffiti a form of art or street vandalism? 
• Cultural diversity in the workplace
• The impact of culture on gender roles
• The issue with orientalism
• Are humans the only species that has culture?
• How do different cultures view death? 
• The ethical issues of pop culture
• The impact of culture on personal development
• Sexism in different cultures
• The impact of globalization on local cultures
• The viral spread of the #metoo movement
• The history of subcultures
• The problem with romanticizing toxic relationships in movies
• 90s pop-culture influence on fashion trends
• The evolution of cultural psychology 

Author: Devin Banerjee

Presentation ideas for work

• What it’s like to be a digital nomad?
• How to deal with workplace conflicts
• The secret to a productive day
• How to set achievable goals
• The importance of diversity in a workplace
• The positive effects of creative thinking at work
• How to give constructive feedback
• The characteristics of a valuable team member
• Inequality and the glass ceiling
• Racial discrimination in the workplace
• Work habits of different cultures
• How is work perceived in various countries?
• Technological development and the future of work
• The importance of a healthy work/life balance
• The rise of health problems in office work

Author: Charles Huang

Presentation topics about hybrid work

• The positive effects of hybrid work on work/life balance
• Is hybrid work the future work model? 
• How to stay connected in a hybrid work model
• The challenges of hybrid work nobody talks about
• How to stay productive when working from home
• The social effects of hybrid work
• The economic impacts of hybrid work
• Case study: Hybrid work model in [company]
• What causes Zoom fatigue?
• The problem with online meetings
• Is hybrid work better than remote work?
• How to develop a close relationship with colleagues in a hybrid work model
• What kind of company culture is best for a hybrid work model?
• Is hybrid work sustainable?
• Cybersecurity consideration for hybrid working

Author: Barbie Brewer

Presentation topics about public speaking

• The importance of body language in public speeches
• How to appear confident when you’re not
• How to become a better orator
• The use of eye contact in public speaking
• Breathing exercises that will calm you down before public speaking
• The benefits of public speaking
• Ways to improve public speaking skills
• How to leave a great first impression on stage
• How to engage your audience during a public speech
• How to best structure your public speech
• How to end your presentation speech
• Can anyone learn to be good at public speaking?
• How to prepare for a public speech
• What not to do right before a public speech
• How to address a controversial topic in a public speech  

Author: Prezi Team

Presentation topics about entrepreneurship and leadership

• The main principles of a good leader
• The impact of leadership skills on professional performance
• The mistake every entrepreneur makes
• How to successfully lead a cross-cultural team
• How to celebrate inclusivity in a diverse team
• What are the common personality traits of a successful entrepreneur?
• The impact of entrepreneurship on the global economy
• The characteristics of a leader
• The most common challenges of entrepreneurship
• Can anyone learn to become a successful leader? 
• What affects new venture growth?
• The psychology of leadership
• What is crowdsourcing? 
• The benefits of being an entrepreneur
• Common mistakes leaders make

Author: Jill Sinclair

Presentation topics about technology

• The rise of technological development
• Is technology addictive?
• Should we use drones for military and non-military purposes?
• The sustainability of electric cars
• What are deepfakes?
• Limitations of AI machines
• The future of programming
• Ethical issues of AI
• The future of AR in business
• How VR can be used in the medical field

Author: David Vandegrift

Sales presentation topics

• How to make a cold email intro
• What is sales enablement?
• How to build better relationships with customers
• The best way to improve pipeline management
• Coaching via verbal and written role-play
• How to plan cold calls
• What’s a deal-breaker for most customers? 
• All about personalized coaching
• How to manage objections
• How to close more deals
• How to keep your prospects engaged
• Effective sales communication strategies
• How to conduct a competitor analysis
• The most valuable sales skills
• What soft skills do you need to become a successful sales rep?

Author: Cindy McGovern

Easy presentation topics

• Benefits of daily exercise and how to incorporate it into your routine
• Simple and nutritious meal recipes
• Tips for improving time management and productivity
• The importance of recycling
• The history of a local landmark or festival
• Ways to reduce stress
• Exploring different types of renewable energy sources and their impact on the environment
• The basics of budgeting and saving money for future goals
• The benefits of social media for professional use
• Tips for overcoming stage fright
• How to start a meditation practice
• The impact of technology on modern society
• The basics of personal finance
• The health benefits of a plant-based diet
• The history of Earth Day

Good how to presentation topics

• How to create a successful social media marketing strategy
• How to give a persuasive presentation
• How to create effective and engaging content for your blog
• How to discover your strengths and weaknesses
• How to use project management tools to increase productivity
• How to make the most out of boring meetings
• How to build a personal brand
• How to conduct effective market research
• How to use data analytics to improve decision-making
• How to improve your decision-making process
• How to write a winning proposal
• How to create a visually stunning presentation
• How to manage stressful situations at work
• How to make friends as an adult
• How to network at work events

About me presentation ideas

• My journey to becoming who I am today
• My passion for [insert topic or activity]
• My career aspirations and goals
• My travels and adventures around the world
• My hobbies and interests outside of work/school
• My role models and influences
• My strengths and weaknesses
• My favorite books, movies, and TV shows
• My proudest achievements and accomplishments
• My favorite childhood memories
• My family and friends
• My education and academic background
• My volunteer and community service experience
• My personality traits and values
• My vision for the future and how I plan to achieve it

Author: Adam Grant

Student presentation ideas

• The history and evolution of video games
• The history and cultural impact of tattoos
• The impact of social media on body image and self-esteem
• The effects of globalization on local cultures and economies
• The role of education in promoting social justice and equity
• The ethical implications of autonomous weapons in warfare
• The impact of mass media on society and culture
• The causes and effects of deforestation on biodiversity and climate change
• The history and cultural significance of dance in different parts of the world
• The psychology of addiction and recovery
• The impact of the gig economy on labor rights and job security
• The history and impact of feminism on gender equality
• The benefits and drawbacks of renewable energy sources
• The impact of colonialism on indigenous cultures and identities
• The role of technology in promoting global connectivity and intercultural understanding

Author: Edward Quinn

How to create a good presentation 

If you know what you want to present on, it’s time to create an impactful presentation that grabs everyone’s attention. Presentation design plays a crucial role in how your presentation is received and remembered. To stand out and leave a memorable impact on your audience, create a Prezi presentation. Instead of a linear, slide-based presentation, offer an engaging and dynamic storytelling experience to your audience. Breathe life into your presentation with motion, zoom, and spatial relationships. When creating your presentation, consider the following three essential elements: 

Visuals play a significant part in presentation design. They evoke emotions, make a memorable impact, and give more context to the story. Not to mention, 65% of people are visual learners , so visual aids are helpful when explaining a complex topic. 

In your presentation, include different types of visuals, such as images, videos, GIFs, and stickers, all of which you can find in Prezi’s content library. When selecting your visuals, consider what’s relevant and brings additional value to the story. Only add what’s meaningful and necessary. A video or image at the right place and time will enrich the viewing experience and make your presentation more memorable. 

The layout of your presentation is the structure of your story. It’ll help you introduce the topic, intrigue your audience, and unfold the layers of your topic one by one until you disclose your main arguments and summarize the presentation. A good presentation layout has a hierarchical, chronological, or logical flow that leads the viewer from start to finish. 

If you’re creating a Prezi presentation, you can create a dynamic storytelling experience by experimenting with your layout. Instead of going from slide to slide, you can zoom in and out of topics and experiment with different shapes, animations, and effects that draw the viewer into your story world. Here’s an example of a Prezi presentation with a great storytelling layout:

Author: Lydia Antonatos

Data visualizations can elevate your presentation from being a good one to a great one. By providing data behind your arguments, you’ll appear more trustworthy and confident in your audience’s eyes. 

Add charts, graphs, interactive maps, and more to your presentations with Prezi Design. You can choose from a wide selection of charts and maps to illustrate your data. With interactive elements, you’ll be able to engage your audience and make a memorable impact. 

Engaging visuals, a well-structured layout, and relevant data visualizations will provide a great starting base to create a memorable presentation. Discover other tips and tricks that make your presentation effective and capture people’s attention. 

Choosing a topic for a presentation isn’t easy. When selecting a topic, think about the goal of your presentation, your interest and knowledge about the topic, and whether or not your audience will find it relevant and interesting for them. Also, get inspired by other topics that’ll help you figure out what you want to talk about. Lastly, when creating your presentation, consider the impact of visuals, layout, and data visualizations. To simplify the creation process, follow the step-by-step process of making a presentation with helpful tips and resources.

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10 Creative Social Media Presentation Templates

Social media is THE topic of the 21ct century…

it’s a useful tool for connecting people around the globe, generating new business and creating connections, finding new friends or consuming endless entertainment.

So it’s a topic most of us talk and present about every day and luckily this means that there are lots of great and visually engaging Social Media Presentation Templates available for any taste.

We’ve collected some of the best and most creative Prezi presentation templates to illustrate your story. (Many templates also include a PowerPoint PPT version).

1. Social Media Technology Presentation Template

Are you doing business in the digital space or simply want to present about online and social media technologies? Here’s a presentation template for making a slide deck with a 3D Apple devices scene. A large iMac monitor with social media icons, your slide topics and other web devices like iPhones, iPad and Laptop orbiting around it. A perfect scene for illustrating the digital space and online universe. The template includes various business related quotes and company intro design elements which you can reuse in your presentation. Promote your own website or business or talk about the global technology giants and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. Download Includes a Prezi and PowerPoint version.

2. Facebook Mockup Presentation Template

Who are you following on social media and do they deserve your attention? Here’s a creative presentation template for presenting about social media – 3D Prezi Template with a Macbook laptop on a world map background and various social media icons lying around it. Includes a mockup facebook interface which you can also replace with your own image. Talk about social media marketing or tell an interesting story using Facebook. Add your own social media links and replace the screen with your own website or image. Present about social data privacy settings, SEO tactics, viral marketing strategies or even online dating.

3. Online Multimedia Presentation Template

What is multimedia? Looking at this image might give a few clues – it’s a combination of multiple content forms such as text, images, videos, animations, or audio… and social media is filled with this stuff! This presentation template was created to illustrate the concept that we now have our lives filled with multimedia content and it is available with 1 click (or tap) of a button. The template features a bright background scene with a woman pointing a finger at a futuristic touch screen which is filled with images, and social media icons.

4. Social Mobile Presentation Template

Great presentation template for presenting anything related with social media marketing, online communication and instant messaging or SEO and backlinks. Rearrange or duplicate the chat bubble shaped boxes to add more placeholders for your content or zoom in and add your content anywhere else on the canvas. The templates features a smooth 3D background effect while you move from one slide to another which adds an interesting and eye-catching transition effect. Available for Prezi and PowerPoint.

5. Creative Internet Presentation Template

Time to be creative! An abstract 3D Prezi presentation template with a multimedia concept. Various internet and online related objects flying out an ipad screen. Present about your design agency business, social media marketing or creative multimedia project. Template includes many basic pre-designed elements for content: timeline, world map, image gallery, team page etc… Don’t just click through the slides – take full benefit of Prezi Next. Point with your mouse and scroll into any topic you want, don’t make a linear presentation.

6. Digital Design Presentation Template

An abstract 3D and dark themed presentation template for a creative web design or social media presentation. Angled front view of a computer monitor and various objects flying out of it. A great concept to illustrate web design, online marketing, social media, graphic design. Zoom into the colorful circles and insert your own content for your presentation topic. Customize the template to fit your branding style by changing the background color with one click. If you’re into graphic design and want people to know about it, then this a presentation template for you.

7. Social Media Likes Presentation Templates

Ready to become a social media influencer? You need lots of those likes and followers! Presentation template with small white icons forming a Facebook like button shape. Add the symbols you need and present why people should like your page. All the icons can be moved separately. Background image can be changed. Present about social media marketing, using social media in business, making viral content, advertising online

8. Social Media Manager Presentation Template

Every social media account has a manager…. Presentation template where a cheerful young girl with a white shirt is showing blank smartphone, selective focus, image focused on a smartphone screen. Show something important on a smartphone screen. Place slides and content to a blue vector based circles.

9. Social Media Mind Presentation Template

What’s going on in the head of a social media manager or social media user? Introduce your new ideas and show what’s on your mind with a creative thinking presentation template. Prezi template with gears/cogs inside the brain and cloud of graphics hovering above the head. Good Prezi presentation template for illustrating thoughts, mind maps and visualizing creative ideas, or talking about psychology, learning, education , thinking visually. Talk about business plans, future thoughts or simply creative ideas in the making and currently hatching in your brain. Don’t forget to oil the gears!

10. Digital Timeline Presentation Template

Are you on the right track with your digital strategy and online business? A creative 3D technology themed timeline Prezi presentation template. A curvy asphalt road going into a laptop screen with colorful  timeline markers on it.Present about technological developments or the IT roadmap in your business. Add more timeline events by duplicating the existing elements. Show the curvy road to adopting to digital changes and digitizing real world content.

Did you find a template you like?

I’m glad if you did, but no worries, we’ve got plenty more Creative Presentation Templates for you, in case you’re not happy with the above selection.

Be sure to also follow us on Facebook or GIPHY for some fun content:

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The Power of Social Media

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350+ Presentation Topics That Will Appeal to Any Audience

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Published Date : December 4, 2020

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A presentation can be nerve-wracking, may it be for first-timers or pros, as you must turn a critical issue into a dynamic, persuasive, and informative one. Before you enhance your oratory skills and overcome your fear of public speaking , you must brainstorm excellent, fun topics for your presentation.

When doing a presentation, you cannot start a thing without coming up with a presentation topic . It is harder to find the best subject than prepare the lecture, as you need to be specific about the topic you want to present.

Besides oratory skills and PowerPoint mastery, you need to have informative and fun topics for presentations that can influence the audience. Watch this and get more ideas about informative topics:

One of the best ways to nail a presentation is to choose the best presentation topics that fit your expertise and target audience.

How to Choose a Good Topic

Choosing the best one out of informative presentation topics can be daunting and confusing if you want to create an informative speech or lecture. Here are some considerations that you must know.

• Purpose. Deciding your goal determines what your audience will bring after your talk, especially for persuasive presentation topics. Here is a video on various topics about persuasion:

• Audience. Consider your audience’s demographic profiles and common ground when choosing presentation topics and connect them with their interests, beliefs, and social and cultural backgrounds.
• Interests. Determine what presentation topic ideas you are most passionate about and what you know the most. Interesting topics for presentation give a head start upon your research phase, ensuring a well-received discussion for the audience. Get useful guides on how to keep your audience interested in this video:

• Credibility. To convince your audience about the pieces of information that you will discuss, choosing a credible and well-backed lecture is another plus.
• Conciseness . From 12 seconds in 2000, humans’ average attention span decreased to eight seconds in 2017. Thus, being concise is another essential factor in choosing presentation topics, as having a wordy title can confuse or intimidate your potential audience.

Tips on Turning a Boring Topic into an Engaging Presentation

You might have been feeling dejected as you had to prepare for a talk with no fun topics for presentation. It is hard to turn psychology discussions into engaging ones, knowing that this field has jargon and cases that can make your lecture dull.

However, instead of blaming your subject for being boring, avoid being dull instead. Here are some tips on turning a boring topic into an interactive one.

What are the Good Topics to Present in a Speech?

Now that you have skimmed through the tips and ways to choose fun topics for a presentation, making a speech on time needs a good presentation topic. Out of random presentation topics, here are some prominent ones that might give you some ideas.

Interesting Presentation Topics

• Ancient Greek Heroes Modern Interpretation
• Antidepressants and Their Effects on the Human Brain
• How Bad Nutrition Affects a Person’s Appearance
• Traces of Romanticism in Well-known English Literature
• Influences of Music on Mental Health
• How Religion and Politics Blend Within a State
• Most Famous and Nerve-wracking Novels, Books, and Plays
• How Traditional Herbs Get Approved
• Effects of Being a Polyglot
• Being Productive During Pandemic

Good Presentation Topics

• Disney Films’ Most Famous Actresses
• How Media Affects Gender Stereotypes Portrayal
• How Beauty Contests Affects Women’s Self-esteem
• Differences Between Religion and Cult
• Gambling Effects on Human’s Mental Health
• Most Authoritative Politicians and Political Parties
• Ways to Improve the Health Systems
• Preparation and Prevention Against Natural Disasters
• Ways to Alleviate Insomnia
• How to Build Good Relationships Between Children and Pets

5-Minute Presentation Topics

• Best Apps to Improve Academic Performance
• Airport First-timers: Step-by-step Instructions
• Easy-to-make Breakfast Recipes
• How to Avoid Procrastination
• Making Money During Holidays
• How Social Media Lowers Self-esteem
• Working Remotely: Pros and Cons
• Best Online Business and Professions
• Why Trust Your Intuition
• Reasons to Learn Foreign Languages

Fun Topics for Presentation

• How Rock ‘n Roll Started
• Rare and Expensive Coffee Types
• Best Self-development Books for Teens
• Choosing a Specialty in College
• Secrets of a Healthy Relationship
• Benefits of Art Therapy
• How do Journalists and Bloggers Differ From Each Other?
• The Origin of Languages
• Evolution of Artificial Intelligence
• Makeup Life Hacks and Tips

Safety Presentation Topics

• Common Mistakes in General Safety
• Dealing with Ergonomic and Workplace Stress
• Coronavirus Precautionary Measures
• How to Deal with Violence
• Fire and Electrical Safety
• Reportage, Prevention, and Liabilities in Workplace Accidents
• Safety Precautions Against Heat Exhaustion
• Common Workplace Injuries
• Communication Issues and Safety
• Emergency Response Efficiency

Easy Presentation Topics

• Adverse Effects of GMOs on Health and Life
• Effective Ways to Improve Old People’s Health System
• Most Iconic Censorship on Social Media
• Most Prominent Female Political Leaders of All Time
• How to Avoid Being Late
• Globalization and Its Effects on World Population
• Smiling Therapy Positive Effects on Mental Health
• Advancement of 3D Printing and Its Benefits
• How Music Helps in Learning New Languages
• Dealing with Child Prodigies

Controversial Speech Topics

Controversies are all around us, especially online resources. Finding a controversial topic must fit your passion and knowledge; otherwise, it might negatively impact your discussion.

Controversial Leadership Topics for Presentation

• LGBTQ Rights
• Abortion: Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life
• Benefits of Multiculturalism in a Society
• Security and Privacy Concerns about Electronic Voting
• Gun Control Laws and Limits
• Journalism Ethics and Corruption
• Euthanasia Vs. Right to Live
• Death Penalty Pros and Cons
• How Mandatory Minimum Penalties Impact Federal Sentencing
• Torture as an Interrogation Tactic
• Electoral College Abolishment
• Is World Peace Possible?
• Same-sex union
• Lowering Criminal Liability Age
• Banning Animal Experimentation
• High Taxation Rates
• Freedom of Speech and Its Restrictions
• Embargo and Censorship: What to be Publicize
• Insanity Plea as an Excuse
• Tobacco Regulation

Controversial Topics for Teenagers

• Hookup Culture and Its Impact on Teens
• Bullying and Cyberbullying
• Banning Pornography in E-libraries
• Causes of Depression and Other Mental Illness in Teens
• Teen Suicide Liability
• Prohibition of Gambling for Teens
• How to Educate Teens About Drugs
• Dealing with Eating Disorders in Teens
• When Should Teens Start to Vote
• How Parents Should Deal with Teens’ Romantic Relationship
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Education
• Health Impacts of Fast Food for Teens
• How Being a Fan Impacts Teens
• Possibility of Living on Mars
• Why Media Literacy Important for Teenagers
• How Teenagers Can Fight Top Environmental Problems
• Dealing with Diversity in School
• Military Recruitment on Campus
• Pros and Cons of School Uniforms and Dress Code
• Plan B Contraception Access for Minors

What are Some Presentation Ideas for School?

For school purposes, you must find informative but fun topics for presentation as students have a lesser attention span than adults. Here are the presentation topics for academic and educational causes.

Science Topics for Presentation

Science presentation topics are among the most in-demand discussions for students and teachers in technical educational institutions. Here are some ideas to help you out.

Physics Topics for Presentation

• Is Physics Based on Theory or Practice
• Why We Need to Study Physics
• Newton’s Third Law as the Universal Formula
• Why Every Student Needs to Learn Physical Formula
• Is Physics Dependent on Math and Science or Vice Versa
• Why Physics Necessary for Knowledge Testing
• How to Deal with Difficulties in Physics Lesson
• Most Important Topics in Physics

Chemistry Topics for Presentation

• Why Alchemists Seeks Philosopher’s Stone
• Chemists Who Are Nobel Prize Awardees
• How Chemical Weapons Become Main Threat for War
• How to Choose Quality Water
• Making a Kid Interested in Chemistry
• Hair Biochemistry and Its Process
• Effects of Lack of Chemical Elements in a Human Body
• Safety Precautions for Chemical Products

Biology Topics for Presentation

• How the Future Lies in Crossroads of Biological Sciences
• How to Avoid Harmful GMO Foods
• Secrets of Centenarians
• Allergic Reactions Caused by Dust
• Can a Person Survive Without Clean Drinking Water
• How Sports and Nutrition Determine Human Health
• Vaccination and Its Effect on Genotype
• Best Houseplants for Air Purification

Geology Topics for Presentation

• Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions as Causes of Dynamic Geology
• Geomorphology: Intersection of Geography and Geology
• Space Geology in the Field of Cosmology and Planetology
• Geological Timeline from Solid Formation to the Holocene Era
• Geological Events Absolute and Relative Age
• Methods and Principles of Geology
• Geodynamics: The Relationship of the Earth’s Core and Crust Processes  
• Microstructural Geology: Micro-Level Rock Deformation

Astronomy Topics for Presentation

• Differences Between Astronomy and Astrology
• The Possibility of Life on Mars
• History and Discovery of the Milky Way Galaxy
• Does Astronomy Only Study Stars?
• Astronomy as a Separate Subject in School
• Reasons Why Fewer Entrants ChoAstronomynomy
• What Happens If the Sun Died?
• Why Our Future Depends on Astronomical Studies

Technological Science Topics for Presentation

• How Technology Improves Living Standards
• Technology and Its Effect on Cancer Treatment
• How Cybercriminals Use Technology
• Benefits and Threats of Artificial Intelligence
• Saving Time on Internet Technology Usage
• Technological Evolution from the Middle Ages to the Present
• Diffusion Rate of Technology in Developing Countries
• Taking a Break from the Internet

Multimedia Science Topics for Presentation

• Multimedia Features and Classification
• Creating a Multimedia Presentation
• Features of Online Multimedia
• Benefits of Multimedia in Business
• Usage of Multimedia in Computer Games
• How to Create Training Courses Using Multimedia
• Becoming a Multimedia Specialist
• Multimedia and Its Relation to Science

Cultural and Social Presentation Topic Ideas

This aspect mostly concerns psychology and sociology students. Here are some fun topics for presentations that you can check out.

• Culture and Traditions of Native Americans
• How History Connects with Culture
• How Cultural Knowledge Increases Chances of Success
• Identifying Emigrants by Cultural Characteristics
• Why Students Need to Learn About Culture
• Importance of Cultural Appreciation
• Pros and Cons of Diversified Culture
• Best Sociology Books for Starters
• Sociology and Its Express Research
• Empirical Research
• Causes of Social Phenomena
• Mathematical Methods in Sociology
• Social Trends Analysis and Development Patterns
• How to Collect Sociological Information
• Becoming a School President
• Why a President Needs Leadership Skills
• Ways to Raise a Child as a Leader
• Is Leadership an Innate Skill or a Result of Experiences?
• Responsibilities of a Leader
• How Family Relationships Affect One’s Leadership Skills
• Winning a Leadership Scholarship
• How Individual Differs from Social Ethics?
• Politics and International Relations Ethical Principles
• Ethical Communication Rules in Social Media
• Business Ethics and Relationships
• Why Learn Etiquette Knowledge
• Ethical Issues on Famous Artworks
• Knowing About Corporate Ethics

What are Some Presentation Ideas for Healthcare?

There are many physical and mental health topics for school and other conferences , but having fun topics for presentations is essential to make your lecture less complicated. Here are some of the presentation topics that might suit your interest.

Psychology Topics for Presentation

• The Need for Psychologists in Kindergarten
• Best Universities for Psychology
• Choosing a Suitable Psychologist
• Outcasts Children: Psychology Victim
• Psychological State and Its Effects on Productivity
• When Do You Need a Psychologist
• Can a Person with a Mental Disorder Become a Psychologist?

Mental Health Topics for Presentation

• Mental Fatigue: Causes of Failure
• Impacts of Social Media on Mental Health
• Recognizing and Avoiding the Onset of Depression
• Causes of Mental Health Disorders
• How Physical Affects Mental Health and Vice Versa
• Dealing With Mental Breakdowns
• How Music Improves Mental Health

Health Topics for Presentation

• Why Do Pharmacies Sell Over-the-counter Medicines?
• How Allergic Reaction Works
• Sports that Can Improve Health in a Month
• Signs of Bad Immunity System
• Legalization of Marijuana
• Centenarians’ Secret to Good Health
• Healthy Habits Before Exams

Nutrition Topics for Presentation

• The Necessity of Reading a Product’s Composition
• Nutrition Effects on Skin Condition
• Determining Necessary Ratio of Proteins, Fats, and Carbohydrates
• Tips for Restrictive Eating Disorders
• How Sports Nutrition Can Be Dangerous
• Why Being a Nutritionist a Good Career Choice
• Why Quality Nutrition Determines One’s Success

Nursing Presentations

• Nursing Career and Its Growth
• Critical Moments on Painkiller Usage
• Patient Safety During Nursing
• Patient safety during nursing
• Career Growth in Nursing
• The use of painkillers: critical moments
• Health Assessment: What to Check
• Features of caring for patients with mental disorders
• Postoperative patient care
• Features internships and practices for nurses

Dental Presentations Ideas

• Teeth Processes for Babies
• Molar Extraction Process
• Wisdom Tooth: Necessary or Not?
• How Chewing Gum Affects Tooth Enamel
• Causes and Treatment for Oral Cancer
• Diet for Braces

Medical Presentations

• How to Call an Ambulance
• Dealing With Addiction
• Highly Addictive Medical Drugs that You Don’t Realize
• Primary Stab Wound Treatment
• When Surgery Becomes Necessary
• Traditional, Alternative, and Modern Medicines
• Preventing Sport Injuries
• Insomnia Treatment With No Pills
• Anti-aging Pills: When to Avoid It
• Why Go or Reject Posthumous Donation
• Euthanasia and Its Effect on Suicide Rate
• How to Avoid Child Obesity
• Pros and Cons of GMOs
• Diverse Ways to Improve Healthcare
• The Need for Legal Framework on Plastic Surgery Regulations

What are Some Presentation Ideas for Business and Management?

Finding business presentation topics is more difficult as you must show in-depth knowledge of your chosen idea. Here are some of the presentation topics that you can check out.

How a Good Topic Helps on Public Speaking (SECS Elements)

Having the right choice of presentation topics can help meet the Sincerity, Enthusiasm, Confidence , and Simplicity (SECS) public speaking elements due to these reasons:

• A good topic can make you sincere in communicating with your audience.
• Fun topics for presentations can also increase the audience’s enthusiasm.
• Fun topics for presentations also give you confidence as it lessens awkwardness.
• The right topic makes your presentation concise, straightforward, and informative at the same time.

What does a perfect day with the family look like?

Imagine a day filled with laughter, shared meals, and playful adventures. Waking up refreshed, a family connects over breakfast, sharing dreams and creating plans. They explore together, be it a museum visit or a quiet picnic, finding joy in nature, or friendly competition. As the sun sets, reflections filled with gratitude paint the evening, solidifying the love and connection that makes the day perfect, not for its grandeur but for the simple treasures of being together.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

When asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” children explore a world of possibilities. Each child has unique dreams, from doctors to astronauts, artists to veterinarians. Their dreams may change as they grow, but nurturing their curiosity helps them find their true calling.

What’s one habit you want to eliminate and one you want to keep?

Aiming for personal growth, I’ll axe the time-sucking social media scroll and double down on the mood-boosting, energy-zinging exercise routine. Recognizing habits are key, I’ll actively fight for a more balanced and fulfilling life, one mindful step at a time.

Presentation topics are the key to a successful lecture, bringing more opportunities for your career. Choosing among tons of ideas out there can get confusing , but give it a serious thought as your topic impacts your overall presentation.

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Why the Influencer Industry Needs Guardrails

The author argues for an industry in which unethical behavior is punished; professional expectations, pay, and desired outcomes are standardized; and creators are given the same rights and protections as other professional marketers.

And how to professionalize a maturing practice

Idea in Brief

The problem.

Influencer marketing is a global force with huge potential for both positive and negative social impact. Influencers, brands, and social media companies that mislead the public could ruin an industry reliant on credibility.

The industry is built on precarity, with little professional cohesion and inconsistent consequences for unfair play.

The Solution

Marketers must build teams of trustworthy professionals. They must commission work that prioritizes quality and integrity over virality. And the industry as a whole should develop trade organizations and unions to protect influencers, marketers, and the public.

Over the past 20 years the social media influencer industry has grown from nothing into a pervasive global force that has completely rearranged the way information and culture are conceived, produced, marketed, and shared. Commercial sectors such as fashion, beauty, and travel led the way, but nonprofits, government services, and political campaigns are increasingly joining in, hoping to harness the seemingly more authentic medium of influencer marketing.

Stars are using their influencer status to launch their own products and capture more profits for themselves.

• Emily Hund is the author of The Influencer Industry: The Quest for Authenticity on Social Media and a research affiliate in the Center on Digital Culture and Society at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication.

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Five Things About the Role of the Internet and Social Media in Domestic Radicalization

Research on the role of social media and other online spaces in facilitating or motivating terrorism and radicalization has grown exponentially over the past decades. Online technologies and internet platforms are integrated in day-to-day life, and the roles these play in terrorism, violent extremism, and radicalization are cause for concern. The five findings below, derived from research sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), provide insight into how the internet and social media may both promote and prevent radicalization outcomes.

1. The connection between radicalization and the internet is complex and depends on individual and offline factors.

NIJ-sponsored research suggests that virtual engagement and exploitation may be both a cause and a consequence of radicalization and will vary based on the individual. While one individual’s radical ideology may be largely developed through internet activity, another’s ideology may have been radicalized before engaging with online material. [1] Limited research related to radicalization among women, for example, found that internet use and engagement varied based on the severity of their offenses: considerably more women who engaged in activities considered “medium” risk (plotters, recruiters, or material disseminators) interacted with virtual communities versus those who engaged in low risk (travelers, agents, or supporters) or high-risk activities (direct action). [2] This finding is counter-intuitive if we assume risk level rises in parallel with connection to virtual communities, and it highlights the complexity of assessing the role of virtual networks in the radicalization process. It also underscores the importance of considering offline and individual-level factors in addition to online engagement.

2. Individuals engage with violent extremist materials and online networks for various reasons.

Individuals associated with extremist ideologies use and interact within virtual spaces for many reasons and with different goals. Some engage to gain information, others engage to disseminate information, and others engage to be social and interact with others. For example, research on engagement in far-right online forums demonstrates that while some individuals actively engaged with others, some did not, which suggests a difference in the use of online forums for information or socialization purposes. [3] Because there is much diversity in how people express their ideological beliefs and activities online, interventions and activities aimed at preventing and intervening in the radicalization processes should be tailored to the reasons behind online engagement and the nature of the online spaces where that engagement occurs.

3. Spending more time online and on specific platforms may increase an individual’s risk of engaging with hateful content.

Research shows that individuals (especially youths) who spend more time online and use certain websites (e.g., YouTube) may face an increased likelihood of being exposed to or engaging with hateful or potentially radicalizing content. [4] Other NIJ-sponsored research suggests that the use of specific social media platforms by individuals convicted of ideological crimes varies based on ideology but otherwise mirrors the general population’s use of social media platforms more broadly. [5] Research also finds that associating with others who share similar extremist beliefs online contributes to more radical beliefs over time. [6]

4. An individual’s online interactions with others may increase their risk of exposure to hateful or potentially radicalizing content.

Online interaction with both friends and strangers increases the risk of exposure to hateful content. Research on youths finds that online interaction with close friends was associated with an individual being more likely to see hate content. [7] Moreover, research focused on specific youth populations finds that the odds of viewing racist content online are higher among youths who interact with strangers than those who do not. [8]

In addition, research on a women-only Ku Klux Klan forum suggests that online communities that implicitly promote violence and racism may use coded language. Coded language in this context refers to the use of neutral terms to negatively describe identity (e.g., Blue Pill is used in some extremist online forums as a derogatory term for people with conventional views that are considered “ignorant.”)

In this way, online communities lure in non-extremist individuals and then facilitate their recruitment and radicalization into extremist ideology. [9] Future research should examine how violent extremists exploit specific social media platforms to engage and communicate with new followers or tailor their online propaganda and information dissemination strategies to target specific online communities and users.

5. An individual’s beliefs, characteristics, and behaviors may increase their risk of exposure to hateful or potentially radicalizing content.

Certain individual factors — race, political views, and awareness of what constitutes hateful content and risky internet behaviors — may affect the extent to which individuals (and youths in particular) recognize the potential harm in the content they consume online and their reaction to and level of engagement with it. [10] In addition to broader, federal-level efforts to promote digital literacy and resilience, [11] developing appropriately nuanced educational and preventive strategies are of the utmost importance. Targeted counter-narrative campaigns that debunk misinformation and appeal to different groups’ emotions or grievances is a good first step. These should include targeting specific platforms (e.g., Facebook for far-right extremist forums), [12] disrupting “echo chambers” to challenge old/recycled beliefs (e.g., anti-Black sentiments), [13] increasing the frequency of targeted campaigns after an act of violence, [14] and tailoring campaigns by demographic characteristics (e.g., race, gender, geographic region, and population density). [15]

Learn more:

Radicalization on the Internet: Virtual Extremism in the U.S. from 2012-2017

The Creation of Muhajirat in America: Social Media as a Platform for Crafting Gender-Specific Interventions for the Domestic Radicalization of Women 

Assessment of Extremist Groups Use of Web Forums, Social Media, and Technology to Enculturate and Radicalize Individuals to Violence

Opinions or points of view expressed in this document represent a consensus of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position, policies, terminology, or posture of the U.S. Department of Justice on domestic violent extremism. The content is not intended to create, does not create, and may not be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any matter civil or criminal.

[note 1] Colleen E. Mills, et al., “Social Learning and Social Control in the Off and Online Pathways to Hate Crime and Terrorist Violence,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 44, no. 9 (2021): 701-29, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/256024.pdf ; Thomas J. Holt, Steve Chermak, and Joshua D. Freilich, “An Assessment of Extremist Groups Use of Web Forums, Social Media, and Technology to Enculturate and Radicalize Individuals to Violence,” Final report to the National Institute of Justice, 2014-ZA-BX-0004, NCJ 256038, 2021, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/256038.pdf.

[note 2] Janet I. Warren et al., “The Creation of Muhajirat in America: Social Media as a Platform for Crafting Gender-Specific Interventions for the Domestic Radicalization of Women,” Final report to the National Institute of Justice, grant number 2016-ZA-BX-K001, September 2020, NCJ 255237, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/255237.pdf. 3 Holt, Chermak, and Freilich, “Assessment of Extremist Groups Use of Web Forums.”

[note 4] Matthew Costello et al., “Radicalization on the Internet: Virtual Extremism in the U.S. from 2012-2017,” Final report to the National Institute of Justice, award number 2014-ZA-BX-0014, January 2021, NCJ 256036, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/ grants/256036.pdf .

[note 5] Gary LaFree, “Social Learning and Social Control in the Off and Online Pathways to Hate and Extremist Violence,” Final report to the National Institute of Justice, award number 2015-ZA-BX-0004, January 2021, NCJ 256024, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/ grants/256024.pdf .

[note 6] Holt, Chermak, and Freilich, “Assessment of Extremist Groups Use of Web Forums.”

[note 7] Matthew Costello et al., “Predictors of Viewing Online Extremism Among America’s Youth,” Youth & Society 52 no. 5 (2020): 710-727, https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X18768115 .

[note 8] Nigel Harriman et al., “Youth Exposure to Hate in the Online Space: An Exploratory Analysis,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 no. 2 (2020): 8531, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228531.

[note 9] Shuki Cohen et al., “Invisible Empire of Hate: Implicit Ideological Justifications for Violence and Hate in a Female Ku Klux Klan Online Forum,” Violence and Gender 5 no. 4 (2018): 209-225, https://doi.org/10.1089/vio.2017.0072.

[note 10] Costello et al., “Predictors of Viewing Online Extremism.”

[note 11] National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, National Security Council report, June 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/National- Strategy-for-Countering-Domestic-Terrorism.pdf .

[note 12] Mills, et al., “Social Learning and Social Control.”

[note 13] Holt, Chermak, and Freilich, “Assessment of Extremist Groups Use of Web Forums.”

[note 14] Holt, Chermak, and Freilich, “Assessment of Extremist Groups Use of Web Forums.”

[note 15] Costello et al., “Radicalization on the Internet.”

Cite this Article

Read more about:.

Find more titles in NIJ's Five Things series:

• The Role of Social Networks in Domestic Radicalization
• Community-Based Terrorism Prevention Programs
• Individuals Who Engage in Violence Extremism and Similar Offenses

View the full list .

Social media is a lifeline for mental health, not a curse, according to CDC's own data

Being online helps teens avoid suicide, self-harm and other risks. why do media and lawmakers blame it instead, by mike males, published april 12, 2024 5:30am (edt), updated april 13, 2024 1:46am (edt).

The “sharp uptick in depression, anxiety, loneliness and suicide among young people is directly tied to the wide distribution of smartphones,” declares a typical press splash on psychologist Jonathan Haidt ’s newly-released book. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek’ declares that Generation Z’s “mental health crisis” is “in part caused (by) their constant exposure to social media,” another reads amid a daily frenzy of panic condemning teens and screens.

In fact, top authorities barraging lawmakers and the public with a panicky, ill-founded crusade are distorting vital information and ignoring the real issues underlying teens’ mental health and how they use social media.

Let’s begin right at the source: the Centers for Disease Control’s massive, 116-question 2022 survey of 7,000 teenagers that defined and documented the teenage “mental health crisis” – the one almost everyone cites (or, rather, miscites). The full survey is readily downloadable for analysis. Yet, none of the relentlessly alarmist authorities , including Haidt and Murtha, appear to have done so – and, as a result, they may be endangering teens even more.

The one CDC finding the alarmists balloon into a larger campaign citing superficial, correlation-equals-causation “studies” is that teens who go online regularly (one to four hours a day) or frequently (five or more hours a day) report poorer mental health and more sadness than do teens who rarely or never go online (less than one hour a day) – with girls the most affected.

Unfortunately, these same professional and academic authorities omit or flatly falsify the important complexities the entire CDC survey and similarly reliable, comprehensive surveys and meta-analyses show. So what does the data really say about the link between social media and teen mental health?

Fact 1: Social media use is associated – overwhelmingly – with greater teenage safety

Analysis of the full CDC survey reveals a completely different picture, beginning with a fascinating paradox. Figure 1 shows that the same online teens who report being more depressed then go on to report fewer suicide attempts and many fewer  hospitalizations for self-harm than do rarely-online teens.

Three to four times more teens are bullied at home by grownups than are bullied online or at school.

That seemingly contradictory finding for social-media-using teens – more depression, less suicide – invites scrutiny by conscientious social scientists. The reason few did is suggested by the disturbing factor the CDC survey really associates with teen depression: violent (injurious) and psychological abuses by parents and household grownups, reported by an alarming 55% of teens, including 58% of teens under age 16, 63% of girls, and 74% of the LGBQ teens.

Three to four times more teens are bullied at home by grownups than are bullied online or at school . Teens bullied at home are many times more likely also to be bullied elsewhere – a reality authorities ignore.

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While teens who regularly or often go online are 41% less likely to attempt suicide and 62% less likely to be hospitalized for self-harm than rarely-online teens, teens regularly abused by parents/adults are nine times more likely to attempt suicide and 20 times more likely to suffer injuries from self-harm compared to non-abused teens.

So obsessed are the most publicized authorities with social media that they overlook far more important issues. Teens whose parents lost jobs during the pandemic are 34% more likely to suffer poor mental health, 55% more likely to suffer parental abuse, 55% more likely to attempt suicide and 140% more likely to self-harm compared to teens with employed parents. In families where parents lost jobs, twice as many girls as boys reported poor mental health and frequent abuses.

Standard mathematical regression analysis of the CDC survey shows parental abuses are associated with 13 times more teen depression than superficially blamed on social media. Even the most prominent social-media-blamers like psychology professors Jean Twenge and Haidt acknowledge \ the effect of social media on teens’ happiness is “small”, which large-scale meta-analyses also support .

Yet, authorities persist in insisting social media must be the big culprit. It’s as if researchers studying the causes of lung cancer arbitrarily decided to exclude the biggest factor — smoking tobacco — and instead crusaded against a superficial low-level correlation like listening to country music. After all,older rural white people suffer the highest lung cancer rates.

Fact 2: The virtual world is not more dangerous than the real world

The “virtual universe… is more dangerous in many respects … than the physical world,” Dr. Haidt declares . But the nirvana many authorities assume teen life would be if unsullied by screens is the diametric opposite of teens’ reality.

Have health authorities, condemning the much-publicized increases in suicides and drug overdose deaths by adolescents over the last decade, analyzed what actually drives those tragedies?

With startling consistency, the CDC survey shows that teens who are not online are the ones most at risk of suicide, self-harm, being raped, pharmaceutical abuse, other drug abuse (especially heroin), fighting, weapons carrying, unprotected sex, school and dating violence, getting fewer than seven hours of sleep a night and missing school due to fear. A few risks, like cigarette smoking, binge drinking and marijuana use are similar among teens regularly or frequently online as among non-online teens.

Fact 3: The most troubled teens are those who benefit most from social media

Teens who report being depressed, bullied by parents or LGBQ (what the CDC categorizes as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or questioning sexuality) are much less likely to attempt suicide, self-harm or other risks if they are online regularly or frequently compared to their counterparts who rarely/never go online.

LGBQ teens who are online are 45% less likely to attempt suicide, 54% less likely to suffer self-harm injury, 20% less likely to get fewer than seven hours of sleep a night and much less likely to be raped, binge-drink, abuse pills, try heroin, fear going to school, etc., compared to those rarely or never online. The greater online safety of teens abused by parents and household adults is similar.

Fact 4: Social media connects teens with others who help them

The table shows that nearly all the rarely-online teens who consider suicide actually go on to attempt suicide and one-third suffer self-harm, compared to fewer than half and 10%, respectively, of teens who go online regularly or frequently. Why are online teens of all ages and genders less likely to suffer serious outcomes than their non-online counterparts?

We don’t know exactly, but there are indications. The CDC and Pew Research surveys report teens (particularly younger, abused and depressed individuals) often go online to connect with people, such as “family, friends, or other groups” who “can support them through tough times,” as Pew noted. That’s one reason why more online hours is crudely associated with more teen depression – a classic case of “correlation does not mean causation.”

Fact 5: Over 700,000 parent-aged adults died from soaring overdoses and suicides from 2011 through 2021 as teen “depression” rose – also ignored by authorities

Might that mass parent and adult self-destruction make teenagers more depressed?

From 2011 to 2021, deaths from suicide and overdose rose from 2,337 to 3,532 for ages 16 to 19, and from 544 to 1,052 for ages 10 to 15. Suicides and drug overdose deaths among adults of parent ages (30 to 59) soared even more, from 49,676 in 2011 to 96,522 in 2021 – exactly the period teens were becoming more depressed. During the 2011-21 period, suicides and overdoses claimed a staggering 722,000 grownups ages 30 to 59 – roughly equivalent to the entire population of Denver disappearing.

Might that mass parent and adult self-destruction make teenagers more depressed? Compelling studies strongly implicate parents’ abusiveness , mental health and drug and alcohol problems for harming teens’ mental health and fostering suicide and other risks. While the CDC did ask about parents’ abuses and unemployment (both strongly connected to more teen depression, suicide attempts and self-harm), surveys haven’t asked about grownups’ drug/alcohol, mental health, sexual abuse and related issues.

Bizarrely, today’s authorities, led by the Surgeon General, seem completely uninterested in how these glaring parent and adult crises might affect teens. No, they insist the problem is low-association villains like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and smartphones.

Fact 6: Teenage unhappiness relates to larger social conditions

Four times more liberal than conservative teens use social media to organize and activate, Pew Research finds. Girls, in particular, have dramatically brought down their crime, unplanned pregnancy and school dropout rates and are flooding universities and job sectors in record numbers. These are hardly signs of depression. Young liberals are also much more likely to be informed about global events such as climate change . What we term “depression” and “unhappiness” seem to motivate them to action .

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Conservatives aware of these facts must be delighted at the help of liberal politicians in cutting off their young liberal base from social-media communications, information and expression. Gleeful conservatives , exploiting the official myth that teens who report being sad, depressed and anxious must be “mentally ill,” pronounce “children with liberal parents more likely to suffer mental health problems.”

A rough test of the claim that “conservatives are mentally healthier than liberals” is that during the period in question, 2011 to 2021, suicide rates among 10 to 19-year-olds rose 1.6 times faster to levels 1.3 times higher in Republican-controlled states than in Democrat-controlled states, a trend most affecting white teens. This is yet another indication that the “depression” teenagers report today is connected much less to suicide or mental illness than to larger social issues only now being assessed.

Current discussion tells us more about authorities’ mental state than teens’

Repeated panics over young people’s mental health have surfaced every few years over the past century, featuring condemnations of dime novels, nickelodeons, jazz, horror comics, reefer madness, drug lyrics, Hollywood this or that, rock’n’roll, rap, video games and now social media. Many authorities have always found it more satisfying to point accusing fingers at popular culture and cast themselves as heroic rescuers with cries of “the children!” than to confront distressing family and social conditions. Then, we wonder why the United States can’t seem to solve its globally disgraceful social and health epidemics.

Notable exceptions exist. In a 1936 speech to young people , President Franklin Roosevelt, dismissing experts proclaiming 1930s youth as “ lost ” to anxiety, depression and lassitude, declared that young people were right to be unhappy. Ridiculing the “two or three or four new panaceas in every day's papers” to cure young people, FDR welcomed the young “measuring the present state of the world out of your own experiences” and actively challenging its flaws.

Such dynamic affirmations are impossible to imagine today, in which the mental state of leading authorities is more obviously in question than that of young people. Far from being a “mental health problem,” young people’s unhappiness around the world may be the instigator of critically-needed social change.

about mental health

• From conspiracy theories to manifesting: How to navigate the age of "magical overthinking"
• Native American communities have the highest suicide rates, yet interventions are scarce
• Loneliness in America is a crisis. The solution is more structural than individual

Mike Males is a senior researcher at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco.

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Bill Cotterell: Social media law well-intentioned but flawed

Florida’s new law banishing children from social media platforms takes effect on Jan. 1, so we can expect two things to happen right after New Year’s Day.

If they haven’t already done so, big companies like Meta, X, TikTok and similar weapons of mass distraction will send pinstriped brigades of lawyers into federal courts to block implementation of the statute. A coalition of tech giants has already unleashed preemptive legal actions against similar legislation in other states — arguing that somewhere in the Great Beyond, the spirit of Thomas Jefferson sobs silently for what state legislators have done to our sacred First Amendment.

Second, New Year’s Day is a Wednesday, but before the first week of 2025 is out, every elementary and middle school in Florida will have a few secret apps or bogus logins circulating among students who want to keep on doing whatever it is they’re doing with their phones and laptops now. When we were kids, the grownups tried to stop us from getting cigarettes, beer and tattered issues of Playboy — with mixed results — so it probably won’t be too difficult for your average seventh grader to continue scrolling through sites on the bus to school every morning.

As Gov. Ron DeSantis and other supporters of the new Florida law point out, we’ve always had laws forbidding youngsters to gamble, drive cars, sign contracts, get tattoos or have many other sorts of fun. Protecting them from online activities with potentially addictive qualities and demonstrably harmful side-effects ranging from depression to suicide doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch.

House Bill 3, which was a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner in the recently adjourned legislative session, forbids anyone age 13 or younger from creating social-media accounts and requires companies to remove accounts of kids already on their sites. Parental consent will be required for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts.

Another section of the new law requires “adult” websites to block minors. That means porn fans will need to prove their age eligibility through a verification route.

These are quite desirable goals and reasonable attempts at protecting impressionable young minds. But even with the best intentions, the bipartisan House and Senate majorities that enacted the law have posed some serious constitutional questions.

Analogies to smoking, drinking or other adults-only activities are logical, but those are practices with measurable physical effects on an adolescent body. Psychological harm and internet addiction have been reasonably related to spending too many hours gazing and scrolling, but millions of users probably enjoy these sites casually — you could say mindlessly — without depression, suicidal thoughts or damage to body image and self-perception.

The internet is, admittedly, a sewer. But it also has its beneficial uses. 

The same kid who’s getting hateful messages or seeing sadistic violence on some obscure site can also watch — or post — videos of some goofy teen-ager dancing or singing, telling jokes or ranting about political events. Unfortunately, a lot of misinformation, propaganda and just plain lying bounces around the net, like the famous Osama bin Laden letter that enthralled thousands a couple months ago, but you can get garbage from your television or newspaper just as easily.

Restricting TikTok isn’t going to safeguard every kid’s self-esteem. In the 1950s, the grandparents to today’s middle schoolers could spread vicious rumors, cruel jokes, racist remarks or sexual lies in homeroom, and it was all over school before lunch time. Today’s kids just have faster transmission devices.

Protecting children is a noble goal, the most-cited reason behind everything legislators have done in the culture wars. Last year it was drag shows and library books. Now it’s online “influencers.”

Nobody wants to defend porn sites or the swill that swirls around much of social media. Facebook and Tik Tok claim to be policing their platforms, removing hate speech and obscenity, but self-censorship will always be selective.

The trouble is, where the First Amendment says, “freedom of speech,” it doesn’t say “except for people under 14.” Where it says, “freedom of the press,” it doesn’t say “but only if you’ve registered your date of birth with an independent verification service.”

Whatever forbidden fruit is out there, you know the kids are going to find ways to get at it. And they will find allies in some big companies with bottomless bankrolls to pay lawyers who’ll fight to keep the net just as it is.

Bill Cotterell is a retired Capitol reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrat. He writes a weekly column for The News Service of Florida and City & State Florida. He can be reached at  [email protected] . 

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