In a major moment for the tech sector, a Los Angeles jury has found Meta and YouTube negligent in a landmark case over the mental health impact of social media on a young user. The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified as Kaley, argued that she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child and that the platforms’ design features contributed to body dysmorphia, depression and suicidal thoughts. The jury awarded $6m in damages in total, including compensatory and punitive damages, with Meta responsible for 70% and YouTube 30%.

Why this matters goes far beyond one case. Commentators are already describing it as a potential turning point for the social media industry, and it is likely to shape hundreds of similar lawsuits now moving through U.S. courts. The case focused heavily on alleged addictive design features such as recommendation algorithms, autoplay, notifications, filters and infinite scroll, rather than user-generated content itself, which is important because it may provide a legal route around the protections platforms usually rely on.

For higher ed marketers, this is another clear sign that the wider mood around youth social media is shifting fast. The implications are not immediate ad bans, but greater scrutiny of how platforms are designed, how young audiences are targeted, and what “safe” engagement should look like. Expect more regulation, more parental concern, and more pressure on institutions to strike the right balance between reaching prospective students and demonstrating care, credibility and digital responsibility.

The U.S. student recruitment picture seems to be increasingly uneven. On the international side, the latest State Department figures confirm a sharp slowdown. Student visa issuances fell by 35.6% over summer 2025, dropping from 289,510 to 186,160. June was the worst month, with issuances down almost 50% year on year after a temporary pause in visa appointments.

But the deeper issue goes beyond one disrupted month. Policy volatility, visa revocations, social media screening, concerns around OPT, reduced consular capacity and general uncertainty have all contributed to a loss of confidence in the U.S. as a study destination. India (one of the country’s most important growth markets) was hit especially hard, with visa numbers down by around 63%.

At the same time, domestic demand is telling a different story. According to Common App, students submitted 9.4 million applications by 1 March, up 5% year on year, while the average applicant applied to 6.59 colleges. There was also continued growth among first-generation, fee-waiver eligible and Black applicants, suggesting that domestic opportunity and ambition remain strong even as affordability pressures continue.

The catch is that international applications through Common App are down 9%, with particularly sharp falls from parts of Asia and Africa. So while domestic demand is healthy, the global pipeline is showing signs of strain much earlier in the funnel.

This is a clear reminder that U.S. recruitment is no longer moving in one clear direction. Domestic audiences are still engaged, but international growth can’t be taken for granted. That means more careful market diversification, stronger reassurance messaging, and much closer attention to conversion barriers long before students reach the enrolment stage.

If your social performance felt flatter in 2025, Buffer’s latest data suggests you weren’t imagining it. Based on activity from more than 191,000 users and tens of millions of posts, the platform found that engagement declined on Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads last year, while Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok were broadly stable or slightly up.

For higher ed marketers, the bigger point is not that these channels are “failing”, but that they are getting more crowded and more format-driven. Instagram’s shift towards Reels is likely one reason feed post engagement is down, while LinkedIn and Threads are both dealing with more competition for attention as user activity grows.

New Zealand strengthens its post-study work offer

New Zealand is making a clear play for international talent. From late 2026, eligible graduates will be able to apply for a new six-month graduate work visa, giving them time to find a job and potentially move on to a longer-term employer-sponsored route. At the same time, the country is widening eligibility for its existing post-study work visa, including some Level 7 Graduate Diploma students who already hold a bachelor’s degree. Both visas will cost NZD $1,670.

This is part of a much bigger strategy: New Zealand wants to nearly double the value of international education to NZD $7.2bn by 2034, and it is already seeing momentum, with enrolments up 14% in the first eight months of 2025 and education exports reaching NZD $4.52bn. So, in other words, post-study work rights remain one of the strongest levers in global student decision-making, and New Zealand is actively sharpening its edge.

Australia’s student economy is booming, but policy is sending mixed signals

Australia’s international education sector generated AUD $53.6bn in export income in 2024/25, up around 5% year on year and now firmly the country’s largest services export. In practice, that means money brought into Australia by incoming international students through tuition fees and day-to-day spending. It underlines just how central international students are to both the wider economy and universities, where they account for roughly a quarter of revenue while more than 40% of institutions have been running deficits.

At the same time, Australia has doubled the fee for its key post-study work route, the Temporary Graduate (485) visa, from AUD $2,300 to $4,600, on top of already having one of the world’s highest study visa fees. So in short, demand remains strong, but affordability, policy stability and post-study work value are becoming even bigger parts of the recruitment story for Australia.

Early reporting from The Information suggests that ChatGPT ads are still in a relatively early phase. Advertisers currently have limited access to performance data, very light targeting options, and a buying process that is still more manual than the self-serve systems marketers are used to on Google or Meta. That makes it harder to measure outcomes in the traditional sense, but it is also fairly typical of a platform that is still building out its ad offering.

What matters most is the direction of travel. OpenAI is preparing to roll ads out across all U.S. users on free and low-cost ChatGPT tiers, which means the audience available to advertisers is set to grow quickly. As more prospective students use AI tools to research institutions, courses and careers, ChatGPT is starting to look like a platform universities will want to understand early rather than ignore.

For now, it makes most sense to think of ChatGPT ads as an emerging brand-awareness and discovery opportunity rather than a fully developed performance channel. For universities willing to test, the value may be less about immediate conversion and more about learning, experimenting and building an early presence in a space that could become much more influential over time. The measurement tools may still be catching up, but the opportunity itself is becoming harder to dismiss.

With so much pressure on teams to produce more short-form video, it helps to know what the data says is actually working. This latest study from Emplifi breaks down the creative choices that have the biggest impact on retention, reach and engagement, and there are some useful lessons here for higher ed marketers creating Reels for student audiences.

The bigger takeaway here is that strong Reels performance is not just about chasing trends or posting more video. It is about making creative choices that align with how people actually watch: quickly and often with sound off until something grabs them. For university teams, that means clear human-led storytelling, simple structure and content that feels native to the format. Read the full guide now.