Social media platforms have grown significantly in recent years, and a relatively new concept on social media is “short-form content” (SFC). A concept that immediately makes us think of platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. One of the most affected fields by this trend is travel and hospitality, where short-form videos have become vital in influencing people’s holiday destinations, housing, and recreational activities. Through this article, several key dimensions were analyzed: the geographical distribution of research, countries such as China and Japan appear as major contributors to the research output, and the keywords dimension. For a better understanding, we used a bibliometric visualization tool, VOS viewer. The VOS viewer analysis focused on the keyword co-occurrence. In the network visualization of the keyword co-occurrence map, terms such as “information,” “tourism,” and “short-form videos” were observed. According to the results, short-form video content is an effective instrument for destination marketing, frequently beating traditional advertisements in terms of engagement, reach, and perceived authenticity. Short-form content is a great way to promote travel, since it is relatable and immediate, unlike static ads or long-form videos. To sum up, this paper adds to the expanding body of research on the relationship between social media innovation and traveler behavior. Mapping the short-form video academic landscape helps researchers identify current trends, research gaps, and strategic opportunities. The impact of short-form video (SFV) on consumer behavior is now a major factor in the development of future tourism marketing and communication strategies, rather than a secondary or emerging topic.

The transition from lower to upper secondary education is a critical developmental stage, requiring decisions with long-term academic and professional consequences. Addressing a gap in evidence that often treats counselling, family educational capital, and place of residence separately, this study examines how these factors jointly relate to students’ high school track/profile choice and their intention to pursue higher education in the Romanian educational transition. Using a standardized questionnaire, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1392 lower secondary students (aged 13–14) from Brașov County, Romania, to map preferred tracks, influencing factors, perceptions of high school, and the values framing decision-making. High school track/profile choice emerged as a central “decision node”, strongly associated with participation in counselling p < 0.001; Cramer’s V = 0.678) and significantly related to parents’ educational level and university intentions. Substantial urban–rural differences were observed in track/profile choice (p < 0.001; V = 0.442), with urban students selecting the “real” track more frequently (≈68%) than rural students (≈37%). University intention was high overall, with a small but significant urban–rural difference (≈89.7% vs. ≈86.9%; p = 0.028; V = 0.072). Findings support integrating counselling into coherent adolescent career development models and expanding services to reduce contextual disparities through stronger school–family–community partnerships. This evidence is relevant for education policy and practice by supporting the scaling of school-based career guidance and targeted measures to reduce rural–urban disparities.

The paper examines the impact of fake news on how individuals perceive information and make decisions. The research is based on an online questionnaire administered to a sample of respondents (N = 275) from the Republic of Moldova (Transnistria), comprising young people and adults active on social networks (77.5% females, 21.1% males and 1.5% not declaring gender). The period of data collection was from 18 February to 2 April 2026. The results highlight that frequent exposure to platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Telegram is associated with more frequent exposure to fake news, especially in areas such as politics, the war in Ukraine and social issues. The model used explains 36.5% of the variance in the perceived impact on individual decisions, 35.3% of the variance in the level of information verification and protection, and 15.3% of the variance in the level of emotional impact. On an emotional level, fake news mainly generates confusion, anger and stress, especially in crisis contexts. These reactions affect the capacity for critical analysis and can lead to uncertainty, information avoidance or lack of verification of sources. On a broader level, disinformation contributes to a decrease in trust in authorities and the media, accentuating social divisions and influencing group decisions through fear, panic and information manipulation. The study highlights the need to develop media literacy, critical thinking and effective fact-checking mechanisms, as well as the important role of online platforms in limiting the spread of fake news. The study provides exploratory empirical evidence on the perceived effects of fake news in the Transnistrian region, an under-researched context characterized by multiple informational influences and specific geopolitical vulnerabilities. The findings provide a contextualized perspective on the relationships between exposure to disinformation, emotional reactions, verification behaviors, and individual decision-making.