The Elon inspired decline of X reportedly continues
X, formerly known as Twitter, continues to slump in engagement under the management of Elon Musk. Is there a way to stem the continuous decline, or is the platform living on borrowed time? On reflection, surely L would have been a more appropriate title for Elon Musk’s Twitter rebrand. Since the...
Current in Social
Should violent criminals be allowed on social media?
The successful TikTok career of a US school shooter has raised questions around the accessibility of online spaces. Many people dream of going viral on social media. After all, it promises overnight fame and widespread influence. The growing capability of almost anyone to gain internet notoriety has increasingly aroused controversy. Whether...
This digital app makes banned books freely available to everyone
With bans on important literary genres on the rise across America, an app called The Banned Book Club is a digital library that makes banned books available for everyone, regardless of where they are located. Across America, libraries are being forced to pull highly acclaimed books from their shelves. State-wide bans...
Will X navigate a slew of trademark lawsuits?
An endless slew of infringement lawsuits have come Elon Musk’s way since the Twitter to X rebrand. Will the whole thing be short lived, or can the billionaire prevail? Elon Musk’s strange affinity with the letter X isn’t sufficient enough to negate existing licensing laws apparently. Who would’ve thought? Back in...
Tinder rolls out new ‘SELECT’ feature for $499 USD a month
The new premium tier will allow paying users to see the ‘most sought after profiles’, promises to boost their profile, and grants the ability to DM others even if they haven’t matched. Tinder is rolling out an exclusive and expensive new feature called ‘SELECT’. Operating as an invite-only subscription model,...
Safer Plage app protects women from sexual harassment on the beach
A city in France has recently launched an app to protect women from sexual harassment at the beach. Nobody should be made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe, but unfortunately sexual harassment is a hugely prevalent problem, especially for women. According to a 2018 study conducted by IFOP (French Institute of Public...
New study reveals the extent of teenage smartphone use
A recent report from Common Sense Media has found that, on average, half of 11 to 17-year-olds get at least 237 notifications a day, raising concerns that this is affecting the cognitive ability, attention span, and memory of their still-developing brains. It’s no secret that young people are addicted to their phones. So much so, in fact, that Gen Z spends half its waking hours on screen time. Until now, however,...
UK grooming cases reach record highs amid online safety law delay
Amid the butting of heads between UK ministers and tech firms over end-to-end encryption, instances of child grooming have reached record highs in 2023. The ongoing impasse over end-to-end encryption is having severe consequences in the UK. In order to appease app users, an increasing number of tech firms are offering encrypted messaging services, which means that only the sender and recipient can view any exchange of content. Not even the...
Young people are using TikTok to organise flashmob looting
Last week, chaos erupted on one of central London’s most popular shopping streets. Large groups of young people gathered together to loot shops in an event organised and promoted in viral videos on TikTok. While viral social media content has frequently resulted in positive collective action amongst the public, it can also be used to incite social disorder, violence, and crime. That truth became evident in central London last week...
How ‘algospeak’ aids sensitive social media discussion
With life online increasingly controlled by overzealous censorship policies, users have begun inventing code words to dodge strict moderations on platforms like TikTok. Though you may not be familiar with the phrase ‘algospeak,’ what you’re likely to have come across is the slew of code words Internet users have been adopting to bypass content moderation filters on major platforms. For the unacquainted, ‘spicy eggplant’ rather than vibrator, ‘seggs’ rather than...
