Are tech companies failing to protect children?
With TikTok facing a £27m fine for endangering under-13s and a recent study uncovering that almost half of British children have seen harmful content online, we must address the threat posed by social media platforms and their blatant disregard for the wellbeing of young users. Earlier this week, news...
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Is Twitter’s new ‘editing’ feature a good thing?
A new, highly anticipated ‘edit’ tool is being internally tested for Twitter. The update would let users amend tweets up to 30 minutes after posting. Could this open the door for even more misinformation problems? Most of us have probably had to delete a tweet before. Whether it was due...
Instagram’s new tool allows users to block weight loss ads
The option for Instagram users to customise their targeted ads was introduced in early June, with a ‘body weight control’ category only added this week. Is this enough to stifle the toxic culture that festers within the appearance-obsessed platform? Amidst the rise of body positive values in marketing tactics and...
Why are all AI assistants feminised?
Ever wondered why Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant all answer our beck and call in sweet dulcet tones? The female gendering of AI technology is pervasive and largely unquestioned – but does it enforce damaging stereotypes? Rather disconcertingly, AI assistants are now an omnipotent presence in day-to-day life. Whether you...
Opinion – Andrew Tate exemplifies a growing surge in right-wing rhetoric
The influencer’s brand of hyper-toxic masculinity has fostered a cult of violent sexism online. With young men most easily swayed by his disturbing ideologies, Tate’s permanent removal from social media should only be the start of confronting what is a much wider issue. When I first came across Andrew Tate...
Opinion – navigating algorithmic anxiety has become exhausting
As Instagram faces pressure to stop displaying only what it deems ‘most engaging’, it’s time we assessed the impact of engineered content that influences us in ways we’d otherwise steer clear of. Fairly recently, I attended an event intended for likeminded people to gather and discuss their interests. Situated in a...
Sharing ‘deepfake porn’ could soon be illegal in the UK
A government-backed review has warned that current laws do not go far enough to cover ‘disturbing and abusive new behaviours born in the smartphone era.’ During the past decade, numerous steps have been taken to confront the threat of sexual harassment online posed by evolving digital trends. In 2015, revenge porn – the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of someone without their consent – was made...
New TikTok feature allows users to set screen time reminders
Self-regulating our social media consumption has proved to be difficult. Now, app designers are incorporating time-sensitive features to prevent us from getting lost in endless scrolling loops. Tapping into social media has become as ingrained into our daily habits as checking text messages, e-mails, and news notifications. But unlike apps used for practical reasons like talking to friends and getting work done, the black hole of inifite content available on social...
How smartphone dependence is harming our memories
‘Digital amnesia’ is on the rise, a concerning phenomenon that’s seeing our ingrained reliance on tech take a toll on our ability to remember important information. For those of us fortunate enough to own a smartphone, they play an integral role in our day-to-day lives. We use them to communicate, for entertainment, and to capture the moments we deem worthy of sharing on social media. Though it would certainly come as...
TikTok launches slew of safety features including For You filtering
TikTok is rolling out a slew of new safety features, including ‘maturity’ ratings on videos for young users, an algorithm that prevents bulk viewing of problematic content, and the ability to filter in the For You page using words or hashtags. Tuning your algorithm on TikTok can require a ton of sifting through some pretty sketchy content. Certainly if you were late to the game, like I was. Despite its impressive...
