The life-threatening βChromingβ challenge spreading on TikTok
The challenge involving inhaling toxic fumes has gained popularity among the younger generations, raising serious health concerns among health professionals and parents. Adolescents' use of social media has left older generations, including the oldest members of Generation Z, baffled. Although every generation has encountered unsettling trends, the rise of social media...
Current in Social
Sweden says children under 2 should have zero screen time
Swedish health authorities have issued new recommendations to restrict screen time for young people.Β Sweden has made a firm statement in the ongoing debate over children and screens: for kids under two, there should be no screen time. At all. Health authorities have issued new recommendations for parents regarding screen time...
TikTok seals deal with Amazon to make in-app shopping even easier
The popular video sharing app will now integrate shoppable βBuy with Primeβ ads directly in the TikTok app, complete with real-time delivery estimates. This new development comes as US lawmakers get closer to banning the platform. Have you ever bought something on TikTok Shop? If you havenβt, itβs likely youβll...
Facebook algorithm under fire for blocking wildfire posts
The platform has faced criticism for blocking multiple emergency posts relating to United States wildfires. Facebook has recently found itself in the line of fire β and not for spreading misinformation or political propaganda, but for blocking emergency warnings. As wildfires spread across Northern California this month, individuals took to social...
Is accessible news making Gen Z narrow-minded?
With young people getting most of their news from social media, their political interests are being swayed by algorithms and a limited exposure to diverse perspectives. In recent years, the number of people for whom social media is their go-to news source has soared, with 44 per cent of...
Are social media algorithms breeding misogyny and violence?
Amid mounting evidence to suggest that men and boys are being pushed violent and misogynistic content online β without deliberately searching for or engaging with it β many fear that this unregulated far-right radicalisation is increasingly turning them against women and girls. On Monday, BBC Panorama released a new documentary. Titled...
Why did TikTok βmakeβ you buy it?
Social media is no longer a place we go to connect with others. Itβs a place where we go to learn, laugh, and most of all β to be marketed to. Letβs face it. TikTok is fueling overconsumption. Upon opening the app, users are ushered into a digital marketplace from anywhere, whether that be our bed, on public transport, or even (sorry boss) when bored at work. In just a few...
Is Quora on deathβs doorstep?
The platform once deemed a barometer for quality responses to user queries has lost its way. AI is largely responsible β in more ways than one. Have you ever heard of βDead Internet Theory?β It subscribes to the idea that both bots and content created by algorithms will soon overtake the digital presence and volume of human works online. Weβve written about it in detail previously. Apprehension about that prospect has...
Opinion β our phone addiction is out of control
In a world where scrolling has become second nature and our devices an extension of ourselves, weβve become completely detached from both how dependent we are on being perpetually βconnectedβ and how negatively this is impacting us all. Last week, I finally did what Iβve been urging myself to do for years and deleted Instagram. Reading that back, it doesnβt sound like much, but doing so required a great deal...
The ongoing battle between Snapchat and TikTok
Could Snapchatβs continued focus on engendering genuine connections give it the edge on TikTok, as the latter over pushes ecommerce? Is Snapchat beating TikTok? Recently, weβve seen two of the biggest social media platforms, TikTok and Snapchat, take radically different approaches to expanding their user bases and ensuring growth for 2024. TikTokβs launch of an in-app shop last year indicated a pivot toward online commerce and user-based marketplaces, where creators earn commission...
