Do parenting influencers have a place on social media?
The recent sentencing of Ruby Franke, who dished out parenting advice online, has sparked conversation around the safety of so-called ‘sharenting’ via social media. When Ruby Franke was sentenced to four terms in prison, she had 2.3 million followers on a now-deleted YouTube channel titled ‘8 Passengers’. The premise of the...
Current in Social
Bumble to relaunch amidst waning Gen Z interest in dating apps
Gen Z are slowly ditching dating apps in favour of real-life socialising. It could wind up costing big companies like Bumble a fair buck. Now, it has announced a relaunch later in the year alongside widespread layoffs. Have you ever tried to using a dating app to find love? Algorithmic,...
Lawsuit filed against dating apps claims they are ‘fuelling addiction’
Since the emergence of online dating apps almost a decade ago, they’ve become one of the most common ways new couples meet. However, some users are claiming that their addictive nature is causing harm to our relationships and mental health. On Valentine’s Day, six dating app users filed a proposed...
Reddit signs over its user data to train unnamed AI model
As user data becomes an increasingly hot commodity, an unnamed AI company is reportedly plotting a $60 million swoop to scrape Reddit for AI training purposes. Should we be concerned? Decades of Reddit ramblings could become fuel for the next generation of AI models. The self-proclaimed ‘front page of the internet’...
New AI tool can find any image of someone ever posted online
PimEyes is the latest AI tool causing a stir on the internet. Although it has been created to help artists, photographers, and individuals ‘protect their privacy’ and personal content online, other internet users see its potential to be ‘a stalkers’ dream.’ The capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) seem to be...
Opinion – Social media’s ageist conversation is exhausting
TikTokers are currently discussing how and why Gen Z are ‘rapidly ageing’ compared to their Millennial peers. The conversation is symptomatic of a wider generational obsession with age, life milestones, and external societal pressures. The whole thing is draining. If you’re an avid TikTok or Instagram Reel user, you’ve...
Study lays bare Meta’s intrusive data gathering for targeted ads
Facebook has anything but a clean record when it comes to the intrusive data gathering of its consumers. Now, data watchdog Consumer Reports has revealed that tens of thousands of companies send Facebook data on single users. Your phone isn’t actually listening to you, don’t worry about turning your mic settings off. When you’re sent targeted ads for something overly specific, it’s far more likely that you’ve been ingratiated into a...
X launches new AI tool called ‘Grok’ for US-based users
Allegedly modelled after the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it is designed to answer questions and help content creators generate creative and engaging tweets. With the turn of the new year, Elon Musk has introduced a new feature to the platform he acquired a little over a year ago. You know, the one formerly known (and still often referred to) as Twitter, but is officially known as X. GrokBot, or Grok...
Search engines are amplifying misinformation
A study published in Nature last week has uncovered that using online search engines to vet conspiracies can actually compound the probability that someone will believe it.
In November, UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay sounded the alarm on the intensification of misinformation and hate speech online, which she said poses ‘major risks to social cohesion, peace, and stability.’
Her warning came on the back of a UNESCO-commissioned
Will AI-generated influencers dominate social media’s future?
If Instagram is the place where the world’s most beautiful people can easily garner global attention, followers, brand deals, and immense wealth – is it not the perfect playground for influencers generated by AI to succeed? Would you buy a product promoted by a person who wasn’t real? It’s possible you already have. The capabilities of Artificial Intelligence, specifically its capacity for realistic image generation, are getting freakishly good. At the...
