^CategorySocial Media

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
February 21, 2023

Categorized
Addiction, Social Media

Tagged
AA, addiction, Adolescents, Asbury, CBN, Depression, god, Recovery, Revival, Robert J. Marks, social media, suicide, TikTok}

The Asbury Revival and the Cure for TikTok

_{In the age of social media addiction, young people need to know they can be imperfect and yet loved} _{Robert J. Marks

February 21, 2023

3

Addiction, Social Media}

Social media portrays a world where everybody is happy and having a good time. Everybody, of course, except for you. There must therefore be something wrong with you. You are a loser. Teenage boys without girlfriends feel like social freaks. One in three teenage girls who use social media suffers from body image issues. Social Media and Depression Young adults who use social media are three times as likely to suffer from depression. Depression can lead to suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, female suicides aged 15-24 increased by 87 percent over the past 20 years and male suicides increased by 30 percent. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry says suicide is now Read More ›

American and Texas state flags flying on the dome of the Texas State Capitol building in Austin

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
February 6, 2023

Categorized
China, Social Media

Tagged
Abbot, ByteDance, China, Devices, Foreign Affairs, Military, Oklahoma, Spy Balloon, Surveillance, Texas, TikTok, US}

No More TikTok for State Agencies in Texas

_{Tenuous US-China relations may prompt other state legislatures to follow in Abbott’s footsteps} _{Peter Biles

February 6, 2023

2

China, Social Media}

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas called for a ban of TikTok from all state agencies this week. Agencies have until February 15th to accommodate to the policy, which entails removing the social media app from all devices used to carry out official Texas-related business. The new ruling will also involve restricting access to TikTok usage on personal devices in potentially “sensitive locations and meetings.” TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, Ltd., has been criticized for mining data from its American users. Since the Chinese government can demand data disclosures from businesses, Gov. Abbott thinks TikTok is an issue of state and national security: TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including details about a user’s internet Read More ›

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 23, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media

Tagged
Brendan O'Neill, Disinformation success rate, Featured, Jacinda Ardern, Media and disinformation, Michael Cook, Russia disinformation claims}

Jacinda Ardern’s War on Free Speech Always Deserved To Fail

_{Now researchers have shown why. The departing New Zealand Prime Minister claimed that “prolific misinformation” is a new weapon of war} _{News

January 23, 2023

5

Censorship, Media, Social Media}

This piece by MercatorNet editor Michael Cook (January 20, 2023) is reprinted with permission. In October last year, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, told the United Nations General Assembly that what the world needs is less free speech. Well, not exactly that, but close enough. She pressed for vigorous censorship of the internet because “prolific misinformation” is a new weapon of war. “How do you successfully end a war if people are led to believe the reason for its existence is not only legal but noble?” she asked. “How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists?” The prospect of government censorship of our views on climate change or the war in Ukraine is Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 20, 2023

Categorized
Social Media, Spirituality

Tagged
Contemplation, Distraction, Focus, LinkedIn, Medieval, Monks, religion, social media, Tech, Wired}

Do You Struggle to Focus? Medieval Monks Did Too

_{New book shows how ancient monks fought distraction and what they can teach us today} _{Peter Biles

January 20, 2023

4

Social Media, Spirituality}

While the battle against constant distraction might seem like a new problem posed by our diffuse technologies, a new book from Jamie Kreiner argues that the struggle is perennial. The book is The Wandering Mind: What Medieval Monks Tell Us About Distraction. Kreiner takes the problem of distraction and puts it into the hands of the religious recluses of late antiquity. It turns out they had a lot to say. Like us, they struggled to maintain vigorous work routines. They courted the opinions of other monks and writers on what a modern-day LinkedIn guru would call “workflow” or “hustle.” In short, they were not so different from us. In his review of the book for Wired, Matt Reynolds writes, Early Read More ›

Cigarette with ashes isolated on black background

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 19, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
addiction, Big Tech, Big Tobacco, Deseret News, iGen, Instagram, Jean Twenge, Jonathan Haidt, Smartphones, social media, TikTok}

New Article Compares Big Tech to “Big Tobacco” of the ’70s

_{Like smoking in the 1970s — known to be dangerous yet poorly regulated — Big Tech is harming kids today yet is met with little intervention or pushback} _{Peter Biles

January 19, 2023

4

Social Media}

In a new article from Deseret News, Brad Wilcox and Riley Peterson equate Big Tech to “Big Tobacco.” They argue that the online world has the same dangers and negative effects as other drugs, and go on to cite alarming mental health data to back up their claims. Similar to how smoking was found to be dangerous in the 1970s and yet poorly regulated by the government, Big Tech is harming kids today yet is met with little intervention or pushback. They start with a powerful analogical anecdote, writing, Imagine if a man in a white panel van pulled up in your neighborhood and began enticing teens to look at pictures and videos featuring drug use, pornography and a range Read More ›

Sample social media app interface on mobile phone showing shared video content

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 17, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
addiction, Anthony Bradley, Apps, College, Gen-Z, Instagram, Jonathan Haidt, Lawsuit, mental health, social media, TikTok, youth}

Girl Tragically Dies After Doing Horrific TikTok Challenge

_{The 12-year-old from Argentina isn't the only victim of the fatal TikTok "blackout challenge"} _{Peter Biles

January 17, 2023

2

Social Media}

A 12-year-old girl from Argentina died after trying the dangerous “choke challenge” on TikTok, per the New York Post. The girl, Milagros Soto, was found in a closet hanging from a makeshift noose on January 13th. Soto’s family members think she was bullied and challenged to perform the horrible online fad while at school. Soto isn’t the only casualty of the TikTok challenge, which involves asphyxiating oneself until passing out. It’s also only one of many “fatal fads” circulating the TikTok sphere. Also known as the “blackout challenge,” Tiktok users chase virality and clout by forcing themselves to pass out. In light of the tragic death, people are begging parents to prohibit TikTok from their children. Several Twitter users spoke Read More ›

Cancel Culture society concept or cultural cancellation and social media censorship as canceling or restricting opinions that are offensive or controversial to the public

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 13, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Alex Berenson, Big Tech, Child sex abuse, COVID 19 censorship, Facebook, Robert Flaherty, Tucker Carlson, Twitter, Twitter and Russian influence claims, Twitter files 13, Twitter files 14, White House}

Twitter files 13 and 14… plus the critical bigger picture

_{Growing distrust of mainstream media should be supplemented by scrutiny among users of Big Tech social media. They're not an answer to the problem.} _{News

January 13, 2023

6

Censorship, Social Media}

First, as Elon Musk continues to dump the files out the window at Twitter — to the dismay of the media elite that generally knew and approved of censorship of views other than their own, especially where COVID-19 or U.S. federal politics was concerned: Twitter files 13: Handled by independent journalist Alex Berenson — once banned from Twitter for criticizing the government response to the pandemic: “Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb secretly pressed Twitter to hide posts challenging his company’s massively profitable Covid jabs /To funnel his demands, Gottlieb used the same Twitter lobbyist the White House did – fresh evidence of overlap between the company selling mRNA shots and the government forcing them on the public.” 4/ In October Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 9, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Bari Weiss, Bias in media, Featured, Jack Dorsey, Karl D. Stephan, Twitter, Wilfred Reilly}

What? Twitter is “neutral”? A thoughtful engineer responds

_{Despite appearances, Twitter is not a conventional public square, but a private corporation} _{News

January 9, 2023

7

Censorship, Social Media}

This column by Texas State University engineering prof Karl Stephan is republished with thanks from Engineering Ethics (January 2, 2023) Back when I started this blog in 2006, the phrase “social media” was hardly used by anybody, according to Google Trends. It began to climb above 1% of its current frequency of use around 2008, possibly in connection with the elections of that year, and has been climbing ever since. Twitter, the social-media format that has become the default medium of choice for announcements by Presidents on down, was also founded in 2006. From an obscure techie-speak term, it has turned into a routine and near-universal medium of expression that its leadership has claimed is as neutral as they can make it. But Read More ›

An internet email symbol and a group of people are separated by a red prohibitory symbol No. restrictions on access to the global Internet. Censorship. Information control, society isolation policy

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 5, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Benjamin Weingarten, Facebook, Facebook censorship, Glenn Greenwald, Government management of news, Matt Taibbi, TikTok, Twitter files 11, Twitter files 12}

Big Tech Censorship Goes Well Beyond Twitter

_{Big Tech media is not, in itself, an answer to current legacy mainstream media if we would like to know information that our betters would prefer that we didn't} _{Denyse O'Leary

January 5, 2023

6

Censorship, Social Media}

The big news (if it is even news) is that most Big Tech media are involved in censorship of opinions disapproved by the governing elite. Elon Musk has certainly shone a light by buying Twitter and releasing the house files to independent journalists. Legacy media entities still refuse to cover the story seriously (probably because they cannot take inevitable further blows to their relevance, numbers, or prestige) First, some updates on the Twitter Files via indie journalist Matt Taibbi: Twitter files 11 deals with — among other things — the way Twitter was pressured in 2016 by political friends, then out of power, to discover that there was Russian involvement in the outcome of the U.S. 2016 election. Twitter was Read More ›

Hand in a white glove pulling curtain away

^{Type
post

Author
Nathan Jacobson
Date
January 1, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
bias, censorship, Fact checking, fake news, Google, Google search algorithms (bias), journalism, mob psychology, RankBrain, reliability, search engines, The Anointed, The Trust Project}

Google: Rank Censorship Behind the Scenes

_{We live under a state of highly sophisticated and ubiquitous suppression of disfavored voices} _{Nathan Jacobson

January 1, 2023

10

Censorship, Social Media}

One year ago today (January 1st, 2022) we saw behind the curtain at Google. With vast information scattered across a billion websites, whoever controls the search algorithm largely controls information. And if Google.com were a stage, the spotlight is centered squarely on the first result, with some ambient light spilling onto a few supporting roles. The second page results are essentially extras, unlikely to catch the attention of the audience at all. About 25% of web searchers click that first result. Another 50% follow one of the next half-dozen. A scant 6% will ever make it to the second page.* If your breaking news, breakthrough product, or bold opinion piece isn’t in a starring role on that first page, it will languish Read More ›

Hairdresser's hands with scissors. New normal concept. Copy space. Stay safe. Health protection equipment during quarantine Coronavirus pandemic. Covid 19

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 28, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
COVID censorship, David Zweig, John West on totalitarian science, Mainstream media and Twitter files, Matt Taibbi, Substack, Twitter, Twitter and COVID censorship, Twitter files 10, Twitter files 9, Vivek Murthy}

How Twitter Cut Off a Reasoned Discussion of the COVID Response

_{Three more takeaways (7-9) as the story gets deeper — and of greater concern to those who believe that a free flow of information makes for a healthier society} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 28, 2022

6

Censorship, Social Media}

First, last January, John West reflected at Evolution News and Science Today about the rise of totalitarian science, as shown by the way COVID was managed: The COVID era also has seen a dramatic rise of censorship in the name of science. We are told continuously now that “misinformation” or “disinformation” must be stopped. No decent person favors the spread of “misinformation.” But who is to judge what constitutes “misinformation”? Those warning of “misinformation” seem to assume that existing elites are always right, and so they should be in charge of determining what is true or false. But anyone conversant with the history of science or government knows that this claim can’t hold up to scrutiny. Neither elite scientists nor Read More ›

Washington DC - FBI Building on Pennsylvania Street

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 22, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Adam Sabes, Elon Musk and Twitter takeover, FBI and Twitter, Jake Gibson, Jeffrey A. Tucker, MSM and Twitter, Pieter Zatko, Stephen Green, Thursday Night Massacre, Tom Slater}

Three More Key Takeaways From the Twitter Files and Their Fallout

_{The FBI responds to the Twitter files: “Conspiracy theorists” are feeding the public “misinformation.” This isn't helping its reputation} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 22, 2022

6

Censorship, Social Media}

Key takeaways 1–3 are here. 4.Yes, the FBI finally responded to the Twitter files revelations about its cozy relationship with Twitter. And the response could be straight out of a bent cop novel: The Federal Bureau of Investigation is responding to Twitter Files revealing that the agency regularly contacted employees at the social media giant to notify them of accounts that “may” constitute violations of the company’s terms of service. FBI officials told Fox News that the agency didn’t ask Twitter employees to “take action” based on the information provided, and said the information was provided so that Twitter employees can make a determination on whether to take action. “We are providing it so that they can take whatever action Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 20, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Elon Musk and Twitter takeover, Jack Dorsey, Jack Dorsey's regrets, Jay Bhattacharya, Meta and COVID censorship, Michael Goodwin, Michael Shellenberger, Twitter (and Elon Musk), Twitter and FBI}

Three Key Takeaways From the Twitter Files and Their Fallout

_{Twitter Files 7 dropped yesterday and it features the close relationship between Twitter and the FBI} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 20, 2022

5

Censorship, Social Media}

From the news: Do you think the pandemic response might have gone differently if voices such as yours were not suppressed? Yes… I do really believe censorship kills, and censorship killed during this pandemic. The policies could have been so much better… The policies that were adopted were incredibly damaging to the lives and livelihoods of so many people. 100million people thrown into poverty worldwide: that’s the estimate from the World Bank. Just the consequences of that itself are going to have tremendous effects on the lives and livelihoods of people going forward. And of course, all these children were robbed of an education for years. Those are absolutely monumental outcomes of the policies we adopted during the pandemic, and Read More ›

Man is using laptop with black keys, Social media and social networking. Marketing concept

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 19, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee on Twitter, Doxxing on Twitter, Elon Musk and Twitter takeover, Featured, Mastodon, Twitter and child porn}

Musk’s Tyrannical Turn With Twitter

_{While the political bias is gone, the ego bias seems to have just begun} _{Jonathan Bartlett

December 19, 2022

4

Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media}

I was hopeful when Elon Musk took control of Twitter. As a longtime Musk skeptic in many areas, I thought that his move into Twitter would actually be a good thing. First of all, it matches his background better than Tesla. Twitter is a software play, and Musk’s actual expertise is in building software. Second, Twitter is just about software, not artificial intelligence, which tends to be where Musk gets into trouble. Finally, Musk has at least claimed to be a libertarian, though this seems to be limited to situations where he simply decides that he doesn’t want to do what is required of everyone else. When Musk first took control, it looked positive. Despite the incessant screaming of the Read More ›