^TagInstagram

Horizontal surreal magazine collage of young female look at giant hand hold phone addicted social media news fakes on creative background

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
June 24, 2024

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
addiction, Facebook, Frances Haugen, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, mental health, Meta, New York Times, Screen addiction, social media, Vivek Murthy}

Zuck and Co Are Under Fire (Again)

_{Meta targeted teens, according to internal company emails} _{Peter Biles

June 24, 2024

3

Social Media}

Is there any company out there who has hurt young people more than Mark Zuckerberg’s gargantuan Meta empire? A host of lawsuits and a damning report from the New York Times tells us that the massive parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp willingly pursued its addictive business model despite the evident damage its products were doing to users, particularly kids. Who remembers when Facebook launched and its promises of a more connected world? Who remembers the optimists hailing the internet as the next step in human connectivity? A mere twenty years later and the technology lords are facing an overdue reckoning. Natasha Singer writes, The state lawsuits against Meta reflect mounting concerns that teenagers and children on social media Read More ›

Closed up image of a Female using TikTok application on a smartphone in home. 5 September, 2022. ChiangMai, Thailand.

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
March 13, 2024

Categorized
Addiction

Tagged
addiction, AI, Culture, Gen Z, habits, Instagram, iPhones, Technology, TikTok, Twitter, X}

Escaping the Dopamine Cartel

_{We can't even be bothered with "entertainment" anymore.} _{Peter Biles

March 13, 2024

3

Addiction}

Ted Gioia investigates the impact of the "dopamine culture," our modern tendency to flit among tabs and scroll endlessly through fifteen-second-long video clips. Read More ›

Mobile phone with blank screen with copy space and old books. Electronic book concept.

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
March 7, 2024

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts and Culture, Books, Distraction, Instagram, Jean Twenge, media, mental health, Reading, reading habits, Social sciences, Substack, TikTok}

Jean Twenge: Gen Z Isn’t Reading

_{Zoomers were born into smartphones, not Shakespeare} _{Peter Biles

March 7, 2024

4

Arts & Culture}

As we are being hypnotized by fifteen-second soundbites, crafting the ability to attend to longer works of art will only become a rarer, but more valuable, skillset. Read More ›

A child using smart phone lying in bed late at night, playing games. Children's screen addiction and parent control concept. Child's room at night. Sensitive content on screen

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post

Author
News
Date
January 3, 2024

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
addiction, Andrew McDiarmid, Facebook, Instagram, mental health, social media, teenagers}

Andrew McDiarmid on Teens and Smartphones

_{We can mitigate the mental health crisis, but we have to act now.} _{News

January 3, 2024

3

Social Media}

Noted social psychologist Jonathan Haidt notes that the mental health epidemic among teenagers, particular teen girls, really began around 2012 or so. Read More ›

Flag of China. Economy of people republic of China. Graphs next to PRC flag. Economic quotes of Chinese companies. Chinese government bonds. Economic background. China financial market. 3d image

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post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
November 15, 2023

Categorized
China

Tagged
Beijing, ByteDance, China, cybertheft, data, espionage, government, Instagram, TikTok}

China, Cybertheft, and the Ethics of Espionage

_{All nations spy, but espionage crosses a moral line when it costs normal civilians their jobs.} _{Heather Zeiger

November 15, 2023

7

China}

All nations spy, but espionage crosses a moral line when it costs normal civilians their jobs, stifles innovation, and infringes rights and liberties. Read More ›

young unhappy woman suffering from depression, and stress

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 24, 2023

Categorized
Addiction, Social Media

Tagged
addiction, Instagram, Jean Twenge, Jonathan Haidt, mental health, Technology}

Is This a Moral Reckoning? 41 States Sue Meta for Knowingly Addicting Young Users

_{The lawsuit claims that Meta's platforms are harming its young users. The data backs it up.} _{Peter Biles

October 24, 2023

3

Addiction, Social Media}

The lawsuit coincides with a new article from Jean Twenge, known for researching "Gen-Z" and their painful relationship with addictive digital media. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 21, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Cell phone, disembodiment, Instagram, lapse, social media, Tech, Technology}

Trying to Solve Social Media’s Problems Through…More Social Media

_{Alternative social media apps still have to figure out ways to keep you scrolling.} _{Peter Biles

October 21, 2023

3

Social Media}

Last month a friend invited me to download a new photography app called “Lapse.” Perhaps you’ve already heard of it and downloaded it yourself. I decided to try it and see what all the fuss was about. The app’s opening screen was dramatic, with captions about the failures of previous social media apps to truly “capture” the present moment. The business model of social media apps, the Lapsers rightly contend, revolves around “likes” and gaining “friends.” What happened to taking pictures of real, human moments without minding the social reward they might reap? Photo-taking was about holding on to moments that mattered. It wasn’t about filters, validation, or identity. Lapse promises to be different. It’s a disposable camera on your Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
August 26, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Ai avatar, ChatGPT, Influencers, Instagram, Kim Kardashian, National Review, social media}

National Review: Let AI Take Over Social Media Influencing

_{AI influencers are revealing how vapid social media really is} _{Peter Biles

August 26, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence}

We’ve recently commented on the AI influencer phenomenon, which seems to be taking social media by storm. With advanced AI imaging, more AI influencers are popping up, and they already look comparable to the likes of Kim Kardashian. The social media influencing world depends on primarily women selling their bodies for revenue. Instagram has tended heavily in this direction, and with the advent of OnlyFans, the temptation to flaunt oneself so provocatively is tangible for many. National Review writer Haley Strack thinks that the AI influencer horde will out-compete real-life influencers and eventually rule out the need for humans at all. She writes, Some criticize AI for giving young men another possibly perverse, sexual outlet online — but men who Read More ›

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
August 4, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, ChatGPT, Futurism, Influencers, Instagram, internet, social media, Victor Tangermann}

AI Influencers Are Starting to Explode

_{Seeing how artificial and impersonal the influencer lifestyle already is, maybe it was inevitable.} _{Peter Biles

August 4, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence}

AI avatars are starting to flood the social media “influencing” sphere. Seeing how artificial and impersonal the influencer lifestyle already is, maybe it was inevitable. The “Instagram influencer” is a relatively new phenom: an attractive, usually young, person flaunts certain brands on social media for revenue. The phrase “digital creator” is a common tag on bios, and countless young women have made a living off of selling their looks on Instagram. So how might AI play into all this? Well, there are now hundreds of AI internet personalities flooding social media. And they look pretty convincing. Victor Tangermann reports, Thanks to the advent of AI-powered image generators like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, some are now fabricating entire feeds of internet Read More ›

Birds symbol carry on dialog with each other. Plasticine illustration.

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
July 6, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee, Bloomberg, Copycat technologies, Elon Musk, Free speech, Instagram, Jordan Peterson, Meta, Snapchat, Threads (Meta app), Twitter, Zuckerberg}

Twitter’s Copycat Rival is Coming to You via Meta. Will It Survive?

_{Meta will again co-opt the ideas of its competitors and hope for the best} _{Peter Biles

July 6, 2023

3

Censorship, Social Media}

Meta is reportedly trying to compete with Twitter by introducing a similar app called Threads. The app will be connected to Instagram and will allow a cross-over of followers, etc. Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, some have complained about loosened constraints regarding speech and expression. A number of formerly suspended accounts, such as those belonging to psychologist Jordan Peterson, the Christian satire site The Babylon Bee, and a number of other (mostly conservative) voices, were reestablished following Musk’s “takeover.” Now Meta is trying to capitalize. If they’re going to launch Threads, now is probably the best time to do it. Apart from the overarching complaints against Twitter and Musk, the platform is now limiting how many tweets a user Read More ›

Abstract creative illustration from 3D rendering of female bust figure with flat anonymous face isolated on gradient background in vaporwave style colors.

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
July 2, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Black Mirror (TV Show), Facial Recognition, Instagram, metaverse, Nautilus, social media, TikTok, Virtual Reality}

Blurring the Lines Between Fantasy and Reality

_{A "Black Mirror" episode illustrates the danger of seeing the world through an AI filter} _{Peter Biles

July 2, 2023

3

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

The dystopian Netflix show Black Mirror featured an episode a few years ago about soldiers tasked with wiping out an apparently mutant adversary. In reality, the soldiers are seeing the world through an AI filter that is casting ordinary human beings as despicable monsters. The AI lessens their hesitations to kill the enemy. An article at Nautilus cited a research group that’s asking how much of that horrifying story could potentially unfold in real time, or is already happening to a certain extent in today’s culture. Social media apps like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram already use face altering techniques in their apps, allowing users to curate idealized images of themselves. But what happens when, as in the Black Mirror episode, Read More ›

Social Network Online Sharing Connection Concept.

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post

Author
News
Date
June 15, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Facebook, Instagram, Jacques Ellul, Mimetic Desire, Social comparison, social media, Twitter}

Social Media’s Mimetic Desire Complex

_{The reason it makes us so miserable} _{News

June 15, 2023

2

Social Media}

Frank is friends with Bob. Both Frank and Bob know Sue. Frank likes Sue. Therefore, Bob likes Sue. Conflict ensues. Frank and Bob are no longer friends. Take this situation and amplify it by a million (whatever that metric looks like) and you’ve got something like the social media world we inhabit today. This quick video, posted below, discusses “mimetic desire,” or what happens when certain ideals or images are pursued, not because they’re intrinsically good, but because it’s the current zeitgeist to want them. The problem with mimetic desire is that it eclipses legitimate desires and wants, or confuses us about what we really need in order to be happy. Watch the video for a better summary of this Read More ›

Mockup of social media app user interface in dark screen mode

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post

Author
News
Date
June 8, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
AI, Big Tech, Child sex abuse, Child sexual abuse (online), Instagram, Meta, sex trafficking, social media, Stanford University, Twitter, Wall Street Journal}

The Dark Side of Instagram

_{An investigative report shows that Instagram algorithm promotes pedophilia networks} _{News

June 8, 2023

3

Social Media}

It’s an unfortunate fact that sex trafficking and pedophilia rings have benefitted from the invention of the internet. Even worse, Meta‘s Instagram is amplifying the problem – not because Meta wants to, of course, but because the algorithm promotes the activity. The Wall Street Journal did an investigative report in partnership with a team from Stanford University on Instagram’s promotion of pedophilia rings, with Jeff Horwitz and Katherine Blunt writing, Pedophiles have long used the internet, but unlike the forums and file-transfer services that cater to people who have interest in illicit content, Instagram doesn’t merely host these activities. Its algorithms promote them. Instagram connects pedophiles and guides them to content sellers via recommendation systems that excel at linking those Read More ›

Finger touching phone with social media concept and dark background

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post

Author
News
Date
May 24, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Instagram, Jonathan Haidt, mental health, social media, Surgeon General, Technology, Teen mental health, Vivek Murthy, youth}

Social Media is Hurting Kids. Does Big Tech Care?

_{Body image issues, low self-esteem, and social comparison are all typical outcomes of excessive social media use among teens and children} _{News

May 24, 2023

2

Social Media}

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a warning in a briefing this week on the negative impact of social media on kids, particularly teenage girls. Murthy called tech companies to provide “safeguards” to protect children who are at a critical stage in brain development. Early exposure to social media, numerous studies show, are correlated with anxiety and depression in young people. Murthy said, “We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis – one that we must urgently address.” Social media could harm youth mental health, U.S. Surgeon General warns | Reuters Problems like body image issues, low self-esteem, and social comparison are all Read More ›

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post

Author
News
Date
May 23, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
addiction, China, Instagram, Jonathan Haidt, mental health, social media, TikTok, Wall Street Journal}

TikToxic: The Popular App is Feeding Teens a “Diet of Darkness”

_{Apart from the debate over espionage and data privacy, TikTok is a highly addictive app} _{News

May 23, 2023

2

Social Media}

TikTok has gained a fair bit of fierce criticism over the last few months; the China-owned social media app is the most popular on the market, with tens of millions of users and downloads. That includes, of course, teenagers. Apart from the debate over espionage and data privacy, TikTok is a highly addictive app. We covered more on that here, but recent studies show that it’s not just the amount of time spent on the app that is troubling, but the specific kinds of content young people are ingesting every day. Julie Jargon writes in the Wall Street Journal, Data privacy, though, might be less worrisome than the power of TikTok’s algorithm. Especially if you’re a parent. A recent study found that Read More ›

Social media icons fly over city downtown showing people reciprocity connection through social network application platform . Concept for online community and social media marketing strategy .

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
April 11, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
addiction, Aeon, Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), Britain, Cell phones, dopamine, Gen-Z, Instagram, Mind Matters News podcast, Neuroscience, Reward, Robert J. Marks, social media, Technology}

Social Media’s Distortion of the Real World

_{Constant exposure to idealized online images impacts our expectations and worldview} _{Peter Biles

April 11, 2023

6

Social Media}

How does excessive social media use affect our perceptions of the real world? Writers Mark Miller and Ben White wrote a piece at Aeon on social media through the perspective of “predictive processing,” a term used in neuroscience and cognition. Predictive processing involves the brain’s capacity to predict error, danger, or some future event, and urge us to act accordingly. (That’s my basic, layman’s understanding of it, full disclosure!) White and Miller use temperature as an example, noting how the body may respond to a change of the environment by closing a window or grabbing a blanket to keep warm. Being able to respond appropriately to our surroundings depends on the accuracy of our mental model of the real world. Read More ›

Composite collage image of delighted black white colors person hold telephone raise fist celebrate like notification facebook instagram tiktok

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post

Author
News
Date
March 16, 2023

Categorized
Global Technology

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, China, Data Security, Instagram, National Security, social media, Texas, TikTok}

The Clock’s Ticking for TikTok

_{Biden admin might ban TikTok in the U.S. if company doesn't sell} _{News

March 16, 2023

2

Global Technology}

The Biden administration is considering banning TikTok in the United States if the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell it. The news arrives amidst growing concerns over national security and Chinese espionage tactics, particularly in light of the “spy balloon” that was shot down off the American east coast in February. ByteDance is a Chinese company, and as such, is subject to disclose its information to the Chinese Communist Party. Today, more than half of American states have placed bans on state-issued devices out of privacy and security concerns. Texas representative Paul Michael McCaul said, TikTok is a modern-day Trojan horse of the [Chinese Communist Party], used to surveil and exploit Americans’ personal information. It’s a spy baloon for your Read More ›