Tag: social media | Page 5

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

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post

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 ›

Cute 3D Snapchat Ghost Cartoon Character

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post

News
Date
March 14, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, chatbots, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Snapchat, social media, teenagers}

You Too, Snapchat? Another AI Bot Hits the Scene

_{"My AI" is eerily human, like the Bing bot, and just as inappropriate} _{News
March 14, 2023

3

Artificial Intelligence}

Snapchat introduced a new feature in its app: an AI chatbot “friend” called “My AI.” (Just what lonesome teens need.) We’ve already seen the rogue behavior of Bing’s chatbot, which, in conversation with a New York Times tech journalist, dubbed itself “Sydney” and started beseeching its human counterpart to leave his wife and fall in love with it. Romantic, right? Not so much. The journalist left the experience with the creepy sense that AI had just crossed a sensitive boundary, and that tech companies need to get better at controlling the unpredictable beast they’ve unleashed. “My AI” Gives Shady Advice to Kids Just a couple of weeks later and here we are with AI making inroads into an app used Read More ›

Lonely young woman feeling depressed and stressed sitting head in hands in the dark bedroom, Negative emotion and mental health concept

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post

News
Date
February 23, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Instagram, social media, Teens, TikTok}

Social Media Researcher Calls CDC Report “The Last Straw”

_{When will we finally start listening to struggling teens?} _{News
February 23, 2023

2

Social Media}

Social psychologist and researcher Jean Twenge calls the latest CDC report on youth behavior “the last straw.” After years of raising the alarm about the negative effects of social media like Instagram and Snapchat on teens, particularly females, Twenge finds the situation direr than ever. It’s time to wake up and actually listen to the suffering of teens. Twenge writes in a recent post from the Institute for Family Studies, Contrary to popular belief, teen girls do not deny that social media plays a role in their misery. In Meta’s internal research on Instagram, leaked in 2021, teens frequently blamed the pressures of social media for their generation’s high rates of depression (“this reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups,” one Read More ›

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
February 21, 2023

Categorized
Addiction, Social Media

Tagged
addiction, Adolescents, Depression, god, 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 ›

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podcast

Charlie Crockett and Robert J. Marks
Date
February 9, 2023

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Charlie Crockett, children, Human Trafficking, Mobile phone, Online, Robert J. Marks, social media, Unbound Now}

Social Media’s Role in Human Trafficking

_{Charlie Crockett and Robert J. Marks
February 9, 2023

1}

Robert J. Marks and Charlie Crockett continue their conversation on the sad reality of human trafficking. In this episode, they focus particularly on how social media has become a place where predators will search and highlight children’s vulnerabilities — which so many young people share online. Marks and Crockett encourage parents to develop relationships of trust with their children and Read More ›

Aerial Australian Beach Landscape, Great Ocean Road

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post

Peter Biles
Date
February 8, 2023

Categorized
Language

Tagged
Amusing Ourselves to Death, ChatGPT, Distraction, Facebook, internet, Language, Neil Postman, Netflix, Novel, social media, The New Atlantis, TikTok, Writing}

Awash in a Sea of Digital Information

_{In the age of infinite online text, maybe less is more} _{Peter Biles
February 8, 2023

4

Language}

Some days after I close my laptop, I’d like to pick up a novel and read or work on a short story project, but then feel like I just need to empty my mind of all the snippets and clips of textual information I’ve consumed that day. News blurbs, thought pieces, emails, provocative tweets, more emails, more news blurbs… Frequently I’ll turn to a TV show or a social media binge in place of the novel. My brain can’t take any more text. It’s burnt out. It’s no secret contemporary Americans live in a sea of images and videos. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook all vie for human attention through images and color schemes designed to catch the distracted eye. Read More ›

Asian woman playing game on smartphone in the bed at night,Thailand people,Addict social media

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post

Peter Biles
Date
January 31, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
addiction, dopamine, Facebook, social media, Surgeon General}

Surgeon General Says 13 is Too Young to Have Social Media

_{The public official warned against the addictive nature of social media and how it affects children's self worth} _{Peter Biles
January 31, 2023

3

Social Media}

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy believes that age 13 is too young for children to start using social media, noting that their sense of self is still developing. Murthy gave his remarks on “CNN Newsroom,” saying, I, personally, based on the data I’ve seen, believe that 13 is too early … It’s a time where it’s really important for us to be thoughtful about what’s going into how they think about their own self-worth and their relationships and the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children.” Murthy’s remarks go hand in hand with a formidable body of research that shows the negative correlation between social media use and teens’ mental Read More ›

introduction to the metaverse universe. Man wearing augmented reality glasses for future technology. transition to the virtual world.

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post

Peter Biles
Date
January 25, 2023

Categorized
Virtual Reality

Tagged
apple, CEO, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, metaverse, Microsoft, Silicon Valley, social media, Technology, Virtual Reality (VR)}

More Bad News for the Metaverse

_{Virtual reality projects are losing steam across the tech industry in the wake of layoffs and investor skepticism} _{Peter Biles
January 25, 2023

2

Virtual Reality}

Big tech companies across the spectrum, including Meta, Microsoft, and Apple, are scaling back on virtual reality research and development. The technological demands of the metaverse are more advanced than CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg have anticipated, and employees are feeling the impact. Microsoft recently laid off 10,000 workers, cutting funding from the lab responsible for the production of its mixed-reality “HoloLens.” The army was originally in the works to use the Microsoft lens for aids in combat and training, but the technology has since been labeled as “dangerous and poorly designed.” Meta laid off 11,000 employees last November and continues to struggle to gain interest and traction for its ambitious metaverse project. A report from Insider notes that a combination Read More ›

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post

Peter Biles
Date
January 20, 2023

Categorized
Social Media, Spirituality

Tagged
Contemplation, Distraction, Focus, LinkedIn, 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

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post

Peter Biles
Date
January 19, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
addiction, Big Tech, 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

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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 ›

Hand touch metaverse infinite loop unlimited technology futuristic digital connection background of virtual reality cyberpunk world or internet game innovation cyber network and hologram experience.

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post

Peter Biles
Date
November 20, 2022

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, metaverse, social media, Technology, Twitter}

Big Layoffs Ahead for Zuckerberg’s Meta

_{Employee downsizing at the social media giant casts doubt on its relevancy and future} _{Peter Biles
November 20, 2022

4

Social Media}

With recent headlines highlighting Elon Musk’s Twitter, Meta’s ongoing troubles have escaped some of the limelight, but are significant, nonetheless. This past week, Mark Zuckerberg announced over 11,000 layoffs across his company, focusing on recruiting and business, according to a memo. The layoffs will affect some 13 percent of the tech giant’s 87,000 employees. Meta, due in large part to its optimistic investment in the metaverse, plummeted in value this past year, and workers are feeling the consequences. While the tech industry is seeing high personnel cuts this year, Zuckerberg did not have to hire as many people as he did, and clearly depended too much on the metaverse project for profit, which looks like it won’t be nearly Read More ›

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post

Caitlin Cory
Date
March 4, 2022

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Facebook, Facebook Files, Joe Biden, mental health, social media, Twitter}

In State of the Union, Biden Vows to Curb Social Media Harms

_{Biden addressed the mental health harms of social media use on children and teens} _{Caitlin Cory
March 4, 2022

5

Social Media}

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden referred to the harms of social media in his State of the Union address, announcing policy proposals to curb those harms. In response, however, some have been critical of the president’s remarks, accusing him of ignoring social media’s deeper dangers. Over an hour into his speech, President Biden turned to mental health and the emotional toll the pandemic has had, especially on children. Then he turned to the emotional health toll exacted by social media, long before the first COVID-19 lockdowns. “Children were also struggling before the pandemic – bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media,” he said. “It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop Read More ›

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post

Jonathan Bartlett
Date
February 9, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
censorship, Hunter Biden, social media, Twitter}

It’s Time for a Public Conversation About Social Media Companies

_{A company whose platform is built on the backs of content creators owes some responsibilities to those creators} _{Jonathan Bartlett
February 9, 2022

4

Censorship, Social Media}

Amid the ongoing cancel culture that is rampant among social media companies, there is a large undercurrent of people who say things like, “These are private companies, and they can do what they want.” The idea behind this is that social media companies do not owe you their product, and that is not of harm to you, the consumer. Especially since you are not paying for their product, why should they have to listen to you? To see why this thinking is flawed, we need to think back to the history of these platforms and what is needed to make them work. Why is anyone on Facebook or Twitter at all? Because that is where everyone else is. To be Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
February 4, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
censorship, First Amendment, Free speech, New York, Royal Society, social media, Vivek Murthy}

New York Senate Tries To Shut Down Misinformation on Social Media

_{The introduction of the bill raises concerns about government's intrusion into the freedom of speech online} _{Caitlin Cory
February 4, 2022

6

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

In December, a bill was presented in the New York State Senate that would attempt to hold social media companies responsible for their role in circulating incitements to violence, incitements to self-harm, and misinformation. Introduced by Democratic/Working Families Party Senator Brad Hoylman of Manhattan, the legislation would empower the state’s Attorney General to bring an action against any social media company that allows for the circulation of content that incites violence or that “includes a false statement of fact or fraudulent medical theory…”. No person, by conduct either unlawful in itself or unreasonable under all the circumstances, shall knowingly or recklessly create, maintain or contribute to a condition in New York state that endangers the safety or health of the public through Read More ›

Robot concept or robot hand chatbot pressing computer keyboard enter

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post

Caitlin Cory
Date
January 14, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Social Media

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Facebook, Sarah T. Roberts, social media, TikTok}

Will AI Take Over Content Moderation?

_{While content moderators report psychological trauma, experts weigh in on whether artificial intelligence could remove humans from the equation} _{Caitlin Cory
January 14, 2022

6

Artificial Intelligence, Social Media}

How do Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, YouTube, and other platforms keep up with the millions upon millions of posts, comments, videos, and photos posted to their sites on a daily basis? It takes a partnership between artificial intelligence and human content moderators. In recent years, however, content moderators have begun to reveal that their work is often traumatizing. Moderators for Facebook and TikTok have gone so far as to sue for the psychological harm they have experienced at their workplaces, regularly reviewing images and videos that you and I never have to see depicting rape, murder, child trafficking, and other violent and graphic content. Subjecting workers to violent and graphic imagery is an unsustainable way of keeping the internet free of such Read More ›

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post

Caitlin Cory
Date
January 8, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Social Media

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Casey Newton, Content moderation, Facebook, Google, social media, The Verge, TikTok, YouTube}

Social Media Content Moderator Sues TikTok for PTSD

_{Social media moderators protect users from graphic content, but who protects the moderators?} _{Caitlin Cory
January 8, 2022

6

Artificial Intelligence, Social Media}

A social media content moderator is suing TikTok, a popular video app, for psychological trauma developed from 12-hour shifts moderating endless graphic videos. Candie Frazier works for Telus International, a Canadian contracting firm providing moderation services to social media apps like TikTok. Frazier filed a complaint with the California Central District Court in December, alleging that TikTok and parent company ByteDance do not provide enough support for the psychological wellbeing of their contracted moderators, whose job it is to remove violent, graphic, and otherwise inappropriate content from the platform. TikTok’s popularity exploded in the aftermath of pandemic lockdowns, especially among millennials and Generation Z. As of September, TikTok reported 1 billion users every month. In her complaint, Frazier explains that Read More ›

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post

Caitlin Cory
Date
November 30, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Social Media

Tagged
Free speech, Jack Dorsey, Parag Agrawal, social media, Twitter}

Jack Dorsey Resigns from Twitter: “now is the right time”

_{Some are concerned that his replacement is bad news for free speech} _{Caitlin Cory
November 30, 2021

5

Business and Finance, Social Media}

On Monday, Jack Dorsey announced his resignation as Twitter CEO, explaining that he has “worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders” and that “now is the right time.” “I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it,” wrote Dorsey in an email to his colleagues that he then posted to Twitter. “It was a tough one for me, of course. I love this service and company… and all of you so much. I’m really sad… yet really happy. There aren’t many companies that get to this level. And there aren’t many founders that choose their company over their own ego. I know we’ll prove this was the right move.” Read More ›

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post

Caitlin Cory
Date
June 3, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
censorship, Eric Metaxas, Florida, Free speech, Scott Atlas, social media, Texas, YouTube}

Big Tech Scrubs Religious Radio Show From YouTube

_{This isn't the first time YouTube has infringed on free speech} _{Caitlin Cory
June 3, 2021

4

Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy}

YouTube removed an entire radio show from its platform this week, hosted by popular Christian author and social commentator Eric Metaxas, citing violations of their community standards. Metaxas – author of biographies on the lives of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther, and William Wilberforce, among many other books – announced the news to his social media pages on Tuesday. “It’s happened,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “Despite our going FAR out of our way to comply with their arbitrary ‘community standards’, YouTube decided to remove every single video we’ve ever done on the Eric Metaxas Show off their platform.” The Eric Metaxas Radio Show, humorously called “The Show About Everything”, has featured a host of big name guests, including former Read More ›

This is the State Capitol building. It has a large concrete stairway leading up to it with large columns holding up the facade.

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post

Caitlin Cory
Date
May 26, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Facebook, Florida, John Snyder, Ron DeSantis, Senate Bill 7072, social media, Twitter}

Florida Governor Signs Bill Reining in Big Tech

_{The bill Governor DeSantis signed is the first in the nation to ban social media companies from deplatforming political candidates} _{Caitlin Cory
May 26, 2021

6

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

In the current national battle between Big Tech and Big Government, a new Florida law will punish social media companies for discriminating against political viewpoints and deplatforming political candidates. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law on Monday. The legislation protects Florida citizens and political candidates from inequitable viewpoint censorship. “Now more than ever, social media has really become the twenty-first century public square,” John Snyder, a Representative in the Florida House, told Mind Matters News. “It’s evolved from what used to be just a platform where people could post thoughts and pictures to now this is a tool that people rely on to communicate with their family, to talk with their friends, to air their grievances, and really to Read More ›