tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/internet-use-24504/articlesInternet use – The Conversation2023-11-22T17:05:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2165812023-11-22T17:05:13Z2023-11-22T17:05:13ZThe vast majority of us have no idea what the padlock icon on our internet browser is – and it’s putting us at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559630/original/file-20231115-15-zfe1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5568%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The padlock icon which appears in most internet browser address bars. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/web-browser-closeup-on-lcd-screen-1353121223">Robert Avgustin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you know what the padlock symbol in your internet browser’s address bar means? If not, you’re not alone. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10447318.2023.2266789">New research</a> by my colleagues and I shows that only 5% of UK adults understand the padlock’s significance. This is a threat to our online safety. </p>
<p>The padlock symbol on a web browser simply means that the data being sent between the web server and the user’s computer is encrypted and cannot be read by others. But when we asked people what they thought it meant, we received an array of incorrect answers.</p>
<p>In our study, we asked a cross section of 528 web users, aged between 18 and 86 years of age, a number of questions about the internet. Some 53% of them held a bachelor’s degree or above and 22% had a college certificate, while the remainder had no further education. </p>
<p>One of our questions was: “On the Google Chrome browser bar, do you know what the padlock icon represents/means?” </p>
<p>Of the 463 who responded, 63% stated they knew, or thought they knew, what the padlock symbol on their web browser meant, but only 7% gave the correct meaning. Respondents gave us a range of incorrect interpretations, believing among other things that the padlock signified a secure web page or that the website is safe and doesn’t contain any viruses or suspicious links. Others believed the symbol means a website is “trustworthy”, is not harmful, or is a “genuine” website. </p>
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<img alt="A symbol of a circle next to a straight line over a straight line and a circle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Google’s new ‘tune icon’ which replaces the padlock icon in Chrome’s address bar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://blog.chromium.org/2023/05/an-update-on-lock-icon.html">Google Chromium</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Not understanding symbols like the padlock icon, can pose problems to internet users. These include increased security risks and simply hindering effective use of the technology.</p>
<p>Our findings corroborate research by <a href="https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/222182314/the-lock-icon-replaced-with-a-tune-icon-in-the-google-chrome-address-bar?hl=en">Google</a> itself, who in September, replaced the padlock icon with a <a href="https://www.thesslstore.com/blog/google-to-replace-the-padlock-icon-in-chrome-version-117/#:%7E:text=But%20that's%20about%20to%20change,to%20have%20HTTPS%20by%20default.">neutral symbol</a> described as a “tune icon”. In doing so, Google hopes to eradicate the misunderstandings that the padlock icon has afforded. </p>
<p>However, Google’s update now raises the question as to whether other web browser companies will join forces to ensure their designs are uniform and intuitive across all platforms.</p>
<h2>Web browser evolution</h2>
<p>Without a doubt, the browser, which is our point of entry to the world wide web, comes with a lot of responsibility on the part of web companies. It’s how we now visit web pages, so the browser has become an integral part of our daily lives. </p>
<p>It’s intriguing to look back and trace the evolution of the web’s design from the early 1990s to where we are today. Creating software that people wanted to use and found effective was at the heart of this <a href="https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/human-computer-interaction">evolution</a>. The creation of functioning, satisfying, and most importantly, consistently designed user interfaces was an important goal in the 1990s. In fact, there was a drive in those early days to create web interface designs that were so consistent and intuitive that users would not need to think too much about how they work. </p>
<p>Nowadays, it’s a different story because the challenge is centred on helping people to think before they interact online. In light of this, it seems bizarre that the design of the web browser in 2023 still affords uncertainty through its design. Worse still, that it is inconsistently presented across its different providers. </p>
<p>It could be argued that this stems from the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/browser-wars-netscape-internet-explorer.asp">browser wars</a> of the mid-1990s. That’s when the likes of Microsoft and former software company, Netscape, tried to outdo each other with faster, better and more unique products. The race to be distinct meant there was inconsistency between products. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LOWOLJci8d8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The rise and fall of Netscape and the browser wars of the 1990s.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Internet safety</h2>
<p>However, introducing distinct browser designs can lead to user confusion, misunderstanding and a false sense of security, especially when it is <a href="https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/principle-of-consistency-and-standards-in-user-interface-design">now widely known</a> that such inconsistency can breed confusion, and from that, frustration and lack of use. </p>
<p>As an expert in human-computer interaction, it is alarming to me that some browser companies continue to disregard <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/">established guidelines</a> for usability. In a world where web browsers open the doors to potentially greater societal risks than the offline world, it is crucial to establish a consistent approach for addressing these dangers. </p>
<p>As a minimum, we need web browser companies to join forces in a concerted effort to shield users, or at the very least, heighten their awareness regarding potential online risks. This should include formulating one unified design across the board that affords an enriched and safe user experience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Carroll does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The padlock symbol simply means that the data being sent between the web server and the user’s computer is encrypted and cannot be read by others. But many people don’t know that.Fiona Carroll, Reader in Human Computer Interaction, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1903512022-09-15T03:19:47Z2022-09-15T03:19:47ZIt’s hard to imagine better social media alternatives, but Scuttlebutt shows change is possible<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484254/original/file-20220913-16-2t0c7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=89%2C179%2C5901%2C3368&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/xv7-GlvBLFw">Prateek Katyal/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, the US government released <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/white-house-holding-roundtable-big-tech-concerns-2022-09-08/">six principles</a> for reforming Big Tech. It’s the latest example of growing efforts to regulate the handful of companies with enormous influence over the internet. But while there’s a growing appetite for a new, better kind of internet, it’s hard to imagine what that might look like.</p>
<p>We’ve just published <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051221122448">research</a> that looks at one alternative – a social network called <a href="https://scuttlebutt.nz/">Scuttlebutt</a>, which provides an example of a platform that puts people before profit.</p>
<h2>The internet wasn’t supposed to be like this</h2>
<p>In the 1990s, many thought the internet would make the world a better place. By letting ordinary people connect across vast distances, it would help us become more empathetic and egalitarian. Today, that vision seems naive. The internet is fraught with serious issues regulators are struggling to tackle. </p>
<p>One factor underpinning many of these problems is the huge influence that a handful of companies, such as Meta and Google, have over the internet. By putting corporate interests ahead of user wellbeing and society at large, they are key contributors to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/09/03/facebook-misinformation-nyu-study/">misinformation</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/17/the-cambridge-analytica-scandal-changed-the-world-but-it-didnt-change-facebook">privacy</a> <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2022/08/google-location-data-collection-accc/">violations</a>, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59063768">online harassment and abuse</a>.</p>
<p>There’s increasing interest in regulating these companies and the markets in which they operate, including from the Australian government. However, it’s hard to imagine alternatives to an internet dominated by private companies – they are such a ubiquitous and powerful part of our online lives.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-proposed-privacy-code-promises-tough-rules-and-10-million-penalties-for-tech-giants-170711">A new proposed privacy code promises tough rules and $10 million penalties for tech giants</a>
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<h2>Enter Scuttlebutt</h2>
<p>Scuttlebutt is an example of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305115604338">alternative social media platforms</a>, which try to keep the best bits of popular places like Facebook and Twitter while improving on their downsides.</p>
<p>On the surface, Scuttlebutt looks quite similar to Facebook. Users create a profile, post content, and like and comment on others’ posts. There are lots of people chatting about politics, current events, and obscure shared interests.</p>
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<img alt="A screenshot that says Scuttlebutt, social network, a decentralised platform with a colourful hermit crab in each bottom corner" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484253/original/file-20220913-12-1n4mmd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484253/original/file-20220913-12-1n4mmd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484253/original/file-20220913-12-1n4mmd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484253/original/file-20220913-12-1n4mmd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484253/original/file-20220913-12-1n4mmd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484253/original/file-20220913-12-1n4mmd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484253/original/file-20220913-12-1n4mmd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://scuttlebutt.nz/">Scuttlebutt</a></span>
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<p>But compared with regular platforms, Scuttlebutt has some radically different qualities. Crucially, it isn’t run by a company. Started by software engineer Dominic Tarr <a href="https://epicenter.tv/episodes/290/">while living on a sailboat in New Zealand</a>, Scuttlebutt is now being developed by an international community of people who run the platform <a href="https://opencollective.com/secure-scuttlebutt-consortium">collectively</a>, using grant funding, donations and volunteer labour.</p>
<p>Because it’s not a company, Scuttlebutt doesn’t need to make a profit. There is no persuasive design trying to keep you hooked, no advertising, and it doesn’t collect, process or sell users’ personal data. Instead, data are stored and controlled on users’ own devices. (This process uses the novel <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3428662.3428794">secure “gossip” protocol</a> for which the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuttlebutt">platform is named</a>.) As it is open source, anyone can see, interact with, and reuse the code it’s built on.</p>
<p>While it’s impossible to know how many people are using this decentralised platform, Scuttlebutt has attracted substantial grant funding, along with the attention of <a href="https://publicinfrastructure.org/podcast/03-evan-henshaw-plath/">tech luminaries</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Do-Nothing-Resisting-Attention/dp/1612197493">cultural critics</a>.</p>
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<h2>Lessons for a better internet</h2>
<p>We spent several years studying Scuttlebutt to understand the community building it, and the new models of online participation they’re trying to create.</p>
<p>We found that participation on Scuttlebutt is much deeper and more varied than mainstream platforms allow. Not only can users participate <em>on the platform</em> by posting, liking and sharing, they can also participate <em>in the platform</em> by helping shape how it is designed and run. Anyone interested is <a href="https://scuttlebutt.netlify.app/docs/contribute/">encouraged to contribute</a> in whatever ways they can.</p>
<p>Compared with Facebook users, who resort to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jul/28/facebook-protest-vaccine-disinformation">protests</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-breastfeeding-idUSTRE4BT0UP20081230">petitions</a> to try and improve its practices, Scuttlebutt users are empowered to collaborate in the creation of the online spaces they use. </p>
<p>Unlike mainstream social media, Scuttlebutt doesn’t ask you to give up your personal data as payment. So even forms of participation that look the same as on Facebook, such as creating a post, take place under more equitable conditions.</p>
<p>Scuttlebutt’s <a href="https://scuttlebutt.nz/docs/principles/">principles</a> also reflect a view that developing fair and inclusive participation is as much a matter of culture as of technology design.</p>
<p>In contrast to Big Tech’s common focus on technology-first solutions, most Scuttlebutt contributors are as invested in improving the platform’s culture and governance as they are in building better technology. For example, when electing a council to distribute one of Scuttlebutt’s grants, priority was given to people with historically marginalised experiences in open-source communities.</p>
<p>These social elements may not scale to a platform the size of Facebook, but this isn’t a problem for Scuttlebutt, which doesn’t maximise user participation for profit. This means users can concentrate on encouraging a positive culture rather than trying to make as many people participate as much as possible.</p>
<p>In fact, we found that much of the Scuttlebutt community believes people need more choices in social media platforms, not a single Facebook replacement. </p>
<h2>The future is already here</h2>
<p>Scuttlebutt isn’t going to solve all the internet’s problems and, as we discuss in our <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051221122448">research</a>, it has its own issues – including the messiness of decentralised governance and ensuring accessibility for people from diverse backgrounds. But it does provide a way of <a href="https://mixitconf.org/2019/the-internet-in-2030">exploring what the future of internet could look like</a>. </p>
<p>These explorations highlight the importance of an internet where no single platform dominates and users have more control over shaping the spaces in which they gather.</p>
<p>In the meantime, Scuttlebutt also shows that platforms focusing on <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-full-public-service-internet-state-owned-infrastructure-is-just-the-start-127458">public benefit instead of profit</a> are already possible.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-dark-is-dark-advertising-we-audited-facebook-google-and-other-platforms-to-find-out-189310">How dark is 'dark advertising'? We audited Facebook, Google and other platforms to find out</a>
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<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/social-media-and-society-125586" target="_blank"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479539/original/file-20220817-20-g5jxhm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=1" width="100%"></a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190351/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scuttlebutt is an entirely decentralised social network – and it shows we can learn to make the internet better.Kate Mannell, Research Fellow in Digital Childhoods, Deakin UniversityEden T. Smith, Research Fellow, History and Philosophy of Science, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1787412022-03-15T12:14:20Z2022-03-15T12:14:20ZWhat is Discord? An internet researcher explains the social media platform at the center of Pentagon leak of top-secret intelligence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521072/original/file-20230414-18-btpfoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4343%2C2884&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some of the nation's most closely guarded secrets were posted to a small online gaming community.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/GameDevelopersConference2023/58194bcb07674162b68227fc1d248dc3/photo">AP Photo/Jeff Chiu</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Justice Department on April 14, 2023, charged <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/13/document-leak-jack-teixeira-og/">Jack Teixeira</a>, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member, with <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-looking-into-how-accused-leaker-accessed-top-secret-documents-6c6b0972">unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information</a> and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. Media reports suggest that Teixeira didn’t intend to leak the documents widely but rather shared them <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/12/discord-leaked-us-intelligence-documents/">on a closed Discord community</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/12/discord-leaked-documents/">focused on playing war games</a>. </p>
<p>Some of the documents were then shared to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/11/business/discord-leaked-military-documents.html">another Discord community</a> with a larger following and became widely disseminated from there. </p>
<p>So what is Discord and should you worry about what people are encountering there?</p>
<p>Ever since the earliest days of the internet in the 1980s, getting online has meant getting involved in a community. Initially, there were <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/11/the-lost-civilization-of-dial-up-bulletin-board-systems/506465/">dial-up chat servers</a>, email lists and <a href="https://usenetreviewz.com/history-of-usenet/">text-based discussion groups</a> focused on <a href="https://cfiesler.medium.com/the-secret-garden-of-the-internet-how-fanfiction-transforms-lives-12cfa5881cd5">specific interests</a>.</p>
<p>Since the early 2000s, mass-appeal social media platforms have collected these small spaces into bigger ones, letting people find their own little corners of the internet, but only with interconnections to others. This allows social media sites to <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/cmci/2022/02/21/cmci-researchers-dive-dual-experience-lgbtq-users-tiktok">suggest new spaces users might join</a>, whether it’s a local neighborhood discussion or a group with the same hobby, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/solving-the-political-ad-problem-with-transparency-85366">sell specifically targeted advertising</a>. But the small-group niche community is making a comeback with adults, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/29/business/discord-users-gen-z.html">with kids and teens</a>.</p>
<p>When <a href="https://discord.com">Discord</a> was initially released <a href="https://discord.fandom.com/wiki/Discord">in 2015</a>, many video games did not provide players with live voice chat to talk to one another while playing the game – or required them to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/31/the-history-of-gaming-an-evolving-community/">pay premium prices</a> to do so. Discord was an app that <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/10/discord-video/">enabled real-time voice and text chatting</a>, so friends could team up to conquer an obstacle, or just chat while exploring a game world. People do still use Discord for that, but these days most of the activity on the service is part of wider communities than just a couple of friends meeting up to play.</p>
<p>Examining Discord is part of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kEcMLswAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">my research</a> into how scholars, developers and policymakers might design and maintain healthy online spaces.</p>
<h2>A little bit old school</h2>
<p>Discord first came onto my radar in 2017 when an acquaintance asked me to join a writer’s support group. Discord users can set up their own communities, called servers, with shareable links to join and choices about whether the server is public or private.</p>
<p>The writer’s group server felt like an old-school chat room, but with multiple channels segmenting out different conversations that folks were having. It reminded me of descriptions of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/what-the-wells-rise-and-fall-tell-us-about-online-community/259504/">early online chat</a> and forum-based communities that hosted lengthy conversations between people all over the world.</p>
<p>The people in the writers’ server quickly realized that a few of our community members were teenagers under the age of 18. While the server owner had kept the space invite-only, he avoided saying “no” to anyone who requested access. It was supposed to be a supportive community for people working on writing projects, after all. Why would he want to exclude anyone?</p>
<p>He didn’t want to kick the teens out, but was able to make some adjustments using Discord’s server moderation system. Community members had to disclose their age, and anyone under 18 was given a special “role” that tagged them as a minor. That role prevented them from accessing channels that we marked as “not safe for work,” or “NSFW.” Some of the writers were working on explicit romance novels and didn’t want to solicit feedback from teenagers. And sometimes, adults just wanted to have their own space.</p>
<p>While we took care in constructing an online space safe for teens, there are still dangers present with an app like Discord. The platform is criticized for lacking <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/discord-chat-app-is-safer-now-for-kids-but-still-lacks-parental-controls-11610805602">parental controls</a>. The terms of service state that no one under 13 should sign up for Discord, but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/29/business/discord-users-gen-z.html">many young people</a> use the platform regardless. </p>
<p>Additionally, there are people who have used Discord to organize and encourage hateful rhetoric, including <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/7/17660308/white-supremacists-charlottesville-rally-discord-plan">neo-Nazi ideologies</a>. Others have used the platform to <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/chicago-man-pleads-guilty-engaging-internet-based-child-exploitation-enterprise-and">traffic child pornography</a>.</p>
<p>However, Discord does maintain that these sorts of activities are illegal and unwelcome on its platform, and the company <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/28/17062554/discord-alt-right-neo-nazi-white-supremacy-atomwaffen">regularly bans servers</a> <a href="https://www.engadget.com/discord-transparency-report-222737366.html">and users</a> it says perpetuate harm.</p>
<h2>Options for safety</h2>
<p>Every Discord server I’ve joined since then has had some safeguard around young people and inappropriate content. Whether it’s age-restricted channels or simply refusing to allow minors to join certain servers, the Discord communities I’m in share a heightened concern for keeping young people on the internet safe. </p>
<p>This does not mean that every Discord server will be safe at all times for its members, however. Parents should still take the time to talk with their kids about what they’re doing in their online spaces. Even something as innocuous as the popular children’s gaming environment <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/roblox-online-games-irl-fascism-roman-empire/">Roblox</a> can turn bad in the right setting.</p>
<p>And while the servers I’ve been involved in have been managed with care, not all Discord servers are regulated this way. In addition to servers lacking uniform regulation, account owners are able to lie about their age and identity when signing up for an account. And there are new ways for users to misbehave or annoy others on Discord, like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3359157">spamming loud and inappropriate audio</a>. </p>
<p>But, as with other modern social media platforms, there are safeguards to help administrators keep online communities safe for young people if they want to. Server members can label an entire server “NSFW,” going beyond single channel labels and locking minor accounts out of entire communities. But if they don’t, <a href="https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005389362-NSFW-Server-Designation">company officials can do it themselves</a>. When accessing Discord on an iOS device, NSFW servers are not visible to anyone, even accounts belonging to adults. Additionally, Discord runs a <a href="https://discord.com/moderation">Moderator Academy</a> to support training up volunteer moderators who can appropriately handle a wide range of situations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450803/original/file-20220308-27-zqe3g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A screenshot of a Discord community" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450803/original/file-20220308-27-zqe3g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450803/original/file-20220308-27-zqe3g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450803/original/file-20220308-27-zqe3g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450803/original/file-20220308-27-zqe3g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450803/original/file-20220308-27-zqe3g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450803/original/file-20220308-27-zqe3g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450803/original/file-20220308-27-zqe3g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Discord is another way for people to gather and communicate online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045138571-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Discord">Discord</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Stronger controls</h2>
<p>Unlike many other current popular social media platforms, Discord servers often function as closed communities, with invitations required to join. There are also large open servers flooded with millions of users, but Discord’s design integrates content moderation tools to maintain order. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://discord.com/moderation/1500000176222-201:-Permissions-on-Discord">a server creator has tight control</a> over who has access to what, and what permissions each server member can have to send, delete or manage messages. In addition, Discord allows community members to add <a href="https://discord.com/moderation/1500000178701-321:-Auto-Moderation-in-Discord">automations</a> to a server, continuously monitoring activity to enforce moderation standards.</p>
<p>With these protections, people use servers to form tight-knit, closed spaces safe from chaotic public squares like Twitter and less visible to the wider online world. This can be positive, keeping spaces safer from bullies, trolls and disinformation spreaders. In my own research, young people have mentioned their Discord servers as the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2018.1583">safe, private space</a> they have online in contrast to messy public platforms. </p>
<p>However, moving online activity to more private spaces also means that those well-regulated, healthy communities are <a href="https://medium.com/acm-cscw/transformative-spaces-how-fandom-creates-communities-of-support-for-lgbtq-people-4123744c49cd">less discoverable for vulnerable groups</a> that might need them. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702205">new fathers looking for social support</a> are sometimes more inclined to access it through open subreddits rather than Facebook groups. </p>
<p>Discord’s servers are not the first <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2018/03/why-did-fans-leave-livejournal-and-where-will-they-go-after-tumblr.html">closed communities on the internet</a>. They are, essentially, the same as old-school chat rooms, private blogs and curated mailing lists. They will have the same problems and opportunities as previous online communities.</p>
<h2>Discussion about self-protection</h2>
<p>In my view, the solution to this particular problem is not necessarily banning particular practices or regulating internet companies. Research into <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/protecting-children-online">youth safety online</a> finds that government regulation aimed at protecting minors on social media <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2018/08/22/protecting-children-online/">rarely has the desired outcome</a>, and more often results in disempowering and isolating youth instead. </p>
<p>Just as parents and caring adults tell the kids in their lives about recognizing dangerous situations in the physical world, talking about healthy online interactions can help young people protect themselves in the online world. Many youth-focused organizations, and many internet companies, have <a href="https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us">internet safety information</a> aimed at kids of all ages.</p>
<p>Whenever young people hop onto the next technology fad, there will <a href="https://theconversation.com/banning-smartphones-for-kids-is-just-another-technology-fearing-moral-panic-74485">inevitably be panic</a> over how the adults, companies and society may or may not be keeping young people safe. What is most important in these situations is to remember that talking to young people about how they use those technologies, and what to do in difficult situations, can be an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815577797">effective way</a> to help them avoid serious harm online.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article originally published on March 15, 2022.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brianna Dym receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Discord was initially a service to let gamers voice and text chat while playing. Most of its current users build and maintain online communities, though not always very big ones.Brianna Dym, Lecture of Computer Science, University of MaineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657522021-08-26T02:50:23Z2021-08-26T02:50:23ZLearning from home is testing students’ online search skills. Here are 3 ways to improve them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417164/original/file-20210820-17-1fxrd7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/girl-helps-figure-out-how-use-1689900094">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, school closures meant <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/dont-let-children-be-hidden-victims-covid-19-pandemic">more than 90%</a> of the world’s learners had to study virtually or from home. The internet, already an invaluable educational tool, has therefore become even more important for students. One of students’ most common internet activities, both <a href="https://www.iea.nl/publications/study-reports/preparing-life-digital-world">in schools</a> and in <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/266758">home schooling</a>, is online searching. </p>
<p>This means teachers, and those parents currently standing in for teachers, need to help students develop skills for searching online. So what can parents do to support their children when tasks sent home from school require them to search for information online? And what can they do to extend such work for gifted students or when the work sent home runs out? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/schooling-in-lockdown-isnt-home-schooling-but-we-can-learn-from-the-real-thing-165004">Schooling in lockdown isn't home schooling – but we can learn from the real thing</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131510003180?via%3Dihub">Teachers</a> and <a href="https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/75100.pdf">parents</a> can have an influence on a child’s internet skills. Indeed, their search success is related to the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240096241_Children's_use_of_the_Internet_for_information-seeking_What_strategies_do_they_use_and_what_factors_affect_their_performance">amount of adult guidance</a> and <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2637002.2637007?casa_token=blVwAr_8hXEAAAAA:57_aWkNBZxpeqkLktZi_z0xBWLCRmzgxL4OwjPfAYdugNPGkIeU4G-bUoctBcJVHlYPV1ldO5-6Z_Qk">explicit instruction they receive</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, research suggests some teachers <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268387581_Teachers'_views_of_information_literacy_practices_in_secondary_education_A_qualitative_study_in_the_Greek_educational_setting">don’t offer such explicit instruction</a>. Some also have <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323544203_Teaching_in_a_Digital_Environment_TIDE_Defining_and_measuring_teachers'_capacity_to_develop_students'_digital_information_and_communication_skills">trouble structuring</a> (and providing support for) student online search tasks that go beyond lower-order skills. Evidence even exists of a lack of search skills <a href="https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1256&context=cs_facpubs">among teachers</a> and <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2538862.2538933?casa_token=9_dgOIs9dWMAAAAA:TL3wFzwq__P-KZVZ6dxw054IIh0NtE5XzpF3melq00N_qTaR40-5KTYWwDZRUGDhxkDmvMWiOnewCEY">parents</a> themselves. </p>
<p>The following three tips may help. </p>
<h2>Focus on ‘learning to search’ as well as ‘searching to learn’</h2>
<p>Making the “invisible” processes behind searches more visible <a href="http://informationr.net/ir/24-1/isic2018/isic1824.html">improves the online information-seeking</a> of both teachers and students. In this way, educators (be they temporary or professional) should design activities that foreground the search process itself. This makes students more aware of what goes on “behind the scenes” of a search and of their ability to affect these processes. </p>
<p>How might you do this? In one <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/data/2016_Conference/Full_papers/295_Renee_Morrisson.pdf">Queensland study</a>, students were asked to sort 12 picture cards. The cards were designed so three “categories” – animals, transport modes and countries – were obvious at first. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="3 cards with illustrations of kangaroo, double-decker bus and Australian flag map" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417342/original/file-20210823-19-5ei9el.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417342/original/file-20210823-19-5ei9el.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417342/original/file-20210823-19-5ei9el.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417342/original/file-20210823-19-5ei9el.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417342/original/file-20210823-19-5ei9el.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417342/original/file-20210823-19-5ei9el.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417342/original/file-20210823-19-5ei9el.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just like picture cards can be categorised in different ways, so can online search content.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Images: Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students easily sorted the cards into these categories. But they were then challenged to recognise any other sorting options, much like Google does every second of every day. When “kangaroo” was removed from the “animals” pile and placed alongside “Australia” instead, for example, students were quick to assemble the remaining cards in a similar fashion. </p>
<p>This activity encouraged discussions about just how many different ways not 12 but 200 million cards – or <a href="https://www.Internetlivestats.com/">websites</a> - could be sorted. It’s a reminder of how important it is to clearly specify what you want from Google, helping it to sort its 200 million websites. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-learning-is-real-world-learning-thats-why-blended-on-campus-and-online-study-is-best-163002">Digital learning is real-world learning. That's why blended on-campus and online study is best</a>
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<h2>Become more critical users of the web</h2>
<p>Educators sometimes set tasks that are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1475939X.2021.1883105?journalCode=rtpe20">too broad for students</a> and likely to return millions of search results. Many will probably be irrelevent or inaccurate. Teachers may also set tasks that encourage students to use Google <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/266758">as a mere encyclopedia</a>, which requires only passive lower-order learning. </p>
<p>If we instead want students to engage in higher-order thinking, greater structuring of search tasks is needed. </p>
<p>Educators can start this by setting specific requirements for the results students work with. Perhaps ask them to find one website from Australia (try adding “site:.au” to the end of queries) and one from England – this could be particularly interesting around the time The Ashes are played. Perhaps students are told to find some sources from before the year 2000 and others from the previous 12 months (select “Tools” then “Any time” in the dropdown menu). </p>
<p>Asking students to purposefully find websites with conflicting information and to describe how they decided which to believe requires that they compare, evaluate and analyse. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-no-such-thing-as-alternative-facts-5-ways-to-spot-misinformation-and-stop-sharing-it-online-152894">There's no such thing as 'alternative facts'. 5 ways to spot misinformation and stop sharing it online</a>
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<p>The number of results a search engine returns can help indicate the quality of your query and make finding reliable information more efficient. In school, students <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331101627_Search_engine_use_as_a_literacy_in_the_middle_years_The_need_for_explicit_instruction_and_active_learners">report</a> that they typically don’t consider the number of results returned and have little experience in limiting or increasing these results. In Australian home-schooling too, parent-educators and students rank “limiting/expanding searches” as <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/393191">one of the hardest steps in search</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="father and son seated on a couch discussing something on their laptop" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417172/original/file-20210820-21-1n19zcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417172/original/file-20210820-21-1n19zcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417172/original/file-20210820-21-1n19zcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417172/original/file-20210820-21-1n19zcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417172/original/file-20210820-21-1n19zcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417172/original/file-20210820-21-1n19zcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417172/original/file-20210820-21-1n19zcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The confidence in the skills of ‘digital natives’ may be misplaced as parents often have stronger search skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teen-boy-explaining-father-how-use-1958419573?irclickid=Uyq13yXigxyLUG0w4myhqQ3eUkBWlXSfYQriUk0&irgwc=1&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=TinEye&utm_source=77643&utm_term=&c3ch=Affiliate&c3nid=IR-77643">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now that students know a little more about how Google must sort websites, ask them to alter their query to rearrange the top five or ten results returned. Challenge them to reduce the (likely millions of) results returned to just 10,000, 1,000 or even ten. </p>
<p><a href="http://informationr.net/ir/24-1/isic2018/isic1824.html">Students explain</a> that when it is only the final product or outcome of searching that “counts” or is graded, their focus is upon that and never the search process itself. This changes when tasks are more structured and specific requirements and guidance are given. Students then focus more upon gathering quality information. </p>
<h2>Shift your thinking about search</h2>
<p><a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ882506.pdf">Attitudes have proven more important</a> than available resources or even teacher skill when it comes to increasing students’ authentic technology-enabled learning. Many limiting attitudes about search need to be turned around to ensure students get the most out of Google. </p>
<p>We can start switching attitudes about <em>what</em> to search for and <em>how</em> by using the tips above. But what if your child <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/266758">doesn’t want to listen</a> to you during search? This is <a href="https://repository.isls.org/handle/1/177">commonly reported</a>.</p>
<p>Students don’t always see their teachers as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00313831.2020.1788145">good information sources</a> during search either. And it’s true, some teachers and parents still have much to learn about using Google.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/less-than-half-of-australian-adults-know-how-to-identify-misinformation-online-156124">Less than half of Australian adults know how to identify misinformation online</a>
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<p>However, <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/266758">my study</a>, which tested the “generational digital divide” concept among Australian home-schoolers, found the parent-educators (the older generation) were stronger searchers than their kids, the so-called “digital natives”. Perhaps students can learn more about search from their parents. </p>
<p>The answer is unlikely to be forcing your children to recognise your strengths and their weaknesses. Instead, shifting young people’s attitude to search, and encouraging them to realise it is sometimes hard and frustrating, <a href="http://informationr.net/ir/24-1/isic2018/isic1824.html">can help</a>. </p>
<p>When it comes to schoolwork, data from over 45,000 students in 12 countries <a href="https://www.iea.nl/publications/study-reports/preparing-life-digital-world">tell us</a> internet research is “by far the most frequently recorded use of ICT”. Educators who focus upon “learning to search” as well as “searching to learn”, who encourage critical use, and begin to challenge attitudes about Google will be better placed to help students capitalise on the unprecedented educational opportunities online search can provide.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-just-google-it-3-ways-students-can-get-the-most-from-searching-online-116519">Don't 'just Google it': 3 ways students can get the most from searching online</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165752/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renee Morrison works at the University of Tasmania. This research was conducted at Griffith University. </span></em></p>If you think the ‘digital natives’ have better online search skills than their parents, you’d be wrong. But simply telling students what to do isn’t the best way to improve their skills.Renee Morrison, Lecturer in Curriculum Studies, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1561282021-03-09T19:08:49Z2021-03-09T19:08:49ZNew evidence shows half of Australians have ditched social media at some point, but millennials lag behind<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388444/original/file-20210309-21-13mxx29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C10%2C2409%2C1664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent nationally representative survey has shown Australians are willing and able to pull the plug on social media. </p>
<p>But it turns out the generation you were born in, as well as your level of education, will likely have a bearing on whether you do. This is important, as recent events have set the precedent for tech giants to pull or change content at any time. </p>
<p>Short-lived as it was, Facebook’s removal of Australian news raised interesting questions about our dependence on social media and whether we can do without it. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/google-is-leading-a-vast-covert-human-experiment-you-may-be-one-of-the-guinea-pigs-154178">Google is leading a vast, covert human experiment. You may be one of the guinea pigs</a>
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<h2>Growing frustration with platforms</h2>
<p>Facebook’s actions (coupled with Google’s earlier threat to pull its Search function from Australia) prompted widespread criticism. </p>
<p>Twitter users got #deletefacebook <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/19/australians-respond-to-facebooks-news-ban.html">trending</a>, while news columns called on Australians to <a href="https://meanjin.com.au/blog/what-is-news-and-who-decides/">consider</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/19/facebook-is-gambling-australia-cant-live-without-it-imagine-if-we-prove-them-wrong">distancing</a> themselves from the platform. But it’s difficult to know exactly how many did.</p>
<p>The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AUSSA) is one of <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/">few</a> studies uniquely placed to provide a balanced view on Australians’ social media use.</p>
<p>The randomised, nationally representative sample of the Australian population captures those who have never used social media, those who have curbed their use and those who have never stopped or reduced their use.</p>
<p>Results from the <a href="https://www.acspri.org.au/aussa/2019">2019–20 survey</a> show many Australians have either cut back on social media, or quit it altogether. Half the respondents had reduced their use at some point. </p>
<h2>Reasons for disconnecting</h2>
<p>People disconnect from social media for various reasons. These include <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/26/the-cambridge-analytica-files-the-story-so-far">concerns over privacy</a>, an “always on” <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461444817711449">digital culture</a>, pressure from <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2470654.2466446">being on display to the public</a> and pressure from comparing <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1016/j.chb.2016.07.049">oneself to others</a>.</p>
<p>Others hold practical concerns such as <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2470654.2466446">wasting time</a>, being too busy to use social media, losing interest or being <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/02/05/coming-and-going-on-facebook/">bored</a>. The majority (52%) of AUSSA respondents cited “boredom” and “time wasting” as the main reasons for limiting social media use. </p>
<p>Considering this, Facebook’s threat to become news-free may have constituted self-sabotage; it would have made the platform a blander, less informative and more disposable space.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-facebook-really-pulls-news-from-its-australian-sites-well-have-a-much-less-compelling-product-145380">If Facebook really pulls news from its Australian sites, we'll have a much less compelling product</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australians registered other concerns too, but in lower numbers. For instance, 18% cited frustration with online personas (such as excessive social comparisons and inauthenticity) as their main reason for disconnecting, while 15% cited privacy concerns.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, 14% of respondents had never used social media and 36% continued to use it consistently.</p>
<h2>Breakdown by education</h2>
<p>Past research has raised concerns over “<a href="https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/115030.pdf">internet addiction</a>”, which refers to becoming so embedded in social media it becomes difficult to exit. </p>
<p>And the AUSSA survey reveals some of us seem more likely (and possibly more able) than others to disconnect from digital life. </p>
<p>Education was an important predictor of social media use and disconnection. Of those who hadn’t completed high school, 45% had reduced their social media use. </p>
<p>This rose to 51% among those with a high-school or post-school certificate — and to 56% among degree holders.</p>
<p>The link between higher education and social media use speaks to a certain “privilege of disconnection”, whereby the choice to disengage is easier for those with certain resources. </p>
<p>For example, when tertiary-educated people give up social media, they may be better placed to replace the networks and information lost with other sources of connection and capital. </p>
<h2>Generational gaps</h2>
<p>There were also notable differences in social media use between generations, although usage generally increased as generations became younger. </p>
<p>Of the Silent Generation (currently 76-93 years old), 40% had never used social media. This dropped to 0% among Gen Z (9-24 years old). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388148/original/file-20210307-23-7m30kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388148/original/file-20210307-23-7m30kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388148/original/file-20210307-23-7m30kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388148/original/file-20210307-23-7m30kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388148/original/file-20210307-23-7m30kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388148/original/file-20210307-23-7m30kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388148/original/file-20210307-23-7m30kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This graph shows the proportion of respondents from each generation who’d never used social media platforms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roger Patulny</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At 62%, Gen X (41-56 years old) led the way in social media reduction and disconnection. They were significantly more likely to have used and disconnected than baby boomers (57-75 years old). </p>
<p>But the rates of reduction and disconnection among millennials (25-40 years old) decreased, before increasing again for Gen Z. Millennials were also much more likely than Gen X to have never reduced their social media use at any point.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388149/original/file-20210307-19-1e1893x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388149/original/file-20210307-19-1e1893x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388149/original/file-20210307-19-1e1893x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388149/original/file-20210307-19-1e1893x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388149/original/file-20210307-19-1e1893x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388149/original/file-20210307-19-1e1893x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388149/original/file-20210307-19-1e1893x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The proportion of each generation which either reduced or ceased social media usage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roger Patulny</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The relatively lower disconnection rate and higher usage rate among millennials is perhaps concerning. </p>
<p>This group may simply not have found a good reason to disconnect. However, since millennials were raised with social media strongly integrated into their teenage and adult lives, it may harder for them to kick the habit when needed. </p>
<p>The slight increase in disconnection among Gen Z is telling here, as it suggests the generation to follow may have developed a little more critical awareness of the downsides of making social media omnipresent in one’s life.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388449/original/file-20210309-21-knmtvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young people studying together." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388449/original/file-20210309-21-knmtvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388449/original/file-20210309-21-knmtvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388449/original/file-20210309-21-knmtvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388449/original/file-20210309-21-knmtvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388449/original/file-20210309-21-knmtvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388449/original/file-20210309-21-knmtvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388449/original/file-20210309-21-knmtvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s often assumed school-aged kids are the most obsessed with social media. But while they might use it often, this happens alongside a growing awareness of the potential harms of excessive use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Managing a challenging relationship</h2>
<p>The survey findings suggest social media use is indeed ubiquitous among young people. </p>
<p>But they also suggest claims of a widespread rise in “internet addiction” are excessive, since the majority of respondents from Gen X onward had either reduced or halted their social media use. </p>
<p>This is good news. Tech platforms at times have shown an ethically questionable willingness to sacrifice our privacy and agency for personal gain, with both <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/111/24/8788.full">Facebook</a> and Google guilty of covertly experimenting on users in the past.</p>
<p>These survey findings suggest we have some agency of our own. Tech giants can’t rely on user loyalty, or inertia and certainly not addiction. </p>
<p>Users may happily switch platforms — or switch off altogether — if they continue to be treated like bargaining chips in business deals. Big tech, take note.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156128/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Patulny does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Gen X is leading the way in kicking the social media habit. And concerns about an overall ‘internet addiction’ seem overblown.Roger Patulny, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1467492020-09-23T08:03:32Z2020-09-23T08:03:32ZNBN upgrades explained: how will they make internet speeds faster? And will the regions miss out?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359501/original/file-20200923-24-1mjhi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=86%2C51%2C3748%2C2103&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government has announced a A$3.5 billion upgrade to the National Broadband Network (NBN) that will grant two million households on-demand access to faster fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) internet by 2023. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/nbn-to-be-extended-to-millions-under-$3.5bn-fttp-plan/12692082?nw=0">Reports from</a> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/nbn-upgrade-is-your-internet-about-to-get-faster/12692854">the ABC</a> suggest the plan would go as far as to upgrade the FTTN services to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) – although this wasn’t explicitly said in Minister for Communications Paul Fletcher’s <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/fletcher/media-release/45-billion-nbn-investment-bring-ultra-fast-broadband-millions-families-and-businesses-and-create-25000-jobs">announcement</a>.</p>
<p>The minister said the upgrade would involve expanding current FTTN connections to run along more streets across the country, giving people the option to connect to broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second. Improvements have also <a href="https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/media-releases/joint-media-release-45-billion-nbn-investment-to-bring-ultra-fast-broadband-to">been promised</a> for the hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) and fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) systems.</p>
<p>Altogether the upgrade is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/nbn-co-shake-up-upgrade-network-millions-more-access/12691782">expected to</a> give about six million households access to internet speeds of up to one gigabit per second. But how will the existing infrastructure be boosted? And who will miss out?</p>
<h2>Getting ahead of the terminology</h2>
<p>Let’s first understand the <a href="https://www.aussiebroadband.com.au/blog/fttp-vs-fttn-connections-national-broadband-network-explained/">various terms</a> used to describe aspects of the NBN network. </p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/network-technology/fibre-to-the-premises-explained-fttp">Fibre to the Premises</a></strong> (FTTP)</p>
<p>FTTP refers to households with an optical fibre connection running from a device on a wall of the house directly to the network. This provides reliable high-speed internet.</p>
<p>The “network” simply refers to the exchange point from which households’ broadband connections are passed to service providers, such as Telstra, who help them get connected. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359514/original/file-20200923-20-vo71bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359514/original/file-20200923-20-vo71bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359514/original/file-20200923-20-vo71bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359514/original/file-20200923-20-vo71bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359514/original/file-20200923-20-vo71bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359514/original/file-20200923-20-vo71bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359514/original/file-20200923-20-vo71bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359514/original/file-20200923-20-vo71bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In an FTTP network, fibre optic connectors in the back of distribution hub panels connect homes to broadband services.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/network-technology/fibre-to-the-node-explained-fttn">Fibre to the Node</a></strong> (FTTN)</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2019/documents/media-centre/corporate-plan-report-2020-2023.pdf">The FTTN</a> system serves about 4.7 million premises in Australia, out of a total 11.5 million covered under the NBN.</p>
<p>With FTTN, households are connected via a copper line to a “node” in their neighbourhood. This node is further connected to the network with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/10/21/3044463.htm">fibre optic cables</a> that transfer data much faster than copper cables can.</p>
<p>With FTTN systems, the quality of the broadband service depends on the length of the copper cable and the choice of technology used to support data transmission via this cable. </p>
<p>It’s <em>technically</em> possible to offer high internet speeds when copper cables are very short and <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/blog/the-nbn-project/nbn-co-plugs-in-first-gfast-units-across-Australia">the latest data transmission technologies</a> are used. </p>
<p>In reality, however, Australia’s FTTN speeds using a fibre/copper mix have <a href="https://www.speedtest.net/global-index">been slow</a>. An FTTN connection’s reliability also depends on network conditions, such as the age of the copper cabling and whether any of the signal is leaking due to degradation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359509/original/file-20200923-20-1kf94wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of fibre optic cables." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359509/original/file-20200923-20-1kf94wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359509/original/file-20200923-20-1kf94wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359509/original/file-20200923-20-1kf94wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359509/original/file-20200923-20-1kf94wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359509/original/file-20200923-20-1kf94wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359509/original/file-20200923-20-1kf94wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359509/original/file-20200923-20-1kf94wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fibre optic cables use pulses of light for high-speed data transmission across long distances.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/network-technology/fibre-to-the-curb-explained-fttc">Fibre to the Curb</a></strong> (FTTC)</p>
<p>The limitations of FTTN mentioned above can be sidestepped by extending fibre cables from the network right up to a curbside “distribution point unit” nearer to households. This unit then becomes the “node” of the network. </p>
<p>FTTC allows significantly faster data transmission. This is because it services relatively fewer households (allowing better signal transmission to each one) and reduces the length of copper cable relied upon.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/network-technology/hybrid-fibre-coaxial-explained-hfc-3">Hybrid Fibre Coaxial</a></strong> (HFC)</p>
<p>In many areas, the NBN uses coaxial cables instead of copper cables. These were <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/blog/the-nbn-project/hfc-everything-you-need-to-know">first installed</a> by Optus and Telstra in the 1990s to deliver cable broadband and television. They’ve since been modernised for use in the NBN’s fibre network. </p>
<p>In theory, HFC systems should be able to offer internet speeds of more than 100 megabits per second. But many households have been <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/telstra-stops-offering-100mbps-services-for-nbn-fttn-b-c-users-538601#:%7E:text=Telstra%20has%20stopped%20offering%20100Mbps,plan%20when%20connecting%20through%20Telstra.">unable to achieve</a> this due to the poor condition of cabling infrastructure in some parts, as well as large numbers of households sharing a single coaxial cable. </p>
<p>Coaxial cables are the most limiting part of the HFC system. So expanding the length of fibre cabling (and shortening the coaxial cables being used) would allow faster internet speeds. The NBN’s 2020 <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2019/documents/media-centre/corporate-plan-report-2020-2023.pdf">corporate plan</a> identifies doing this as a priority.</p>
<p>Minister Fletcher today said the planned upgrades would ensure all customers serviced by HFC would have access to speeds of up to one gigabit per second. Currently, only <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-limits-gigabit-services-to-just-7-percent-of-hfc-footprint-548704">7%</a> of HFC customers do.</p>
<h2>Mixing things up isn’t always a good idea</h2>
<p>Under the <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:%22media/pressrel/PS8T6%22">original NBN plan</a>, the Labor government in 2009 promised optical fibre connections for 93% of all Australian households. </p>
<p>Successive reviews led to the use of multiple technologies in the network, rather than the full-fibre network Labor envisioned. Many households are not able to upgrade their connection because of limitations to the technology available in their neighbourhood. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nbn-how-a-national-infrastructure-dream-fell-short-77780">The NBN: how a national infrastructure dream fell short</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Also, many businesses currently served by FTTN can’t access internet speeds that meet their needs. To avoid internet speeds hindering their work, many <a href="https://www.business.org/services/internet/business-internet-speed/">businesses need</a> a minimum speed between <a href="https://www.business.org/services/internet/business-internet-speed/">100 megabits and 1 gigabit per second</a>, depending on their <a href="https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Guides/broadband-speeds-how-fast-do-you-need">scale</a>. </p>
<p>Currently, no <a href="https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Guides/broadband-speeds-how-fast-do-you-need">FTTN services</a> and <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-limits-gigabit-services-to-just-7-percent-of-hfc-footprint-548704">few HFC services</a> can support such speeds.</p>
<p>Moreover, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/MBA_Report%209.pdf">NBN monitoring report</a> published in May (during the pandemic) found in about 95% of cases, NBN plans only delivered 83-91% of the maximum advertised speed. </p>
<p>The report also showed 10% of the monitored services were underperforming – and 95% of these were FTTN services. This makes a strong case for the need to upgrade FTTN. </p>
<h2>Who will benefit?</h2>
<p>While the NBN’s most <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2019/documents/media-centre/corporate-plan-report-2020-2023.pdf">recent corporate plan</a> identifies work to be done across its various offerings (FTTN, FTTC, HFC, fixed wireless), it’s unclear exactly how much each system stands to gain from today’s announcements.</p>
<p>Ideally, urban and regional households that can’t access 100 megabits per second speeds would be prioritised for fibre expansion. The expanded FTTN network should also cover those <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2020/05/12/nbn-regional-broadband-tax-gig-state/">struggling to access</a> reliable broadband in regional Australia. </p>
<p>Bringing fibre cabling to households in remote areas would be difficult. One option, however, could be to extend fibre connections to an expanded network of base stations in regional Australia, thereby improving the NBN’s <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-starts-testing-feasibility-of-mm-wave-for-future-fixed-wireless-546603">fixed wireless connectivity</a> capacity. </p>
<p>These base stations “beam” signals to nearby premises. Installing more stations would mean fewer premises covered by each (and therefore better connectivity for each). </p>
<p>Regardless, it’s important the upgrades happen quickly. Many NBN customers now working and studying from home will be waiting eagerly for a much-needed boost to their internet speed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-boost-your-internet-speed-when-everyone-is-working-from-home-135313">How to boost your internet speed when everyone is working from home</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146749/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas receives funding from the Australian Research Council through its competitive grant schemes (Discovery Projects, Linkage Projects, and Linkage Infrastructure and Equipment Facilities). He has also received funding from the State Government of Victoria for initiatives he has provided leadership. He has also collaborated with industry partners such as AT&T, Ericsson, Nokia, Google, NBN, InstaWireless, Digital Falcon, and Transurban and received industry research funding to research projects. </span></em></p>Millions of households are expected to gain access to upgraded internet connections, with speeds of up to one gigabit per second (if you’re willing to pay for the plan).Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas, Group Head - Electronic and Photonic Systems Group and Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1356412020-04-12T20:06:02Z2020-04-12T20:06:02ZThe coronavirus lockdown is forcing us to view ‘screen time’ differently. That’s a good thing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327413/original/file-20200412-113939-kkynhc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=293%2C0%2C4412%2C3049&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“How would we have coped before the internet?” is a quandary likely posed by someone you know. </p>
<p>Beyond being a whimsical hypothetical, this question is relevant at a time when the digital age is ridiculed as the end of social skills as we know them. COVID-19 has seen society pivot, almost overnight, from real world interactions to the online space. </p>
<p>We have gone from mingling with colleagues, classmates and friends to being <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/how-to-protect-yourself-and-others-from-coronavirus-covid-19/social-distancing-for-coronavirus-covid-19">told</a> to move our social interactions safely behind a webcam and sanitised keyboard. Internet providers and servers around the globe are being <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/aussie-telco-heavyweights-create-group-to-handle-covid-19-network-surge/">pushed to the limit</a> as kitchen tables become boardrooms and laps become school desks. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-boost-your-internet-speed-when-everyone-is-working-from-home-135313">How to boost your internet speed when everyone is working from home</a>
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<p>Thus, it is cause to reframe our <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/year-in-review-tech-addiction-debate-all-wrong/">views on screen time</a> – an activity that consumes, now more than ever, a significant proportion of our day.</p>
<h2>COVID-19’s impact on screen time</h2>
<p>With more than 90% of Australians having a <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/au/mobile-consumer-survey">smartphone</a>, our often pilloried devices are now more essential to daily life than ever. As people fulfil their civic duty by staying home, platforms and internet providers are facing an unprecedented surge in online activity. </p>
<p>Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) has seen a daytime usage increase of 70-80%, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-01/coronavirus-internet-speeds-covid19-affects-data-downloads/12107334">compared to figures in February</a>. </p>
<p>Demand for streaming sites across the globe has intensified, with Amazon and Netflix having to reduce video quality in some countries to handle the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-20/amazon-netflix-cut-europe-s-stream-quality-to-ease-networks">strain</a>.</p>
<p>In March, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/zoom-cfo-explains-how-the-company-is-grappling-with-increased-demand.html">Zoom</a> knocked Facebook and Netflix down the Apple and Google mobile app store rankings in the US, as people sought video chat options. </p>
<p>Social media and video/online gaming <a href="https://www.alistdaily.com/social/coronavirus-social-media-increase/">are also flourishing</a>.</p>
<p>If we’re to take anything away from the significant increase in screen time caused by this pandemic, it is that human connection in the digital age comes in many forms. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/time-well-spent-not-wasted-video-games-are-boosting-well-being-during-the-coronavirus-lockdown-135642">Time well spent, not wasted: video games are boosting well-being during the coronavirus lockdown</a>
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<h2>Think of screen time as calories</h2>
<p>We must acknowledge the umbrella term “screen time” can denote both positive and negative interactions with technology. </p>
<p>Think of screen time as consuming calories. All humans require calories to function. This unit of energy provides nutritional information relating to the contents of a food item, such as chocolate bar, or a carrot.</p>
<p>Whereas both foods contain calories, we know the carrot is a healthier source. While professionals might offer advice about which provides the most beneficial nutrition, the individual should still have agency over what they consume. </p>
<p>Similarly, people should be able to choose to partake in online activities not normally deemed “productive” – but which may help them through their day.
Like calories, screen time is about moderation, making responsible choices and exercising <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-44085-010">self-control</a>.</p>
<h2>Lockdown and locked screens</h2>
<p>Just as there are good and bad calories, so too exist good and bad examples of screen time. It is therefore not helpful to use <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/14/health/screen-time-rename-parenting-house-wellness-strauss/index.html">the overarching term “screen time”</a> when discussing how technology use should be moderated. </p>
<p>An hour spent researching for an assignment is not tantamount to an hour spent watching cat videos, as the former is <a href="https://www.education.com/slideshow/screen-time-improve-learning/">contributing to learning</a>. </p>
<p>Also, an hour on social media chatting with friends is productive if it allows you to socialise at a time when <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/topics/mental-health-and-wellbeing-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak">important social interactions</a> can’t otherwise take place (such as during lockdown). In this way, the current pandemic is not only helping shift our views on screen time – but has subtly rewritten them, too.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326386/original/file-20200408-193245-jy7si1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C80%2C5865%2C3907&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326386/original/file-20200408-193245-jy7si1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C80%2C5865%2C3907&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326386/original/file-20200408-193245-jy7si1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326386/original/file-20200408-193245-jy7si1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326386/original/file-20200408-193245-jy7si1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326386/original/file-20200408-193245-jy7si1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326386/original/file-20200408-193245-jy7si1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326386/original/file-20200408-193245-jy7si1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The coronavirus crisis may be an exercise in self-control for many of us, as we reach for our smartphones to bide idle time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-happy-30s-aged-asian-man-1688370856">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Screen time does not necessarily need to be objectively “beneficial”, nor does it need to have arbitrary time limits associated with it to prevent it from being detrimental. </p>
<p>Appropriate use is contextual. This fact should determine how parents, teachers and policymakers moderate its use, as opposed to mandating a certain number of hours per day, and not specifying how these hours should be spent.</p>
<p>We must steer clear of blanket statements when it comes to critiquing screen time. Our digital diets vary significantly, just as our real diets do. Consequently, screen time should be approached with a level of flexibility.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-social-media-make-us-more-or-less-lonely-depends-on-how-you-use-it-128468">Does social media make us more or less lonely? Depends on how you use it</a>
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<h2>Fear fuels stigma</h2>
<p>Some of the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/11/17/screen-time-increases-teen-depression-thoughts-suicide-research-suggests/874073001/">derision</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/">concern</a> associated with time spent on digital devices can be attributed to a fear of the new. </p>
<p>Swiss scientist Conrad Gessner was among the first to raise alarm over information overload, claiming an overabundance of data was “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=cRgwAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT169&lpg=PT169&dq=confusing+and+harmful+gessner&source=bl&ots=h2wFyfZK6i&sig=ACfU3U1_IRqrk53ADjhv__wjdnDzaCMUOw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgo_eB5NDoAhVN73MBHfgTAWkQ6AEwCXoECAoQJw#v=onepage&q=confusing%20and%20harmful%20gessner&f=false">confusing and harmful</a>” to the mind. If you’re not familiar with Gessner’s theory, it may be because he exclaimed it <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/fear-not-technology-isnt-actually-making-us-dumber-20161221-gtftjd.html">back in 1565</a>, in response to the printing press. </p>
<p>Gessner’s warnings referred to the seemingly unmanageable flood of information unleashed by <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/printing-press">Johannes Gutenberg’s contraption</a>. Fear of the new has permeated the debate on emerging technologies for generations. </p>
<p>And Gessner is not alone. From the New York Times warning in the late 1800s the telephone would <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=0EsUPuoS6_AC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=We+will+soon+be+nothing+but+transparent+heaps+of+jelly+to+each+other++new+york+times&source=bl&ots=Ou6n3usOJG&sig=0a0uu7fgOfFEK0k4XYpa3w8fzWY&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=heaps%20of%20jelly&f=false">invade our privacy</a>, to concerns in the 1970s the rapid pacing of children’s shows such as Sesame Street led to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-06148-013">distractibility</a> – it is <a href="https://neuroleadership.com/portfolio-items/handbook-of-neuroleadership/">inherent human behaviour</a> to be cautious about what we don’t fully understand. </p>
<p>Yet, many of these proclamations seem almost absurd in retrospect. What will later generations look back upon as statements fuelled by paranoia and fear, just because a new technology had disrupted the status quo?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135641/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Karl Sebire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the pandemic moves us indoors, it’s time to reconsider our understanding of ‘screen time’ – especially since we’re relying on our devices now more than ever.Dr Karl Sebire, Researcher (Technology and education), University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1277932019-11-27T05:25:56Z2019-11-27T05:25:56ZThe internet’s founder now wants to ‘fix the web’, but his proposal misses the mark<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303902/original/file-20191127-112493-10otlhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C0%2C3835%2C2578&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tim Berners-Lee is the director of the World Wide Web Consortium, an organisation which aims to develop international standards for the web.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SHUTTERSTOCK</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On March 12, the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web, the internet’s founder Tim Berners-Lee said we needed to “<a href="https://webfoundation.org/2019/03/web-birthday-30/">fix the web</a>”. </p>
<p>The statement attracted considerable interest. </p>
<p>However, a resulting manifesto released on Sunday, and dubbed the <a href="https://contractfortheweb.org/">Contract for the Web</a>, is a major disappointment. </p>
<p>Endorsed by more than 80 corporations and non-government organisations, the campaign seeks a return to the “<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/10/1301496/">open web</a>” of the 1990s and early 2000s – one largely free of corporate control over content.</p>
<p>While appealing in theory, the contract glosses over several key challenges. It doesn’t account for the fact that most internet content is now accessed through a small number of digital platforms, such as Google and Facebook. </p>
<p>Known as the “<a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/129830/">platformisation of the internet</a>”, it’s this phenomenon which has generated many of the problems the web now faces, and this is where the focus should be. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-controls-the-internet-the-debate-is-live-and-clicking-11187">Who controls the internet? The debate is live and clicking</a>
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<h2>An undercooked proposal</h2>
<p>Berners-Lee identified major obstacles threatening the future of the web, including the circulation of malicious content, “<a href="https://webfoundation.org/2019/03/web-birthday-30/">perverse incentives</a>” that promote clickbait, and the growing polarisation of online debate. </p>
<p>Having played a central role in the web’s development, he promised to use his influence to promote positive digital change. </p>
<p>He said the Contract for the Web was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/24/tim-berners-lee-unveils-global-plan-to-save-the-internet">a revolutionary statement</a>. </p>
<p>In fact, it’s deeply conservative. </p>
<p>Berners-Lee claims it’s the moral responsibility of everybody to “save the web”. This implies the solution involves engaging civic morality and corporate ethics, rather than enacting laws and regulations that make digital platforms more publicly accountable. </p>
<p>The contract views governments, not corporations, as the primary threat to an open internet. But governments’ influence is restricted to building digital infrastructure (such as fast broadband), facilitating online access, removing illegal content and maintaining data security. </p>
<h2>Missing links</h2>
<p>The contract doesn’t prescribe <a href="https://www.iicom.org/intermedia/intermedia-past-issues/intermedia-jul-2019/taking-aim-at-big-tech">measures</a> to address power misuse by digital platforms, or a solution to the <a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/assets/documents/research/T3-Report-Tackling-the-Information-Crisis.pdf">power imbalance</a> between such platforms and content creators. </p>
<p>This is despite <a href="https://www.iicom.org/intermedia/intermedia-past-issues/intermedia-july-2018/platforms-on-trial">more than 50 public inquiries</a> currently taking place worldwide into the power of digital platforms. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/country-rules-the-splinternet-may-be-the-future-of-the-web-81939">Country rules: the ‘splinternet’ may be the future of the web</a>
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<p>The most obvious gaps in the contract are around the obligations of digital platform companies. </p>
<p>And while there are welcome commitments to strengthening user privacy and data protection, there’s no mention of how these problems emerged in the first place. </p>
<p>It doesn’t consider whether the harvesting of user data to maximise advertising revenue is not the result of “<a href="https://contractfortheweb.org/principles/principle-5-respect-and-protect-peoples-privacy-and-personal-data-to-build-online-trust/">user interfaces and design patterns</a>”, but is instead baked into the <a href="https://www.hiig.de/en/data-colonialism-nick-couldry-digital-society/">business models of digital platform companies</a>. </p>
<p>Its proposals are familiar: address the digital divide between rich and poor, improve digital service delivery, improve diversity in hiring practices, pursue human-centered digital design, and so forth.</p>
<p>But it neglects to ask whether the internet may now be less open because a small number of conglomerates are dominating the web. There is <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Digital%20Platforms%20Inquiry%20-%20Final%20report%20-%20part%201.pdf">evidence</a> that platforms such as Google and Facebook dominate search and social media respectively, and the digital advertising connected with these.</p>
<h2>Not a civic responsibility</h2>
<p>Much of the work in the contract seems to fall onto citizens, who are expected to “<a href="https://contractfortheweb.org/principles/principle-9-fight-for-the-web/">fight for the web</a>”. </p>
<p>They bear responsibility for maintaining proper online discourse, protecting vulnerable users, using their privacy settings properly and generating creative content (presumably unpaid and non-unionized).</p>
<p>The contract feels like a document from the late 1990s, forged in the spirit of “<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/wired25-louis-rossetto-tech-militant-optimism/">militant optimism</a>” about the internet. </p>
<p>It offers only <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/016344387009001005">pseudo-regulation</a> for tech giants.</p>
<p>It also implies if tech giants can demonstrate greater diversity in hiring practices, allow users to better manage their privacy settings, and make some investments in disadvantaged communities, then they can avoid serious regulatory consequences. </p>
<h2>Legacies of internet culture</h2>
<p>A big question is why leading non-government organisations such as the <a href="https://www.eff.org/">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a> and <a href="https://www.publicknowledge.org/">Public Knowledge</a> have signed-on to such a weak contract. </p>
<p>This may be because two elements of the original legacy of internet culture (as it started developing in the 1990s) are still applicable today. </p>
<p>One is the view that governments present a greater threat to public interest than corporations. </p>
<p>This leads non-governmental organisations to favour legally binding frameworks that restrain the influence of governments, rather than addressing issues of market dominance. </p>
<p>The contract doesn’t mention, for instance, whether governments have a role in legislating to ensure digital platforms address issues of online hate speech. This is despite evidence that social media platforms are used to <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/609/60904.htm#_idTextAnchor005">spread hate, abuse and violent extremism</a>. </p>
<p>The second is the tendency to think the internet is a different realm to society at large, so laws that apply to other aspects of the online environment are deemed inappropriate for digital platform companies. </p>
<p>An example in Australia is <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/law-should-treat-social-media-companies-as-publishers-attorney-general-20191120-p53cch.html">defamation law not being applied to digital platforms such as Facebook</a>, but being applied to the comments sections of news websites. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-push-to-make-social-media-companies-liable-in-defamation-is-great-for-newspapers-and-lawyers-but-not-you-127513">A push to make social media companies liable in defamation is great for newspapers and lawyers, but not you</a>
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<p>Berners-Lee’s manifesto for the future of the web is actually more conservative than proposals coming from government regulators, such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/inquiries-ongoing/digital-platforms-inquiry">Digital Platforms Inquiry</a>. </p>
<p>The ACCC is closely evaluating issues arising because of digital platforms, whereas the Contract for the Web looks wistfully back to the open web of the 1990s as a path to the future. </p>
<p>It fails to address the changing political economy of the internet, and the rise of digital platforms. </p>
<p>And it’s a barrier to meaningfully addressing the problems plaguing today’s web.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Flew receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He currently leads an ARC Discovery-Project on digital platform governance and the future of media policy (DP190100022). </span></em></p>The father of the web wants to address issues including malicious content circulation, misinformation, and the polarisation of online debate. But the methods he is proposing aren’t great.Terry Flew, Professor of Communication and Creative Industries, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1218232019-09-08T08:11:09Z2019-09-08T08:11:09ZHow Uganda is using old and new laws to block activists on social media<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291074/original/file-20190905-175682-jsgri4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ugandan musician-turned-MP Robert 'Bobi Wine' Kyagulanyi has been a frequent target of the country's cyber laws</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dai Kurokawa/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Activists who use digital media are protected by <a href="https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/">international law</a> and <a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20999/volume-999-i-14668-english.pdf">protocols</a> that guarantee freedom of expression. </p>
<p>Under international law, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/FreedomExpressionandnewmedia.aspx">freedom of expression</a> is also protected on the internet and mobile devices. It stands to reason then that the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session20/A.HRC.20.L.13_en.doc&action=default&DefaultItemOpen=1">same rights</a> enjoyed offline should be enjoyed online. </p>
<p>There are also protections in Africa. For example, the <a href="http://www.humanrights.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/African-Charter-on-Human-and-Peoples-Rights.pdf">African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights</a> provides that every individual has the right to receive information and to express and disseminate opinions within the law. </p>
<p>The African Commission has also acknowledged the <a href="http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/achpr/expressionfreedomdec.html">importance of freedom of expression</a> in the digital space. African nations are required by regional law to guarantee the right to freedom of information and expression on the internet. </p>
<p>But these rights aren’t always protected. Take the case of Uganda. Its <a href="http://statehouse.go.ug/sites/default/files/attachments/Constitution_1995.pdf">Constitution</a> protects freedom of expression and the courts have <a href="https://ulii.org/ug/judgment/constitutional-court/2004/5">expanded this</a> to include free speech expressed via new forms of technology. </p>
<p>Yet freedom of speech and expression is not a reality in Uganda. The government continues to use domestic laws on electronic communication to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/ugandan-academic-stella-nyanzi-jailed-harassing-museveni-190803141817222.html">crack down</a> on citizens, activists and politicians who criticise the president on the internet.</p>
<p>This is unfortunate. Digital activism in the political sphere is critical. It enables government critics and political activists to hold the government to account. This is clear from the way in which digital platforms like Facebook have been used by opposition politicians. For instance, Robert ‘Bobi Wine’ Kyagulanyi often shares his message on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/www.bobiwine.ug/videos/d41d8cd9/861750080863259/">social media</a> when he is <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/ea/Uganda-bars-journalists-from-covering-Bobi-Wine-return/4552908-4769270-tiuccm/index.html">barred from traditional media platforms</a>. </p>
<p>This explains why the Ugandan government is <a href="https://ulii.org/ug/judgment/high-court-criminal-division/2013/30">reinterpreting old criminal libel laws</a> and enacting <a href="https://ulii.org/ug/legislation/act/2015/2-6">new ones</a> to restrict digital activism. </p>
<h2>Why Uganda is wrong</h2>
<p>Activists in Uganda who use social media find themselves vulnerable to action by the state on a number of fronts.</p>
<p>The first is the country’s defamation laws. While courts in <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/130781/">Kenya</a>, <a href="http://www.veritaszim.net/node/1403">Zimbabwe</a> and elsewhere on the continent have held that criminal defamation laws are unconstitutional, in Uganda the state continues to take a hard stance. In 2013 for instance, security minister Muruli Musaka announced the creation of a <a href="https://webwewant.org/news/discussing_internet_rights_in_uganda/">social media monitoring centre</a>. The aim, he said, was</p>
<blockquote>
<p>to weed out those who use it to damage the government and people’s reputations.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Then there is the <a href="https://ulii.org/ug/legislation/act/2015/2-6">Computer Misuse Act</a>, under which charges such as cyber harassment and offensive communication can be brought. This has happened frequently against online activists. </p>
<p>For example, in 2016 Swaibu Nsamba Gwogyolonga, a political activist, was <a href="https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/FDC-chairperson-arrested-over-posting-Museveni-in-coffin/688334-3485026-6lkhc9z/index.html">arrested and charged</a> with offensive communication. The charge was brought because of a picture he’d posted on Facebook of President Yoweri Museveni lying dead in a coffin. </p>
<p>And in 2017, David Mugema and Jonah Muwanguzi were arrested and charged with <a href="https://mobile.nation.co.ke/news/africa/Musician-arrested-for-disturbing-Yoweri-Museveni-peace/3126394-4216504-1mpklhz/index.html">offensive communication</a> for posting a song on their social media platforms calling for the resignation of President Museveni. </p>
<p>The most notorious use of these provisions was the recent conviction of Stella Nyanzi. The Makerere University lecturer and human rights activist has a considerable social media following. </p>
<p>She was charged with the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/aug/02/activist-who-branded-uganda-president-a-dirty-delinquent-dictator-faces-jail-yoweri-museveni-cyber-harassment">offence of cyber harassment</a> after writing a caustic Facebook post in which she called the president “a pair of buttocks” and the first lady “empty-brained”. She subsequently wrote a poem lamenting the fact that the president’s deceased mother had not aborted him. </p>
<p>By using laws such as the Computer Misuse Act, the Ugandan state has criminalised criticism of the president. This runs contrary to the country’s Constitution. </p>
<p>Other laws like the <a href="https://ulii.org/system/files/legislation/act/2002/2002/Anti%20terorrism%20Act%202002.pdf">Anti-Terrorism Act</a> are also used to limit freedom of expression. The Act allows the security apparatus to intercept private communication without a warrant while investigating terror activities. </p>
<p>The fear is that the state will brand activists who use social media platforms as terrorists so that it can put them under surveillance. </p>
<p>For instance, in August 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that Ugandan security officials had worked with Huawei technicians to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/huawei-technicians-helped-african-governments-spy-on-political-opponents-11565793017">hack into opposition politician Kyagulanyi’s phone</a>. He had previously been accused of <a href="https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1483629/bobi-wine-wadri-charged-treason">treason and attempted terrorism</a>. This shows how the Ugandan state can create the impression that vocal dissenters are in fact terrorists.</p>
<p>More than that, the <a href="https://ulii.org/ug/legislation/act/2015/18-2">Regulation of Interception of Communication Act</a> allows bona fide interception of communication in connection with the provision, installation, maintenance or repair of a telecommunication service. Ugandan internet service providers are required to ensure that their telecommunication systems are technically capable of supporting lawful interception without it being detectable by users. This is an <a href="https://www.unwantedwitness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/REPRESSIVE-UGANDA-WORST-CYBER-LAWS.pdf">outright breach of privacy</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://ulii.org/ug/legislation/consolidated-act/106">Uganda Communications Act</a> is also problematic. In the run-up to the presidential election in 2006, for example, the government used the provisions of the act – which are to monitor, inspect, licence, supervise, control and regulate communications services – to block access to Radio Katwe because the online station was critical of the president. </p>
<h2>Shut downs</h2>
<p>The other way in which activists are barred from using social media platforms, and the internet, is through shut downs. </p>
<p>Museveni has on several occasions <a href="https://theconversation.com/shutting-down-the-internet-doesnt-work-but-governments-keep-doing-it-111642">shut down the Internet</a> and blocked access to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shutting-down-the-internet-doesnt-work-but-governments-keep-doing-it-111642">Shutting down the internet doesn't work -- but governments keep doing it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Ugandan government has also introduced a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/feb/27/millions-of-ugandans-quit-internet-after-introduction-of-social-media-tax-free-speech">social media tax</a>. The idea was initiated by Museveni, who argued that Ugandans were using social media platforms to gossip. The tax was meant to</p>
<blockquote>
<p>raise resources to cope with the consequences.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In today’s Internet era the right to freedom of expression, with all its attendant benefits to democracy, is best exercised online. Any limitation or infringement of this right should be viewed circumspectly. These efforts by the Ugandan government to limit online freedom of expression should be resisted as much as possible. </p>
<p><em>Additional research was done by Solomon Rukundo. He holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Dar es Salaam, and a Diploma in Legal Practice from Uganda’s Law Development Centre</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronald Kakungulu-Mayambala does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is a strong framework of international laws and conventions that defend free speech, but Uganda continues to limit freedom of expression especially when the people criticise their president.Ronald Kakungulu-Mayambala, Associate Professor of Human Rights, Law and Peace, Makerere UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1189982019-06-20T20:02:33Z2019-06-20T20:02:33Z30 years since Australia first connected to the internet, we’ve come a long way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280347/original/file-20190620-171183-16vpzce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=520%2C305%2C4446%2C2919&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Out of the science labs, our internet connectivity is now part of our everyday lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/AngieYeoh </span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of our occasional long read series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/zoom-out-51632">Zoom Out</a>, where authors explore key ideas in science and technology in the broader context of society and humanity.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>When Australia joined the global internet on June 23, 1989 – via a connection made by the University of Melbourne – it was mostly used by computer scientists.</p>
<p>Three decades later, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0">more than 86% of Australian households</a> are connected to the internet.</p>
<p>But it was a slow start. At first, network capacity was limited to very small volumes of information.</p>
<p>This all changed thanks to the development of vastly more powerful computers, and other technologies that have transformed our online experience.</p>
<p>One of those technologies is probably in front of you now: the screen.</p>
<p>Look at how you view the web, email and apps today: not just on large desktop screens but also handheld devices, and perhaps even an internet-connected wristwatch. </p>
<p>This was barely imaginable 30 years ago. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Today you can get share price updates on your internet connected Apple Watch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shinyasuzuki/17281936100/">Flickr/Shinya Suzuki</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Connected to the world</h2>
<p>By the time Australia <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australia-connected-to-the-internet-25-years-ago-28106">first connected</a>, the internet had been developing for 20 years. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ARPANET">very first network</a> had been turned on in the United States in 1969.</p>
<p>Australia too had networks during the 1980s, but distance and a lack of interest from commercial providers meant these were isolated from the rest of the world.</p>
<p>This first international link provided just 56 kilobits of national connectivity. A 20th of a megabit for the whole country! That is not even enough to play a single piece of music from a streaming service (encoded at 128kbs), and it would take a week for a movie to be transferred to Australia.</p>
<p>But at that time digital music, video and images were not distributed online. Nor was the internet servicing a large community. Most of the users were academics or researchers in computer science or physics.</p>
<p>With continuous connection came live access. The most immediate impact was that email could now be delivered immediately. </p>
<p>At first, email and internet news groups (discussion forums) were the main traffic, but the connection also gave access to information sharing services such as Archie (an old example <a href="http://archie.icm.edu.pl/archie_eng.html">here</a>) and <a href="https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/WAIS-Wide-Area-Information-Servers">WAIS</a>, which were mostly used to share software.</p>
<p>There was connection too, in principle at least, to the <a href="https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web">newly created world wide web</a>, which in June 1989 was just three months old and largely unknown. It wouldn’t become significant for another four years or so.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An early version of the first web page.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html">CERN/Screengrab</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This turning-on of a connection was not a “light in a darkened room” moment, in which we suddenly had access to the resources that are now so familiar to us.</p>
<p>But it was a crucial step, one of several developments maturing in parallel that created the technology that has so drastically transformed our society, commerce and daily lives. Within just a few years we were surfing the web and sending email from home.</p>
<h2>The technology develops</h2>
<p>The first of these developments was the internet itself, which was and is a cobbling-together of disparate networks around the globe. </p>
<p>Australia had several networks, ranging from the relatively open ACSNET (now called <a href="https://www.aarnet.edu.au/">AARNET</a>) created by computer science departments to connect universities to, at the other extreme, proprietary, secure networks operated by defence and industry.</p>
<p>When Melbourne opened that first link, it provided a bridge from ACSNET to the networks in the United States and from there to the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Just as important were developments in the underlying technology. At the time, the capacity of the networks was adequate - just. As the community of users rapidly grew, it sometimes seemed as though the internet might utterly break down.</p>
<p>By the mid-1990s <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/38401/bandwidth">bandwidth</a> (the volume of digital traffic that a network can carry) increased to an extent that earlier had seemed unimaginable. This provided the data transmission infrastructure the web would come to demand.</p>
<p>Another development was computing hardware. Computers were doubling in speed every 18 months, as <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/moores-law-to-roll-on-for-another-decade/">had been predicted</a>. They also became much cheaper. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Macintosh desktop computer from 1985.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/befuddledsenses/4453362124/">Flickr/Luke Jones</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Computer disks were also growing in capacity, doubling in size every year or so. The yet-to-appear web would require disk space for storage of web pages, and compute capacity for running <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51154/server">servers</a>, which are applications that provide a door into a computer, giving users remote access to data and software.</p>
<p>In the 1980s these had been scarce, expensive resources that would have been overwhelmed by even small volumes of web traffic. By the early 1990s growth in capacity could – just – accommodate the demand that suddenly appeared and homes were being connected, via dial-up at first.</p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="36" data-image="" data-title="Dial-up internet connection" data-size="347600" data-source="SoundBible/ezwa" data-source-url="http://soundbible.com/136-Dial-Up-Modem.html" data-license="" data-license-url="">
<source src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/1618/dial-up-modem-soundbible-com-909377495.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<div class="audio-player-caption">
Dial-up internet connection.
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" rel="nofollow" href="http://soundbible.com/136-Dial-Up-Modem.html">SoundBible/ezwa</a><span class="download"><span>339 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/1618/dial-up-modem-soundbible-com-909377495.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p>
<h2>A new operating system</h2>
<p>But it is a third concurrent development that is, to me, the most remarkable. </p>
<p>This is the emergence of the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/53459/unix">UNIX</a> operating system and of a community of people who collaboratively wrote UNIX-based code for free (yes, for no charge). Their work provided what is arguably the core of the systems that underpin the modern world.</p>
<p>UNIX was created by <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/dennis-ritchie/">Dennis Ritchie</a>, <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/ken-thompson/">Ken Thompson</a> and a small number of colleagues at AT&T Bell Labs, in the US, from 1970.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ken Thompson and Dennis Richie with DEC PDP-11 system running UNIX.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Thompson_(sitting)_and_Dennis_Ritchie_at_PDP-11_(2876612463).jpg">Wikimedia/Peter Hamer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At that time, operating systems (like iOS on today’s Apple phones) were limited to a single type of computer. Code and programs could not be used across machines from different manufacturers.</p>
<p>UNIX, in contrast, could be used on any suitable machine. This is the reason UNIX variants continue to provide the core of Apple Mac computers, Android phones, systems such as inflight entertainment and smart TVs, and many billions of other devices.</p>
<h2>The open source movement</h2>
<p>Along with UNIX came a culture of collaborative code development by programmers. This was initially via sharing of programs sent on tape between institutions as parcels in the mail. Anyone with time to spare could create programs and share them with a community of like-minded users.</p>
<p>This became known as the open source movement. Many thousands of people helped develop software of a diversity and richness that was beyond the resources of any single organisation. And it was not driven by commercial or corporate needs.</p>
<p>Programs could embody speculative innovations, and any developer who was frustrated by errors or shortcomings in the tools they used could update or correct them.</p>
<p>A key piece of open source software was the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51154/server">server</a>, a computer system in a network shared by multiple users. Providing anonymous users with remote access was far from desirable for commercial computers of the era, on which use of costly computing time was tightly controlled.</p>
<p>But in an academic, sharing, open environment such servers were a valuable tool, at least for computer scientists, who were the main users of university computers in that era.</p>
<p>Another key piece of open source software was the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/50637/router">router</a>, which allowed computers on a network to collaborate in directing network requests and responses between connected machines anywhere on the planet.</p>
<p>Servers had been used for email since the beginnings of the internet and initially it was email, delivered with the help of routers, that brought networked desktop computing into homes and businesses.</p>
<p>When the web was proposed, extending these servers to allow the information from web page servers to be sent to a user’s computer was a small step.</p>
<h2>What you looking at?</h2>
<p>The last component is so ubiquitous that we forget what is literally before our eyes: the screen. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Macintosh Plus had a screen resolution of 512x342 pixels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/raneko/13507827355/">Flickr/raneko</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Affordable computer displays in the 1980s were much too limited to pleasingly render a web page, with resolutions of 640x480 pixels or lower, with crude colours or just black and white. Better screens, starting at 1024x768, first became widely available in the early 1990s.</p>
<p>Only with the appearance of the <a href="http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/enabling/mosaic">Mosaic browser</a> in 1993 did the web become appealing, with a pool of about 100 web sites showing how to deliver information in a way that for most users was new and remarkably compelling.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">How things have changed.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The online world continues to grow and develop with access today via cable, wireless and mobile handsets. We have internet-connected services in our homes, cars, health services, government, and much more. We live-stream our music and video, and share our lives online.</p>
<p>But the origin of that trend of increasing digitisation of our society lies in those simple beginnings - and the end is not yet in sight.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was amended at the request of the author to correct the amount of data accessible from the initial link.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Zobel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In just three decades we’ve gone from a very limited internet connection in Australia to now sharing our lives online.Justin Zobel, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Graduate & International Research, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/906072018-02-12T14:26:02Z2018-02-12T14:26:02ZThe surprising academic origins of memes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205738/original/file-20180209-51727-1b84ssm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chemistry Cat's got some knowledge for you. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/chemistry-cat">Know Your Meme</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s never a dull moment on the internet, and that’s got a lot to do with the fact that the content shared online is constantly changing – thanks in part to the creativity of users who remix, parody or caption popular images or videos, to create memes.</p>
<p>Punchy and humorous, memes are the perfect fodder for an internet culture shaped by viral sharing and creative participation. They may seem basic, but from a linguistic point of view, they’re surprisingly sophisticated. Meme creators use “multimodal grammar” (in other words, images and captions) to express and share ideas and opinions. By tagging their friends in memes shared on social networks, people add their own personal meanings to the content. </p>
<p>Despite their popularity, it’s not widely known that the meme has its origins in the world of academia. The term “meme” is rooted in evolutionary biology, and was coined by Richard Dawkins in his famous 1976 book, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/may/29/selfish-gene-40-years-richard-dawkins-do-ideas-stand-up-adam-rutherford">The Selfish Gene</a>. According to Dawkins, a meme is “a unit of cultural transmission or imitation”: his examples include the concept of God, nursery rhymes and jokes, catchphrases and fashion trends. </p>
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<p>The word comes from the Greek “mimema”, meaning imitated, which Dawkins supposedly shortened to rhyme with <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcc4.12013/abstract">gene</a>; a nod to the similarities between the survival of certain memes through the evolution of culture, and the survival of certain genes through the process of natural selection. </p>
<h2>Going viral</h2>
<p>Internet memes, as we know them today, are units of popular culture that are circulated, imitated and transformed by users. <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/memes-digital-culture">Limor Shifman</a>, a key scholar in the study of internet memes, argues that a meme is not a single idea or image which is spread across social sites, but a group of items that were created with awareness of each other. For example, the famous <a href="https://twitter.com/realgrumpycat">Grumpy Cat</a> meme is not the cat himself, but the whole set of memes generated with his image.</p>
<p>The first meme on the internet was actually the sideways “smiley” – :-) – <a href="https://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Esef/sefSmiley.htm">created in 1982</a> by American computer scientist Scott E. Fahlman. The practice of using punctuation markers to show emotion was quickly picked up by internet users all over the world, and several other expressions, such as :-( and ;-), were added to the repertoire of the “emoticon” meme. </p>
<p>In 1998, when the web was enjoying more mainstream use, the <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hampster-dance">Hampster Dance meme</a> – depicting rows of dancing hamster GIFs, on the website of Canadian art student Deidre Lacarte – became popular. By the end of June 1999, the site had been visited 17m times. It later spawned <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXJ5oaU940U">a catchy song</a> by the Cuban Boys and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qN72LEQnaU">a viral remix</a> by Hampton the Hamster, as well as several copycat sites. This meme, as simple as it may be, is one of the first examples of viral digital content. </p>
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<h2>Next gen memes</h2>
<p>New breeds of memes emerged in the second half of the naughties, alongside the proliferation of pet photos shared online. The well-known examples were <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/advice-dog">Advice Dog</a>, <a href="http://icanhas.cheezburger.com/lolcats">LOLCats</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/realgrumpycat">Grumpy Cat</a>. Animals with human characteristics have long been a part of human culture – from ancient Egyptian gods to children’s stories such as Peter Rabbit – so it’s hardly surprising to see them revived in the digital era as memes. </p>
<p>Starting from the late naughties, memes began to feature celebrities and ordinary people. Examples include <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM">Charlie Bit My Finger</a>, <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/kanye-interrupts-imma-let-you-finish">Kanye Interrupts</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqSTXuJeTks">Leave Britney Alone</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyUFzNVolG8">Cash Me Ousside/How Bah Dah</a>. These memes all came from a media event or a viral video, which agile internet users parodied, imitated, remixed and mashed up. </p>
<p>Memes are also used by people to promote certain political ideas or ideologies. Pepe the Frog, for example, was appropriated from the comic series Boy’s Club by the alt-Right, ultimately becoming <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/entertainment/pepe-the-frog-is-now-a-racist-symbol/2016/09/28/39797d3a-85b9-11e6-b57d-dd49277af02f_video.html?utm_term=.4ef1e8359970">a racist symbol</a> before being <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/pepe-frog-dead-meme-matt-furie-kills-alt-right-image-white-supremacists-hijacked-a7723586.html">killed off</a> by his creator Matt Furie. </p>
<p>Using websites such as <a href="https://memegenerator.net/">Meme Generator</a>, people can use the biting humour of memes to try to delegitimise the arguments and leaders of rival political movements. This kind of activity ramped up around major political events such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211695816301684?via%3Dihub">the US</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/youthquake-was-a-myth-but-social-media-campaigning-is-here-to-stay-90875">UK elections</a> – and met with <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/09/short-life-and-brutal-death-activate-tory-momentum">varying degrees of success</a>. </p>
<p>Memes will continue evolving, along with the advances and changes in digital communication. Yet one thing that remains the same is humans’ desire to connect with one another and create a shared culture. Trivial as they may seem, memes contribute to this shared culture by fostering people’s imagination, creativity and involvement in society through new media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erhan Aslan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Imma let you finish, but there’s more to memes than you think.Erhan Aslan, Lecturer of TESOL and Applied Linguistics, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/906132018-02-07T11:29:11Z2018-02-07T11:29:11ZEstate planning for your digital assets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204891/original/file-20180205-14064-18d6b5c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Digital documents are not nearly as easy to retrieve.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-searching-documents-archive-737512603">Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What will happen to your Facebook account when you die? What about all your photos shared on social media, your texts with loved ones, or documents on cloud-storage systems? In just the two-year period from 2012 to 2014, humans <a href="https://harvardmagazine.com/2014/03/why-big-data-is-a-big-deal">produced more data than in all of human civilization</a> before that – and the pace is only accelerating.</p>
<p>It’s not clear what people’s digital presences will look like in years to come, but it’s sure that an increasing number of people will be creating and accumulating growing reams of data until the day they die. But then what?</p>
<p>The law is very clear about handling paper documents and other physical property when someone dies. But as a law professor at Drake Law School who has been studying property transfers for years, I’ve seen that laws, regulations and court rulings are only recently trying to figure out how to handle <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=2561871">the ever-changing realm of digital technology</a>. So far, in most cases the information is controlled by the companies that store it – regardless of what users want or direct to happen after their death.</p>
<h2>Law catching up with technology</h2>
<p>Many people have had email and other digital accounts for decades, some stretching back to the early pioneers in the 1960s. But large numbers of average people really only began creating significant digital footprints in the early part of the 21st century. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/">Gmail</a> began operations in 2004; <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/pressatgoogle.com/youtube5year/home/short-story-of-youtube">YouTube started in 2005</a>; <a href="https://thenextweb.com/twitter/2011/07/15/5-years-ago-today-twitter-launched-to-the-public/">Twitter launched in 2006</a>; the <a href="https://theconversation.com/understanding-the-real-innovation-behind-the-iphone-79556">iPhone came out in 2007</a>.</p>
<p>Almost a decade later, a group of lawyers from around the country <a href="http://www.uniformlaws.org/Act.aspx?title=Fiduciary%20Access%20to%20Digital%20Assets%20Act,%20Revised%20(2015)">developed a draft uniform law</a> they encouraged all 50 states to adopt, which would allow people to specify in their wills that the executor of their estate can access their email and social media profiles. So far, 39 state legislatures have adopted it and seven more are considering it this year.</p>
<p>The uniform law doesn’t specify – and courts have not yet been asked to rule on – exactly how that access should happen. So for the moment, a dead person’s executor must contact the company behind each digital platform to determine how to get into the person’s accounts.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.uniformlaws.org/LegislativeMap.aspx?title=Fiduciary%20Access%20to%20Digital%20Assets%20Act,%20Revised%20(2015)">states that haven’t passed this law</a>, companies themselves can decide whether to allow loved ones access to a late relative’s digital assets. <a href="https://policies.yahoo.com/us/en/yahoo/terms/utos/index.htm">Yahoo</a>, for example, is notorious for terminating an account upon a user’s death and forbidding access afterward. </p>
<p>The company’s refusal to grant access to surviving family members is being challenged in Massachusetts, a state that has not adopted the uniform digital assets law. In October 2017, the <a href="https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/10/16/12237.pdf">Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court</a> ruled that an executor could consent to the disclosure of emails on behalf of the dead person whose estate was being managed. The case is back before a lower court to decide on other issues, including whether the estate will be able to access the account despite <a href="https://policies.yahoo.com/us/en/yahoo/terms/utos/">Yahoo’s terms of service agreement</a>.</p>
<h2>The role of privacy</h2>
<p>With so many legal issues yet to be decided, people should be sure they include digital assets in their estate planning and encourage their loved ones to do the same. </p>
<p>Access to the email of a person who has died may be the most important to unlock: Messages and images are likely to be emotionally important. In addition, banking, utilities and other accounts are often linked to an email address; gaining online access to those can help administer a person’s estate.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s important to <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2798812">protect the privacy of a person who has died</a> – despite the general legal assumption that a dead person no longer has privacy that needs protecting. The uniform state law does this by requiring a person to have left specific written permission for an executor to access an email account.</p>
<h2>Making plans for yourself</h2>
<p>To prepare yourself for a digital afterlife, the first task is to state, in writing, what you want to happen to your digital assets. Create a list of the accounts in your name, and determine which ones you want your executor to access – and which should be deleted. </p>
<p>Crucially, do not list usernames or passwords in your will, because a person’s will becomes a public document upon their death. Instead, consider recording access information for these accounts in a safe place – like <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-choose-terrible-passwords-and-how-to-fix-them-76619">password management software</a> – and leave instructions for your executor to find them.</p>
<p>It’s not yet clear whether credits and purchases with digital media accounts (like the Google Play Store or iTunes) or online reward account points can be transferred when their holder dies. The only solution for now may be to leave your executor with instructions on how to access the value stored in those accounts – and back up the media on external hard drives stored in a safe place.</p>
<p>Finally, check with the companies whose online services you use to see if they provide their own method to transfer assets at death. For example, <a href="https://myaccount.google.com/inactive?pli=1">Google has pioneered a method</a> for its users to indicate what they want to have happen to their account if they don’t access it for several months.</p>
<p>By engaging in some simple estate planning, you can protect your privacy as well as ease the management of your estate after your death. Plan for your digital assets in the same way you would any other valuable tangible or intangible asset. After all, digital assets are today’s shoeboxes of photos, letters and other mementos. Planning can preserve your legacy in its digital form.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90613/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalie Banta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What happens to your Facebook account, your iTunes purchases and your email messages when you die?Natalie Banta, Associate Professor of Law, Drake UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/888312017-12-22T12:06:02Z2017-12-22T12:06:02ZAre you a “cyberloafer”? Why internet procrastination is making life easier for hackers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200449/original/file-20171222-16489-1u3djh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mobbing-stress-work-scandal-concepts-angry-609063008?src=6NcNxYMMFKto4kBdbQ4Haw-1-89">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The biggest threat to an organisation’s cyber-security comes from within, according to a <a href="https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Gender+difference+and+employees%27+cybersecurity+behaviors&btnG=&httpsredir=1&article=1013&context=itds_facpubs">growing body of evidence</a>. Employees are frequently <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167404817300081">putting their companies at risk</a> of hacking by sharing their passwords, using public WiFi networks to send sensitive information, or not protecting the privacy of social media accounts.</p>
<p>But there’s another threat that at first seems innocuous and that we’re all probably guilty of, something that researchers have dubbed “<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563207000805">cyberloafing</a>”. My research group’s <a href="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cyber.2017.0239">new study</a> shows this practice of using work computers for personal internet browsing can become a serious security threat to a company when it goes too far.</p>
<p>Most companies accept that their employees will occasionally check social media or send personal emails from work computers. But in some cases things can get more serious, with people people spending significant amounts of time updating their own websites, watching videos or even pornography. <a href="http://www.systemsdynamics.net/aeprod/articles/05092.pdf">Early estimates</a> suggested that 45% of employees questioned cited surfing the internet at work for personal purposes as the number one distraction at work.</p>
<p>This can have a big impact on a company’s productivity, with research suggesting that employees each waste an average of 2.09 hours a day <a href="http://www.systemsdynamics.net/aeprod/articles/05092.pdf">while cyberloafing</a>. But our new study also shows that the more employees engage in serious cyberloafing, the less likely they are to follow the rules and protocols designed to protect the company’s IT systems, and the bigger threat they become to cyber-security.</p>
<p>We asked 338 part-time and full-time workers aged 26-65 about their cyberloafing habits, their knowledge of information security, and behaviour that could indicate internet addiction. Those who cyberloafed more often knew less about information security. And those who engaged in more serious cyberloafing (such as updating personal websites, visiting dating websites or downloading illegal files) had significantly poorer cyber-security awareness.</p>
<p>Typically, people undertaking more serious cyberloafing were less aware of how to stay safe online and how to protect sensitive information. One reason for this could be that they are so determined to get online they don’t want to pay attention to information about online safety and ignore the risks. On they other hand, they may believe their companies can protect themselves from anything that might happen as a result of risky behaviour. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200450/original/file-20171222-16480-r3iag7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200450/original/file-20171222-16480-r3iag7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200450/original/file-20171222-16480-r3iag7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200450/original/file-20171222-16480-r3iag7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200450/original/file-20171222-16480-r3iag7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200450/original/file-20171222-16480-r3iag7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200450/original/file-20171222-16480-r3iag7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Getting online at any cost.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/male-businessman-working-his-computer-late-32462875">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Those in our survey who scored higher for internet addiction behaviour were also much more likely to have poorer awareness of and follow safety protocols. And those who were serious cyberloafers and potential internet addicts were the greatest risk of all.</p>
<p>As I explain in my recent book <a href="https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/cybercognition/book249906">Cybercognition</a>, internet addiction <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark_Griffiths2/publication/226370789_%27Internet_Addiction%27_A_Critical_Review/links/0912f50bba45bb5455000000/Internet-Addiction-A-Critical-Review.pdf">is a compulsion</a> to get online, sometimes with the aim of fuelling other addictions to digital activities such as online gambling or shopping. Critically, the drive to get online can be the same as any physical addiction, so the internet acts like a drug for some people.</p>
<p>This means people who show aspects of internet addiction may be more determined to get online at any costs and more likely to try to get around security protocols or ignore advice about online safety. They may think they know better because they spend so much time online. Or they may not fully understand the risks because they are so absorbed in the online world.</p>
<h2>How to tackle cyberloafing</h2>
<p>All of this doesn’t mean we should cut off all internet access for employees. Being able to surf the internet is an important part of some people’s work. But excessive use of internet services and work IT systems can put companies at risk, particularly when people are accessing risky websites or downloading programmes from unknown sources.</p>
<p>There are a number of things companies can do to help mitigate the risks from excessive cyberloafing. As we suggest in our study’s conclusion, some organisations may apply very strict penalties for serious rule breaking. But providing effective training that empowers employees to identify aspects of internet abuse and seek help could be a more effective management tool. Helping workers understand the risks of their actions might be more beneficial, particularly where these are communicated through <a href="http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1468954/1/Awareness%20CampaignsDraftWorkingPaper.pdf">focus groups and talks</a>.</p>
<p>But one thing companies should avoid (and all too often don’t) is simply sending out an email reminder. <a href="http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1468954/1/Awareness%20CampaignsDraftWorkingPaper.pdf">Research shows</a> that messages about the potential risks to information security sent via email are the least effective. And if you’re deep into a cyberloafing session, an email will be just another corporate message lost in an overloaded inbox.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee Hadlington does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Wasting time on the internet at work could be putting your company’s cyber-security at risk.Lee Hadlington, Senior Lecturer in Cyberpsychology, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/876182017-12-08T00:25:35Z2017-12-08T00:25:35ZWhat to teach your preschooler about internet safety<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198073/original/file-20171207-31528-eq4uy0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Internet safety in early childhood is a new area of research because, until now, children as young as four weren't able to easily access the internet. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fifteen years ago, parents and caregivers did not have to worry about teaching pre-school aged children about internet safety. A new <a href="https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Case-for-general-comment-on-digital-media.pdf">report</a> prepared for the <a href="https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/">Children’s Commissioner of England</a> suggests this time has passed. </p>
<p>Children now live in a digital age, which means internet access is <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444816685930">a daily part of life</a> for many young children around the world.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196433/original/file-20171127-2025-5y7h4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196433/original/file-20171127-2025-5y7h4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196433/original/file-20171127-2025-5y7h4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196433/original/file-20171127-2025-5y7h4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196433/original/file-20171127-2025-5y7h4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196433/original/file-20171127-2025-5y7h4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196433/original/file-20171127-2025-5y7h4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">It’s easier for very young kids to go online now, because touchscreen technology requires less fine motor skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/9148007/0_8_very_young_children_and_the_domestication_of_touchscreen_technologies_in_Australia">Touchscreen technologies</a> have changed how accessible the internet is for very young children, particularly between the ages of four and five. It’s now quicker and easier to connect to the internet using these technologies, as they don’t require the same level of fine motor and literacy skills used to navigate a <a href="https://search.proquest.com/openview/7a426858bea773e262cfb830787cd7bd/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=48173">mouse and keyboard</a>. </p>
<p>More recently, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23738871.2017.1355401?journalCode=rcyb20">the Internet of Things</a> has become widespread. The Internet of Things uses small chips embedded in everyday items, including children’s toys, to communicate information to the net. Children’s dolls, teddy bears and figurines can record their play and upload this information as data to the web. This can occur without children’s consent because they wouldn’t be aware they’re generating data. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/six-things-every-consumer-should-know-about-the-internet-of-things-78765">Six things every consumer should know about the 'Internet of Things'</a>
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</em>
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<h2>The three main risks</h2>
<p>Internet safety addresses three main risks faced by children online. These are <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/24368/1/D3.2_Report-Cross_national_comparisons-2nd-edition.pdf">contact, conduct and content risks</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>contact risks involve children talking to unknown people on the internet. Contact risks also include the harvesting of children’s data, such as recording their activity on an online game </p></li>
<li><p>conduct risks are about behaving respectfully online and learning to manage digital footprints</p></li>
<li><p>content risks are concerned with the type of material children view and consume when accessing the internet. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>For pre-school aged children, content risks include accidentally viewing inappropriate content such as pornography. Content also considers the quality of material made available to children. How people are represented in society is mirrored back to children through the media they consume. Quality content for young children has been a concern of the <a href="https://childrenandmedia.org.au/">Australian Council on Children and the Media</a> for many years. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-way-your-children-watch-youtube-is-not-that-surprising-but-it-is-a-concern-here-are-some-tips-87597">The way your children watch YouTube is not that surprising – but it is a concern. Here are some tips</a>
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<p>Contact risks are most likely to occur for pre-school aged children in the form of pop-ups. Children of this age can also be active in virtual worlds, such as <a href="https://www.pocoyo.com/en/pocoyoworld">Pocoyo World</a> or <a href="https://www.clubpenguinisland.com/">Club Penguin</a>, where they can engage with other members. Children may not always know the members they are playing with in these worlds. </p>
<p>Conduct involves learning how to be respectful online. Parents can model good conduct behaviours to their children by always asking permission to take photos before posting to social media. </p>
<h2>Children as young as four are now online</h2>
<p>Internet safety in early childhood is a new area of research because, until now, children as young as four weren’t able to easily access the internet. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjet.12529/full">study</a> conducted with 70 four-year old children examined what children understand about the internet and being safe online. In this study, only 40% of children were able to <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09575146.2016.1193723?tokenDomain=eprints&tokenAccess=WXbZzfugJ7qNnXy7Uy7f&forwardService=showFullText&doi=10.1080%2F09575146.2016.1193723&doi=10.1080%2F09575146.2016.1193723&journalCode=ceye20">describe the internet</a>. This was despite all of the children having access to internet at home, predominately through touchscreen technologies. </p>
<p>Children’s understandings of the internet were associated with their experiences going online and using technologies with their families. They defined the internet as being “in the iPad” or something they used “in the lounge room” to “play games”. </p>
<p>Children were also aware the internet “was used by Mummy for her work” or “by my big sister for her emails”. Some 73% of the children said they would tell someone their address on the internet. And 70% said they would also tell someone how old they were. A further 89% of children indicated they would click on a pop-up even if they did not know what the pop-up was about. </p>
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<h2>Parenting young children for internet safety</h2>
<p>Because children face content, contact and conduct risks online, they require a basic understanding of the internet. The most important thing parents can teach their children about <a href="http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/internet_safety_preschoolers.html">internet safety</a> is that “the internet” means a network of technologies that can “talk” to each other. </p>
<p>This is like teaching children to be sun smart. First, we explain the sun can harm our skin. Next we teach children to wear a hat, a long-sleeved shirt and sunscreen to protect themselves. </p>
<p>For internet safety, we should first explain the internet uses many technologies that share information created and collected by lots of people. Then we can teach our children how to protect themselves online. Some things to teach your child are: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>seek adult help when you encounter a pop-up </p></li>
<li><p>only use adult approved sources for content</p></li>
<li><p>don’t share personal information online</p></li>
<li><p>try to be near an adult when using a device</p></li>
<li><p>only click on apps and tabs a parent or caregiver has set up for you. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The internet forms a large part of daily life for many young children. From watching their favourite YouTube clips, to playing games, to talking with a long-distance relative over video-conferencing, being online is not much different to a young child than being offline. Being safe in both spaces is possible with adult support.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Edwards receives funding from the auDA Foundation for the research reported in this article. </span></em></p>Touchscreen technologies have made it easy for children as young as four to go online. Here are some things to teach them about how to be safe on the internet.Susan Edwards, Professor of Education, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/876192017-12-07T19:15:16Z2017-12-07T19:15:16ZHow parents and teens can reduce the impact of social media on youth well-being<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196434/original/file-20171127-2046-ztyc82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Engaging with your teen's online world will make it easier to have difficult conversations about some of the risks and ways to manage them. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Knowing how to navigate the online social networking world is crucial for parents and teens. Being educated and talking about online experiences can help reduce any negative impacts on youth mental health and well-being. </p>
<p>The Australian Psychology Society (<a href="http://www.psychology.org.au/">APS</a>) recently released a <a href="http://compassforlife.org.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017-APS-Digital-Me-survey-report.pdf">national survey</a> looking at the impact of technology and social media on the well-being of Australians. </p>
<p>Around 1,000 adults over the age of 18 and 150 young people aged 14-17 years took part. The survey found more than three in four young people (78.8%) and more than half of all adults (54%) were highly involved with their mobile phones. Young people are reportedly using social media for an average of 3.3 hours each day, on five or more days of the week.</p>
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<p>The vast majority of adults and teenagers reported their screens and social media accounts were a positive part of their lives. Many use social media channels to connect with family, friends and to entertain themselves.</p>
<h2>Too much social media use can effect self-esteem</h2>
<p>Despite social media playing a positive role for most, the <a href="http://compassforlife.org.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017-APS-Digital-Me-survey-report.pdf">survey found</a> the high use of social media and technology can have a negative impact on youth self-esteem. Two in three young people feel pressure to look good and nearly a third of youth have been bullied online. Nearly half (42%) of frequent users look at social media in bed before sleeping. </p>
<p>The survey also found 15% of teenagers reported being approached by strangers on a daily basis through their online world.</p>
<p>Around 60% of parents never monitor their teen’s social media account and are wrestling their own issues about how much is too much screen time. Most are unsure of how to provide good guidance of appropriate social media use with their teens.</p>
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<h2>Engage with your teen’s online world</h2>
<p>Parents and teens need to be <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/online-safety">informed</a> about engaging with the online world. Parents can ask their teen to show them how they use social media and what it is. Try to navigate the social world together, rather than acting as a supervisor. Ask your teen to help you understand how they use the internet so you can make good decisions about social media use together.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-way-your-children-watch-youtube-is-not-that-surprising-but-it-is-a-concern-here-are-some-tips-87597">The way your children watch YouTube is not that surprising – but it is a concern. Here are some tips</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Here are a few tips to connect with your teen’s online world:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Together with your teen visit their social media channels. Take a look at what your teen is posting online. Check out their favourites and which YouTube channels they are subscribed to. Favourites and subscriptions can give you clues about what they’re watching on the site</p></li>
<li><p>Ask your teen to create playlists of their favourite videos, while you create your own. Then, sit and watch them together. You can see what they’re watching, and it gives them an opportunity to share what they enjoy online with you</p></li>
<li><p>Make using the internet together a game. For example, you can guess what kinds of videos are popular in a particular place and use the “advanced search” function to see videos only in that location. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Difficult conversations about social media</h2>
<p>An important step in navigating the risks of social networking is to have ongoing conversations about social media use with your teens. If you’re already engaged in your teen’s online world, it will be easier to have difficult conversations about some of the risks and ways to manage them. </p>
<p>Many people believe internet browsing is anonymous. Educate your teen about their <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/internet-safety-for-children">digital reputation</a>. Whenever your teen visits a website, shares content, posts something on a blog or uploads information, they’re adding to their <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/internet-safety-for-children">digital footprint</a>. </p>
<p>This information can be gathered under their real name and possibly accessed by future employers or marketing departments. This can happen without you or your teen knowing. <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/social-networking">Protecting your personal information</a> and knowing it’s not truly anonymous are important conversations to have together. </p>
<p><a href="http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/cyberbullying.html">Cyberbullying</a> can occur if online users try to intimidate, exclude or humiliate others online through abusive texts or emails, hurtful messages, images or videos, or online gossip and chat. Let your teen know to try not to retaliate or respond, and to speak to a trusted adult right away. Aim to <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/cyberbullying">block the bully and report the behaviour</a> to the social media platform. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/blocking-kids-from-social-media-wont-solve-the-problem-of-cyberbullying-66280">Blocking kids from social media won't solve the problem of cyberbullying</a>
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<p>Create a <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx">family media plan</a> to help manage social media use with options to create different guidelines for each teen. In the plan, promote <a href="http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/digital-guidelines.aspx">healthy technology use habits</a> with your teen. This includes not using technology too close to bed time. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23320870">Research shows</a>using technology at night can have a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26789207">negative impact</a> on <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597814000089">sleep quality</a>. Try to not to use technology for around 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. Consider using devices in the living spaces in the house rather <a href="https://theconversation.com/wired-and-tired-why-parents-should-take-technology-out-of-their-kids-bedroom-50406">than in the bedroom </a> when it’s time to go to sleep. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Here’s some more information on how to <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0001-netcetera_0.pdf">talk to your teens</a> about their internet use, and thriving in an <a href="http://compassforlife.org.au/">online age</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Grove is a member of the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS). </span></em></p>Parents should ask their teens to show them how they use social media and how it works so they can have conversations about what the risks are and how to reduce them.Christine Grové, Educational Psychologist and Lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/818232017-08-02T04:41:09Z2017-08-02T04:41:09ZLack of internet affordability may worsen Australia’s digital divide: new report<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180311/original/file-20170731-22047-1tec15f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An affordability gap and increasing reliance on mobile data could limit internet access for some Australians. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/29233640@N07/8303779069/in/photolist-dDM3dD-o3X41q-6f3qGz-VnsbBR-ajBZVZ-oCYooL-dieQmw-Cgu8MU-5Ukkoh-RP5XKg-ivGcQ-5ra5ww-8rZFam-7w1AVb-52JY5P-cJu3u9-4n1HtH-5beDup-So4ekz-aDRACZ-7vWLZM-ivK3G-ivGcN-anmVGs-ivHWv-cgR71-ivGcP-6XGPGj-d4Sm4-3ZzJ6-aCK6s2-aM35t-7acHT-8Per87-a91j8h-edP6e-wMXBL-hwxEdY-BZJq6-edLMj-R8YKPv-ivK3H-5qN41g-ivHWs-o21J4J-aCMMAW-67d7zZ-edP6d-7a6K5-7a6K4">29233640@N07/flickr </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We often think of the internet as a levelling, democratising technology – one that extends access to knowledge, education, cultural resources and markets. </p>
<p>But the net also reflects the social and economic divides we find offline.</p>
<p>Released this week, the <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">second report</a> of the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) reports on data covering four years of local online participation across three dimensions: online access, digital ability and affordability. Together, the three dimensions produce a digital inclusion score. </p>
<p>Since 2014, when data was first collected, Australia’s overall digital inclusion score has improved by 3.8 points, from 52.7 to 56.5. In 2016–2017 alone, Australia’s score rose by 2.0 points, from 54.5 to 56.5. </p>
<p>But there is still a “digital divide” between richer and poorer Australians. In 2017, people in our lowest income households (less than A$35,000 per year) have a digital inclusion score of 41.1, which is 27 points lower than those in the highest income households (above A$150,000) at 68.1. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-the-nbn-and-australias-digital-divide-78911">Three charts on: the NBN and Australia’s digital divide</a>
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<p>When the three dimensions are considered separately, the measures of access and digital ability show consistent improvement from 2014 to 2017. However, the affordability measure has registered a decline since the 2014 national baseline (despite a slight bump in the past 12 months).</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180325/original/file-20170731-22047-2dilgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180325/original/file-20170731-22047-2dilgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180325/original/file-20170731-22047-2dilgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180325/original/file-20170731-22047-2dilgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180325/original/file-20170731-22047-2dilgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180325/original/file-20170731-22047-2dilgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180325/original/file-20170731-22047-2dilgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online access and digital ability have increased since 2014, but affordability has dropped.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2017</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>The cost of being connected</h2>
<p>Affordability is a key dimension of digital inclusion. </p>
<p>Internet connectivity is important for accessing a wide range of education, government, health and business services. A decline in internet affordability means Australians on fixed or low incomes risk missing out on the benefits of digital technologies, and falling further behind more connected Australians.</p>
<p>The ADII shows that the cost of data — for both fixed and mobile internet — has declined over 2014-2017. These findings are in line with the ACCC’s ongoing monitoring of prices for telecommunications services, which indicate an average decline in real terms of <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/ACCC%20Telecommunications%20reports%202015%E2%80%9316_web.pdf">3.1% since 2006</a>.</p>
<p>However, when we measure affordability, we are not only looking at the cost of data; we are also interested in what proportion of household income is being dedicated to this service. </p>
<p>The affordability problem with the internet is different from other key household services where there are price pressures, such as electricity and water. The residential consumption of energy has grown very slowly over the last decade, but <a href="https://industry.gov.au/Office-of-the-Chief-Economist/Publications/Documents/aes/2016-australian-energy-statistics.pdf">prices have increased sharply</a>. </p>
<p>With the internet, while we are now getting more data for our dollar, our demand for data has dramatically increased. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/documents/trends-and-drivers-affordability-communications-services-australian-households-0">recent report</a> from the Commonwealth Bureau of Communications and Arts Research (BCAR) tracks the affordability of phone and internet use since 2006.</p>
<p>The BCAR report finds that, overall, phone and internet affordability has improved since 2006. However, their data also shows that almost all the gains occurred before 2013, and that, since then, affordability has declined or flat-lined. Further, BCAR’s data suggests that the lowest income households in Australia are now spending almost 10% of their incomes on internet and communications services. In contrast, middle income households are spending around 4% of their disposable income on these services, and for wealthier households, the figure is less than 2%.</p>
<h2>Increasing reliance on mobile</h2>
<p>Some recent and far-reaching changes in our use of technology are evident here: the extent to which the internet has become an integral part of everyday life, the fact that we are spending more time online, and we are doing an increasing range of activities online. In many households, we are also connecting with more devices. </p>
<p>However, the problem of affordability also reflects another recent development that the <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">ADII</a> highlights: one-in-five Australians now only accesses the internet through a mobile device — and we know that mobile data is considerably more expensive than fixed broadband on a per gigabyte basis. </p>
<p>Mobile-only use is correlated with a range of socioeconomic factors. The ADII data shows that people in low income households, those who are not employed, and those with low levels of education, are all more likely to be mobile-only.</p>
<p>Despite the benefits of mobile internet, this group is characterised by a relatively high degree of digital exclusion. In 2017, mobile-only users have an overall ADII score of 42.3, 14.2 points below the national average (56.5).</p>
<h2>Digital inclusion is unequal</h2>
<p>In the 2017 report, the ACT, followed by Victoria and New South Wales, are the highest scoring states in the overall digital inclusion score, as they were in 2016. Tasmania remains the lowest scoring, followed by South Australia. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180434/original/file-20170731-22140-1xhre2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180434/original/file-20170731-22140-1xhre2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180434/original/file-20170731-22140-1xhre2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180434/original/file-20170731-22140-1xhre2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180434/original/file-20170731-22140-1xhre2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180434/original/file-20170731-22140-1xhre2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180434/original/file-20170731-22140-1xhre2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s national digital inclusion score in 2017 is 56.5, but varies from state to state.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">Australian Digital Inclusion Index</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The lowest scoring socio-demographic groups in 2017 were households earning less than A$35,000 per year (overall score of 41.1), Australians aged over 65 (overall score of 42.9) and those with a disability (overall score of 47.0). </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://theconversation.com/regional-australia-is-crying-out-for-equitable-access-to-broadband-69711">Regional Australia is crying out for equitable access to broadband</a></em> </p>
<hr>
<p>The ADII uses data derived from Roy Morgan Research’s ongoing, weekly Single Source survey of 50,000 Australians. These are extensive, face-to-face interviews, dealing with information and technology, internet services, attitudes, and demographics. </p>
<p>Calculations for the ADII are based on a sub-sample of 16,000 responses in each 12 month period. The index is a score out of 100: the higher the overall score, the higher the level of digital inclusion. An ADII score of 100 represents a hypothetically perfect level of access, affordability, and digital ability. A score of 65 or over is regarded as high; one below 45 as low. </p>
<h2>A focus on improvement</h2>
<p>An increasing number of Australians are online, but although the costs of data and devices are falling, there is a risk that issues of affordability will leave some of our most vulnerable behind. </p>
<p>Australians with low levels of income, education and employment are <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8146.0Main+Features12014-15?OpenDocument">consistently less connected</a> than the rest of the population, with consequences that will become increasingly serious as the digital transformation of government and the economy proceeds.</p>
<p>As an increasing number of essential services and communications move online, the challenge to make the Australian internet more inclusive is becoming more urgent. Affordability is a key area for attention, but so is improving Australians’ digital ability. </p>
<p>The issue of affordability suggests a range of possible areas for useful policy intervention. If we think it important to subsidise essential utilities such as electricity for low-income Australians, we may need to consider whether an allowance for internet access for essential services might also be necessary.</p>
<p>For the large number of lower-income Australians who rely entirely on mobile devices for internet connections, we will also need to consider new ways to support digital inclusion. These could include unmetered access to essential health and social services, and the further development of secure, public access wi-fi.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Thomas receives research funding from Telstra to support the development, analysis and preparation of the Australian Digital Inclusion Index. </span></em></p>The 2017 Australian Digital Inclusion Index shows that internet access and digital ability have improved since 2014, but the affordability of online services has declined.Julian Thomas, Director, Social Change Enabling Capability Platform, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/808522017-07-17T13:24:41Z2017-07-17T13:24:41ZSocial media genie won’t go back in the bottle, so we must teach youngsters to use it wisely<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178436/original/file-20170717-6069-1cwo9kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-three-young-people-using-smartphones-583219279">Beer5020/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Teenagers in Britain are fortunate to have access to computers, laptops and smartphones from an early age. A child in the UK receives a smartphone at around the age of 12 – <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20III/Reports/NCGMUKReportfinal.pdf">among the earliest in Europe</a>. The natural consequence of this is that children spend a significant amount of their time on the internet. Nearly 20 years or so since the first social networks appeared on the internet, there has been considerable research into their psychological, societal, and health effects. While these have <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/book/implications-social-media-use-personal/115502">often been seen as largely negative</a> over the years, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://epi.org.uk/report/social-media-and-childrens-mental-health-a-review-of-the-evidence/">report from the Education Policy Institute</a>, for example, studied children’s use of the internet and their mental health. The report found that teenagers value social networks as a way of connecting with friends and family, maintaining their networks of friends, and long distance connections. Teenagers see social networking as a comfortable medium for sharing their issues and finding solutions to problems such as social isolation and loneliness. They are also more likely to seek help in areas such as health advice, unknown experiences, and help with exams and study techniques.</p>
<p>Social networks afford the opportunity to find people with similar interests, or to support teamwork in school projects. In unsettled economic and political times, teenagers use social networks as a means to be heard and to get involved in political activism, as well as volunteering and charitable activities. </p>
<p>Teenagers also leverage social networks to engage with creative projects, and many young artists are first noticed through the exposure offered by the rich networking opportunities of social media, such as <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/music/feature/a660773/what-happened-to-the-8-biggest-myspace-music-stars/">musicians on MySpace</a> or <a href="https://www.slrlounge.com/19-year-old-aspiring-photographer-discovered-maroon-5-flickr/">photographers on image sharing sites Flickr</a> or Behance. Teenagers looking to pursue careers in art or other creative industries turn to social platforms in order to create their portfolios as well as to create with others.</p>
<p>These opportunities have a positive impact on adolescent character formation and the development of their individual identity, and helps them toward choosing a career path. These choices are made at an early age and to this end social networks are enriching young people’s lives.</p>
<h2>Risks not to be ignored</h2>
<p>On the other hand the report was able to list a substantial list of negative influences stemming from social media use, ranging from time wasting and addictive, compulsive use, to cyber-bullying, radicalisation, stress and sexual grooming to name just a few.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly governments are concerned with the impact of social networking on the vulnerable. Concern over the uncontrolled nature of social networking has prompted action from parents and politicians. The issue of children roaming freely on social networks became an issue in the recent UK general election, and was mentioned in the Conservative party manifesto, which made <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39905091">a key pledge</a> of “safety for children online, and new rights to require social media companies to delete information about young people as they turn 18”. This is a tall order, as it would require erasing tens of millions of teenagers’ profiles on around 20 different social platforms, hosted in different countries worldwide. </p>
<p>The Conservatives also suggested the party would “create a power in law for government to introduce an industry-wide levy from social media companies and communication service providers to support awareness and preventative activity to counter internet harms”. Awareness-raising is an important step towards encouraging conscious social media use among the young. But despite continuing efforts to educate youngsters about the dangers (and, to be fair, the benefits) of using social media, many are wary of the impact technology may have on overly-social teenagers once outside parental control.</p>
<p>It has been shown that teenagers increasingly use social networks in private, leaving parents outside environments where children are exposed to real-time content and largely unguarded instant communications. The concern raised in the report that “responses to protect, and build resilience in, young people are inadequate and often outdated” is timely. While schools are tasked with educating teenagers about the risks of social media, very few parents are able to effectively introduce controls on the content their children access and monitor the evolving threats that operate online.</p>
<h2>Speak their language</h2>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/project/Compulsive-Use-of-Social-Media-Affecting-Performance">study</a> of compulsive social media use showed that it is not the user’s age that matters, but their individual motivations. In fact users who are highly sociable and driven by friends towards compulsive social media use suffer physically and socially. On the other hand when users are driven by hedonic (fun-seeking) motivations, their physical health and sociability improves. This explains why teenagers in the UK see social networking as a positive phenomenon that enriches their social life. There is clearly potential to harness these positives. </p>
<p>While the tech giants that run the social networks with billions of users must play their part to ensure the safety of their youngest users, it is also parents’ role to talk openly with their children about their use of social networks and demand expected standards of use. Teenagers have questions about life and are looking for answers to their problems as they go through a challenging time of life. With the prime minister naming “<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/06/theresa-may-unveils-biggest-shake-up-mental-health-policies/">mental health as a key priority</a>” schools, parents, politicians and social networking platforms should help teenagers to build resilience to what they encounter online and how it makes them feel, rather than adopting only a safeguarding approach. It’s interesting to note that 78% of young people who contact the organisation Childline now do so online: teachers, family and friends providing support should make the most of a medium which today’s children and teenagers are comfortable with.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vladlena Benson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If children and teenagers are comfortable with social media, we should use it as a means to reach them and ensure they understand the do’s and dont’s.Vladlena Benson, Associate Professor, Department of Accounting, Finance and Informatics, Kingston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/781102017-06-23T03:53:37Z2017-06-23T03:53:37ZAct now to protect your digital rights, Big Brother and his Little Sisters may be watching<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171969/original/file-20170602-25658-xifht4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do you know who has the rights to access your digital data? And who might be interested in acquiring that information?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/8657487759/">West Point-US Military Academy/Flickr </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/democracy-futures">Democracy Futures</a> series, a <a href="http://sydneydemocracynetwork.org/democracy-futures/">joint global initiative</a> between The Conversation and the <a href="http://sydneydemocracynetwork.org/">Sydney Democracy Network</a>. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about the many challenges facing democracies in the 21st century.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Imagine China takes down its national internet blocking system – aka the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-scary-lesson-to-the-world-censoring-the-internet-works/2016/05/23/413afe78-fff3-11e5-8bb1-f124a43f84dc_story.html?utm_term=.2aa985b56cdc">Great Firewall</a> – tomorrow. Will this affect how you use the internet?</p>
<p>Without the Great Firewall, Facebook and Google will grow exponentially in China. Before long, the tech giants own a sizeable share of the Chinese market and have become good buddies with Beijing. </p>
<p>This scenario unfolds at a time when Donald Trump’s inward-looking policy upsets Silicon Valley’s efforts to expand its global empire, and when the US Congress <a href="https://medium.freecodecamp.com/how-to-set-up-a-vpn-in-5-minutes-for-free-and-why-you-urgently-need-one-d5cdba361907">further deregulates</a> the internet industry, allowing internet service providers (ISPs), for example, to collect and trade user’s private data. So the tech giants decide to go to bed with China. </p>
<p>What does this have to do with you using your smartphone in, say, Sydney? </p>
<p>Well, if you have a Facebook presence, it means your social network information may now be used in a few additional ways, without your knowledge. Perhaps a few China-bashing news items, shared by your friends, will disappear from your news feed. And if you rely on Google, YouTube, Amazon or Uber, the data you accumulate during your daily routines may now empower not just the Little Sisters (that is, advertising companies), but also Big Brother himself.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1pT_t34mnWc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">“We want to help the rest of the world connect with China.”</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to urban geographer and unionist <a href="https://twitter.com/kurtiveson">Kurt Iveson</a>, surveillance cameras at the University of Sydney generate half of the internet traffic on campus. All the research, the paperwork, the social media back-and-forth, the videos people watch and the online games and music they play, all this online traffic, when added together, barely matches the terabytes of information generated by the surveillance feed. </p>
<p>That’s a pretty big achievement for those tiny cameras looking down at you in the corridors and from the street lamps. </p>
<h2>The <em>‘big’</em> in Big Brother and Big Data</h2>
<p>China has big ambitions. Its interests and investments in infrastructure on a global scale are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-belt-and-road-initiative-chinas-vision-for-globalisation-beijing-style-77705">well known</a>. It will only be a matter of time before Beijing realises that digital assets are as vital, perhaps even more valuable, than highways and airports.</p>
<p>The Chinese Communist Party already has a good record of endorsing corporate platforms in the <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/neweconomy.asp">New Economy</a>. Last November, China embraced the “disruptive” innovation of Uber and similar services. It became the first country to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/dc63e5ce-54ab-11e6-9664-e0bdc13c3bef">legalise</a> the smartphone ride-hailing business on a national scale. </p>
<p>In contrast, Japanese and European cities have long <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/09/uber-suffers-legal-setbacks-in-france-and-germany">banned</a> Uber from their streets. <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-uber-is-legal-the-taxi-industry-will-have-nowhere-to-hide-48820">Australians</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uber-drivers-stuck-in-legal-limbo-as-us-labor-laws-fail-to-keep-up-43542">Americans</a> continue to debate the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-people-trust-sharing-economy-strangers-more-than-their-colleagues-70669">ethics</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uber-vs-regulators-the-heavyweight-bout-of-2015-45932">legalities</a> of the start-up service. </p>
<p>In response to the warm embrace, Uber <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/dc63e5ce-54ab-11e6-9664-e0bdc13c3bef">praised China</a> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… a country that has consistently shown itself to be forward-thinking when it comes to business innovation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now you probably see why Silicon Valley might want to divorce Trump and have an affair behind Tiananmen. </p>
<h2>Your digital rights</h2>
<p>Maybe it’s not such a good idea, after all, to hastily agree to whatever terms and conditions tech companies hand down to you in tedious fine print. You don’t know your rights. You don’t know who has your data. But do you care? </p>
<p>As an individual, your power is limited. Using a <a href="https://medium.freecodecamp.com/how-to-set-up-a-vpn-in-5-minutes-for-free-and-why-you-urgently-need-one-d5cdba361907">virtual private network</a> (VPN) can be a good start, but which VPN service can you really trust? This is a pertinent question because what if the VPN you use turns out to be a <a href="https://best-vpn.reviewster.com/according-to-anonymous-vpnbook-is-a-big-fat-honeypot/">honeypot</a> collecting data about you?</p>
<p>Your best shot, then, is to join a movement – such as a citizen group – to raise awareness or a watchdog organisation that guards against the mishandling of private data by telecommunication companies.</p>
<p>Other good places to seek refuge and spread the good word include non-government organisations that promote solidarity with IT-sector workers and hacker groups who develop new crypto technology. You don’t have to know programming or coding to join them, as even the best hackers will need other kinds of help. </p>
<p>Cities like Sydney have many such organisations. Plenty of <a href="https://www.efa.org.au/">folks</a> are working on digital rights issues. <a href="https://savesecurity.org/?from=banner#strong-security-saves-lives">Join them</a> to protect your data from being infringed by Big Brother, his Little Sisters, and even telcos and ISPs. </p>
<p>Even if China doesn’t plan to take down its Great Firewall any time soon, that doesn’t make protecting your own data – personal information that reveals so much about your life – any less important. </p>
<p>As long as you have signed over your rights to corporations, they can still sell out big to Beijing, Moscow or whoever else is peeping from afar, at this very moment, into your campus or workplace CCTV system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78110/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Linchuan Qiu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sooner or later, China will recognise the value of digital assets. This adds to the urgency of citizens ensuring they control the data trails that tell the world what they think and do.Jack Linchuan Qiu, Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong KongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/729192017-06-12T11:02:22Z2017-06-12T11:02:22ZIs there structural racism on the internet?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173174/original/file-20170609-4794-1e86c1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do people use the internet in ways that disadvantage nonwhites?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/horizontal-vector-illustration-big-number-people-491897284">magic pictures/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The racial inequalities afflicting Americans and our society today are in many ways a result of <a href="http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/2089_reg.html">the result of spatial segregation</a>. White people and nonwhite people tend to live in different neighborhoods, go to different schools and have dramatically different economic opportunities based on their race. That physical manifestation of structural racism has been <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/46131/invisible-man-by-ralph-ellison/9780679732761/">true historically in this country</a>, and is <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/220290/between-the-world-and-me-by-ta-nehisi-coates/9780812993547/">still the case today</a>.</p>
<p>Today’s internet is built on a similar spatial logic. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12190">People travel from website to website</a> in search of content in the same way they travel from neighborhood to neighborhood looking for stuff to do and people to hang out with. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39426-8_8">Websites accrue and compound value</a> as visitor traffic and site visibility increases.</p>
<p>But there is a crucial difference: Internet users have – more or less – complete freedom to travel where they choose. Websites can’t see the color of a user’s skin and police incoming traffic in the same way human beings can and do in geographical spaces. Therefore, it’s easy to imagine that the internet’s very structure – the social environments it produces and the new economies it births – might not be racially segregated the way the physical world is.</p>
<p>And yet the internet does appear in fact segregated along racial lines. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1206137">My research</a> demonstrates that websites focusing on racial issues are visited less often, and are less visible in search result rankings than sites with different, or broader, focuses. This phenomenon is not based on anything that individual website producers do. Rather, it appears to be a product of how users themselves find and share information online, a process mediated mostly by search engines and, increasingly, social media platforms.</p>
<h2>Exploring online racism</h2>
<p>Words like “racist” and “racism” are loaded terms, primarily because people almost always associate them with individualized moral and cognitive failures. In recent years, though, the American public has become increasingly aware that racism can apply to cultures and societies at large. </p>
<p>My work looks for online analogues of this systemic racism, in which <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Racial-Theories-in-Social-Science-A-Systemic-Racism-Critique/Elias-Feagin/p/book/9781138645226">subtle biases permeate society and culture</a> in ways that yield overwhelming advantages for whites, at the expense of nonwhites. Specifically, I am trying to determine whether the online environment, one completely constructed by humans, systematically produces advantages and disadvantages along racial lines – whether intentionally or inadvertently. </p>
<p>This is a difficult question to approach, but I begin by assuming that today’s technological systems have developed within a culture and society that is systemically and structurally racist. This makes it possible – even likely – that existing biases operate in similar ways online.</p>
<p>In addition, the historical geographical configurations that produced and perpetuated racial inequality provide a useful guide to investigating what systemic racism might look like online. The online landscape, and how people travel through it, are both important factors to understand this picture.</p>
<h2>Understanding online navigation</h2>
<p>First, I wanted to look at the map – how the web itself is structured by website producers. I analyzed what Alexa.com characterizes as the internet’s <a href="http://www.alexa.com/topsites/category/Top/Society/Ethnicity/African/African-American">top 56 African-American sites</a> using a software program called <a href="http://uberlink.com/">Voson</a>. Voson crawls the web to identify what websites the source sites link to, and what sites link to the source sites.</p>
<p>Then I set out to determine the racial content, if any, of each of those thousands of websites, to begin measuring any inequalities that might exist in the online landscape.</p>
<p>Measuring spatial inequality offline typically involves measuring attributes of the people who live in a specific geographic location. For example, ZIP code 65035 designates a “white” neighborhood because <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/QTP3/8600000US65035">99.5 percent of the people residing there</a> (Freeburg, Missouri) are white, according to U.S. census data. By contrast, ZIP code 60619, an area in Chicago, would be considered “nonwhite,” because <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/QTP3/8600000US60619">0.7 percent of its residents are white</a>.</p>
<p>To make this type of distinction between websites, I relied on website metatags – website producers’ descriptions of the site coded to be picked up by and reflected in search engine results. I designated as “racial” websites with metatags including terms such as “african american,” “racism,” “hispanic,” “model minority” and “afro.” Sites without those terms in their metatags I designated “nonracial.” </p>
<p>By using website metatags, I was able to distinguish between racial and nonracial sites (and the segregated traffic between them) based on whether the site’s producers themselves define the site’s identity in racial terms.</p>
<h2>Understanding online navigation</h2>
<p>Once I had labeled each site as racial or nonracial, I looked at the links website producers created between them. There were three possible types of links: between two racial sites, between two nonracial sites, or between a racial site and a nonracial one.</p>
<p>How many of each type of link the data contained would reveal whether bias influenced website producers’ decisions. If there were no bias, the number of links would be proportional to the number of each type of site in the data set. If there were bias, the numbers of links would be disproportionately high or low.</p>
<p><iframe id="SL6kc" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/SL6kc/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>While I found slight differences between the ideal theoretical proportions and the actual number of links, they were not significant enough to indicate that any segregation in people’s internet behavior is caused by web producers. People who travel the web just clicking links on websites at random would not arrive at racial or nonracial sites substantially more or less than they should based on the number of such sites that exist. But people don’t just follow links; they exercise their preferences when navigating the web. </p>
<h2>Seeing segregation</h2>
<p>For my second inquiry, I wanted to find out how people actually move between websites. I looked at the same 56 sites as for the previous analysis, but this time used <a href="https://www.similarweb.com/">Similarweb</a>, a prominent web traffic metrics site. For each site, Similarweb produces data showing what websites people came from and what websites people navigated to next. I characterized those sites, too, as “racial” or “nonracial,” and identified three types of paths people took when clicking: between two racial sites, between two nonracial sites, or between a racial site and a nonracial one.</p>
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<p>In this analysis, the number of clicks between different types of sites would reveal whether bias influenced users’ decisions. I found significantly greater numbers of clicks between nonracial sites, and fewer numbers of clicks between racial and nonracial sites. That indicates that users are going out of their way to visit nonracial sites.</p>
<h2>Capitalizing on search engines</h2>
<p>This gets us closer to the whole story when it comes to segregated traffic patterns and potential inequalities along racial lines. My data also showed that nonracial sites rank significantly higher in search results, and therefore likely enjoy greater visibility, than racial sites. The racial sites are less visible, get less traffic and therefore likely reap fewer benefits from visibility (such as advertising revenue or higher search engine rankings).</p>
<p>It might be tempting to suggest that this merely reflects user preferences. That could be true if users knew what websites they want to go to, and then navigate directly to them. But usually, users don’t. It’s <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/Article/How-Much-Search-Traffic-Actually-Comes-Googling/1011814">much more likely</a> that people type a word or phrase into a search engine like Google. In fact, direct traffic accounts for only about one-third of the traffic flow to the web’s top sites. To quote a <a href="https://www.brightedge.com/sites/default/files/Cracking%20the%20Content%20Code.pdf">conclusion from search optimization firm Brightedge</a>, “overwhelmingly, organic search trumps other traffic generators.”</p>
<p>While more research is of course necessary, my work so far suggests that in conjunction with users’ preferred choices to navigate to nonracial sites more than racial sites, search engines do something with a similar effect: Nonracial sites rank significantly higher than racial sites. That can give racial sites less traffic and less financial support in the form of advertising revenue. </p>
<p>In both of these situations, people and search engines steer traffic in ways that give advantages to nonracial websites and disadvantages to racial sites. This approximates what, in the offline world, is called systemic, structural racism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72919/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlton McIlwain does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The physical world is racially segregated as a result of structural racism. A researcher examines whether similar problems exist online.Charlton McIlwain, Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/757802017-04-11T00:59:22Z2017-04-11T00:59:22ZThree charts on Australia’s growing appetite for fast broadband<p><em>This piece is part of our new Three Charts series, in which we aim to highlight interesting trends in three simple charts.</em></p>
<p>The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest figures on <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8153.0Main+Features1December%202016?OpenDocument">internet activity in Australia</a> show a huge jump in the number of people with advertised speeds of greater than 24 Mbps (that’s megabits per second, a measure of data transfer speed).</p>
<p>That trend is significant because it suggests that Australia’s appetite for faster broadband is growing apace, and that the NBN may be helping to drive adoption of higher speed internet.</p>
<p>Starting from Dec 2014, the number of subscribers in Australia with internet advertised as being capable of 24 Mbps or greater <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/subscriber.nsf/log?openagent&81530do001_201612.xls&8153.0&Data%20Cubes&C835E0DF404B850ECA2580F8001DEB95&0&December%202016&05.04.2017&Latest">rose from 2.3 million to 7.8 million.</a> Or, expressed another way, from 19% of all internet subscribers to 58% of all subscribers. </p>
<p>(It’s worth noting that the growth is in people who have signed up to packages that advertised internet speeds <em>capable</em> of reaching 24 Mbps. That’s not to say that speed is <em>actually</em> delivered all of the time; there is variation and one doesn’t always get the advertised speeds.)</p>
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<p>This increase is due, in part, to the roll-out of the national broadband network (NBN) and access to broadband at higher speeds – but that’s not the whole story.</p>
<p>True, the number of NBN subscribers over the same period rose rapidly from 322,000 to 1.7 million but that doesn’t explain the other 5.5 million subscribers who moved to faster broadband in that time. </p>
<p>Looking at the types of connection, there was an increase in the number of subscribers using internet delivered by fibre and fixed wireless. This tallies with what NBN data show.</p>
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<p>It’s likely that with the advent of the NBN and its standardised speed tiers, internet service providers started offering services that were on a par or better than those being offered on the NBN. Competition may be at work, and the technology itself is improving. </p>
<p>However, data reported by cloud computing services firm Akamai in their <a href="https://www.akamai.com/us/en/about/our-thinking/state-of-the-internet-report/">State of the Internet</a> reports – frequently <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-21/fact-check-australias-internet-speed-rank/7509352">cited</a> by the press – showed Australia’s broadband to be woefully behind most other developed countries. </p>
<p>Indeed, in the same time that Australia saw a huge increase in subscribers on internet speeds of 24 Mbps and above, Akamai was reporting that average internet download speeds had increased by a mere 27%, an increase to an underwhelming 10.1 Mbps. That puts Australia down the list in terms of average speeds.</p>
<p>With ABS data showing that 58% of the population is now on plans capable of delivering speeds of 24 Mbps and above, such a paltry rise in the average internet speed is somewhat surprising. </p>
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<p>It is, of course, possible that the advertised speeds of Australian internet plans are, too often, misrepresenting the true speeds available.</p>
<p>The way that Akamai calculates its figures is not spelled out in its report – it <a href="https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/q4-2016-state-of-the-internet-connectivity-report.pdf">says</a> that it “includes data gathered from across the Akamai Intelligent Platform”. So perhaps it would be wise to take claims about Australia’s rank in the world on internet speeds with a hefty grain of salt. Things may be better than we are being told. </p>
<p>More data is needed to make sense of the impact of the shift of subscribers to higher speed internet. Projects like the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-to-monitor-australias-broadband-performance">plan</a> to “test and report on the typical speed and performance of broadband plans provided over the NBN” will help build a more accurate picture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Glance does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>ABS figures show that Australia’s appetite for faster broadband is growing apace.David Glance, Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/729412017-02-23T02:01:33Z2017-02-23T02:01:33ZBroadband internet can help rural communities connect – if they use it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157988/original/image-20170222-6431-1e0ixa2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using the internet is what matters.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-working-wireless-country-53279047">Woman on laptop via shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Being able to connect to the internet is crucial for many rural Americans. It allows them to buy goods and services that may not be available locally; market their own goods and services to a much larger area; <a href="https://www.techdata.com/lifesize/files/LIFESIZE_Whitepaper%20Frost%20and%20Sullivan%20Healthcare%20Videoconferencing.pdf">connect remotely</a> with health services that previously required several hours’ worth of driving; and even <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/07/28/426858376/tired-of-the-big-city-consider-telecommuting-from-montana">telecommute</a>.</p>
<p>Academic studies have found that broadband access led to more <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajae/article/99/1/285/2452343/Broadband-Internet-and-New-Firm-Location-Decisions">new businesses</a> in rural areas, and that high levels of broadband adoption were associated with <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596114000949">increased median household incomes and lower unemployment</a> levels for rural residents. </p>
<p>My own research into what broadband can (and can’t) do for rural areas, has revealed another potential benefit of rural broadband: increased levels of civic engagement. <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2016/08/3-gigabit-cities-using-high-speed-broadband-civic-engagement/130862/">Several large cities</a> are installing broadband service in hopes of encouraging people to vote in local elections, join local organizations and trust their neighbors more. But the impacts for rural towns are not often discussed.</p>
<p>Our recent research suggests that, at least in rural areas, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2016.1212910">it is not enough to simply provide a high-speed network</a>. Rural citizens are already typically <a href="http://www.actrees.org/files/Research/civic_life_in_america2010.pdf">more engaged</a> in their communities than their urban counterparts. Boosting their involvement from its existing level is not as simple as setting up an antenna nearby or stringing a new wire past their home. They actually have to use the internet and explore its opportunities. It is this last step that is the crucial component of a more engaged rural citizenry.</p>
<h2>Rural (vs. urban) civic engagement</h2>
<p>Rural residents typically <a href="http://ncoc.veracitymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2010AmericaIssueBrief.pdf">vote more often than their urban counterparts</a>. They also are more likely to <a href="https://moody.utexas.edu/sites/communication.utexas.edu/files/attachments/strauss/13-00395%20NCC%20CHI%20TX%20FINAL_web.pdf">volunteer</a>, exchange favors with neighbors and <a href="http://www.afpnet.org/Audiences/ReportsResearchDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=6039">work with community members</a> to fix a local problem. In the academic research community, this is called “civic engagement.”</p>
<p>Smaller towns may be more conducive to citizen participation because people are more <a href="http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/21-006-x/21-006-x2005004-eng.pdf">aware of what their neighbors are doing</a>. Or it could be because rural residents believe they have a larger stake in their <a href="https://www.thecommunityguide.org/stories/it-takes-village-rural-residents-help-make-their-community-healthier">local community</a>. </p>
<p>As the digital age evolves, it seems feasible that people might be influenced by what they see happening online – whether from news-oriented sites, local community websites or their own social media feeds. For example, seeing multiple stories about proposed legislation could lead to concerned citizens contacting a local public official. Alternatively, people could be influenced by their social network’s participation in local organizations – or simply be <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11421">reminded that it is voting day</a>! Internet use has already been shown to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093650210384984">boost civic activities</a> for the general population; our interest was whether that was true for rural residents in particular.</p>
<h2>Does broadband matter?</h2>
<p>In our <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2016.1212910">study</a>, we wanted to know whether it was just the availability of high-speed internet service that helped people who live in rural areas get more involved in their communities – or whether they needed to actually use the internet before stepping up in person.</p>
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<p>Our first analysis looked at state-level data on rural <a href="https://www2.ntia.doc.gov/broadband-data">broadband access and adoption</a> to identify potential relationships between connectivity and rural <a href="http://www.nber.org/cps/cpsnov2011c.pdf">civic engagement</a>. We used 19 different measures of engagement, such as the percentage of residents who voted in local elections, participation in local community groups and how often they talked with or exchanged favors with their neighbors. </p>
<p>In general, people living in places with high rates of access to broadband service were no more or less likely to be involved in their communities. Similarly, living in an area with very poor broadband availability didn’t seem to affect community involvement.</p>
<p>However, a clear and consistent pattern emerged when it comes to broadband use: States with high percentages of rural residents who subscribed to broadband internet service showed higher levels of civic activity. For instance, residents of states like Massachusetts and Connecticut (with nearly 80 percent of their rural households having a home connection) were more likely to boycott a company, join a civic or sports organization, or discuss politics with family or friends.</p>
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<p>Interestingly, we also saw signs that some measures of engagement might suffer as rural broadband adoption rises – for example, time spent talking to friends in the “real world” may be reduced. </p>
<h2>Looking at individual homes</h2>
<p>A state-level analysis is not enough to really draw significant conclusions. There are too many variations across the population, like education level, income, race and age, all of which could influence how involved people are in their communities.</p>
<p>But when we used <a href="http://www.nber.org/cps/cpsnov2011c.pdf">Current Population Survey</a> data from the National Bureau of Economic Research to look at individual households, we found the same trend was true. Again, people had similar levels of community involvement regardless of their broadband service availability. </p>
<p>But people living in communities with high levels of broadband adoption had significantly higher levels of engagement for about half of the 19 measures, including boycotting a company, joining a civic or local organization, or discussing politics with family or friends. These remained true even after we accounted for the influence of other household characteristics – such as age, income, race or the presence of children – that have also been shown to affect civic engagement. </p>
<p>The fact that access didn’t have much of an effect suggests that encouraging people to actively use broadband is more important for getting them to be civically engaged. Increasing broadband <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers2.cfm?abstract_id=1492342">adoption is</a> <a href="https://techpolicyinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Wallsten_Learning-from-the-FCCs-Lifeline-Broadband-Pilot-Projects.pdf">not easy</a>; however, recent federal policy efforts have begun to focus more attention to this issue. </p>
<h2>A changing policy landscape</h2>
<p>Rural communities’ access to broadband internet service is changing rapidly. More and more people are using <a href="https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-342358A1.pdf">mobile internet services on their smartphones</a>. Wireless internet access on mobile phones is <a href="https://www.broadbandmap.gov/download/Broadband%20Availability%20in%20Rural%20vs%20Urban%20Areas.pdf">nearly universal</a> in both rural and urban areas, although most mobile connections aren’t fast enough to meet the official FCC definition of broadband.</p>
<p>This increasing reliance on mobile connections is changing how people use the internet itself. There is some evidence that mobile connections are <a href="http://paperroom.ipsa.org/papers/paper_36182.pdf">particularly important</a> for civic engagement among demographics that are likely to be heavily dependent on them, such as lower income or nonwhite populations. How this trend might translate to rural communities remains to be seen.</p>
<p>Most of our federal broadband policy has been focused on <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-connect-grants">building broadband infrastructure</a>. Recently, however, several federal programs have shifted toward getting people to actually adopt (use) the technology. The updated <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/general/lifeline-program-low-income-consumers">Lifeline</a> program provides a monthly US$9.25 subsidy that low-income consumers can use for a broadband connection. However, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/02/millions-need-broadband-program-fcc-just-put-hold/">the program’s future</a> is still up in the air. </p>
<p>The new <a href="https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2016/HUDNo_16-108">ConnectHome</a> initiative brings broadband access, technical assistance and digital literacy training to public housing residents across the nation. Our research suggests that adoption-oriented policies like these may have some meaningful spillovers for rural areas – namely, improved levels of civic engagement.</p>
<p>Those working in the field of <a href="http://www.digitalinclusionalliance.org/">digital inclusion</a> note that encouraging effective use of broadband requires more than just reducing the service price. People need what might be called a “support system” when they start using new technology: friends, family members, a helpful librarian or a formal class in an encouraging environment. Incorporating this assistance into efforts to boost not just internet access but internet use will be vital to addressing the persistent digital divide – and can also lead to more civic engagement across rural America.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72941/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Whitacre has received funding from USDA Rural Utilities Service, USDA Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Regional Rural Development Centers, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Health Research Services Administration, Oklahoma State Department of Health, and the Economic Development Administration.</span></em></p>Giving rural residents the option of using broadband access isn’t enough to boost their community involvement. To really improve civic engagement, rural dwellers need to use the internet.Brian Whitacre, Professor and Extension Economist, Oklahoma State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/704472016-12-23T12:10:06Z2016-12-23T12:10:06ZHow the internet is failing to drive economic development where promised<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151450/original/image-20161223-17301-cu5n71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Time for closer inspection.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">KODAKovic / Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With almost <a href="http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/">half the world’s population</a> now online, attempts to spread the internet <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/nov/04/google-facebook-and-microsoft-1-billion-india-online-internet">continue unabated</a>. The likes of Facebook and <a href="https://theconversation.com/googles-plan-for-internet-access-from-the-sky-27720">Google</a> offer data services for <a href="https://theconversation.com/data-remains-an-expensive-luxury-in-africa-but-free-internet-may-not-come-free-47488">“free”</a>, while <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/05/facebook-satellite-developing-world-mark-zuckerberg-internet">satellites</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/21/facebook-solar-powered-internet-plane-test-flight-aquila">drones</a>, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/16/project-loon-google-balloon-that-beams-down-internet-reaches-sri-lanka">balloons</a> are used to cover those places that traditional technologies have not been able to reach.</p>
<p>Underlying this agenda is a rationale that the spread of the internet leads directly to economic growth and development. It may be unsurprising to hear such an argument from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dknlv">Silicon Valley types</a>. After all, they <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/01/facebook-free-basics-internet-africa-mark-zuckerberg">profit</a> from the <a href="https://theconversation.com/mobile-phones-the-pathway-to-internet-in-africa-42363">spread</a> of this technology and it’s their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/facebook/about/">mission</a> to “make the world more open and connected”. Simply put, the logic is that the internet is a democratising force, benefiting everyone, everywhere, in every way.</p>
<p>Very similar ideas are also pervasive in international development circles, especially where Africa is concerned. Go to any high-level meeting where the powerful convene, such as the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/06/how-better-connectivity-can-transform-africas-economies/">World Economic Forum</a> or the <a href="https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2016/">World Summit on the Information Society</a>, and you will come across similar narratives. They tout the potential of technology, or specifically the internet, to fuel development <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/11/democracy-forests-finance-tech-africa-better-place-digital">and alleviate poverty</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151424/original/image-20161222-17301-v5jvt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151424/original/image-20161222-17301-v5jvt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151424/original/image-20161222-17301-v5jvt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151424/original/image-20161222-17301-v5jvt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151424/original/image-20161222-17301-v5jvt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151424/original/image-20161222-17301-v5jvt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151424/original/image-20161222-17301-v5jvt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Hardware alone is insufficient.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Academics, however, increasingly scoff at this idea of technological determinism – the belief or assumption that technology unilaterally drives and shapes our social world. Rather, they emphasise the intricate <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/28638/">back</a> and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19416520802211644">forth</a> between human action, societies and technologies like the internet.</p>
<p>What should we make of this huge divide in thinking? Can we safely assume that the internet has a positive impact on development in every case, for every place on earth?</p>
<h2>An astonishing gap</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2855398">forthcoming paper</a>, our <a href="http://geonet.oii.ox.ac.uk/">research group</a> at the Oxford Internet Institute attempts to address these questions. We wanted to make a direct comparison between the discourse propagated by powerful actors in international development and the available evidence base. Africa became our scope because the continent was said to have been swept by a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/the-tech-continent-africas-digital-renaissance">digital renaissance</a>” or “<a href="http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118751329.html">information revolution</a>”, leapfrogging the industrial revolution of the Global North. </p>
<p>We analysed the ICT policies of six African nations and 13 widely noted reports by businesses, development organisations and consultancies. Development has <a href="http://www.ophi.org.uk/policy/multidimensional-poverty-index/">many dimensions</a>, so we limited our analysis to the internet’s impact on economic growth and inequality.</p>
<p>It might not come as a surprise to informed readers that we found visions proposed by governments and development groups to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-promised-right-to-fast-internet-rings-hollow-for-millions-stuck-with-20th-century-speeds-39153">overselling</a> the internet’s positive effects. However, even we were astonished by just how wide the gap turned out to be. </p>
<p>Reports and policies <a href="http://www.impactoftheinternet.com/">argued</a> that the “Internet [was] a tremendous, undisputed force for economic growth and social change.” <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378720604001569">Academic studies</a>, meanwhile, concluded that the internet’s impact on development was uncertain and varied, with lower effects in the Global South than in the North.</p>
<h2>Misguided efforts</h2>
<p>We were also surprised at just how sweeping and even careless some of the claims were. Several reports used simplistic methods to assess “impact” or “effects”, while advertising their results as definitive. In <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_IT_Report_2015.pdf">another example</a>, a report even misquoted a source to support its argument that the internet was lowering global inequality. This claim actually ran exactly counter to the findings of rigorous studies.</p>
<p>The results of our analysis showed that African governments, international organisations and consultancies nurture grand visions about the impact of internet connectivity. The internet is seen to be a positive, inclusive and transformative engine for development. </p>
<p>Yet, these claims are made irrespective of lacking or contrary evidence. So there is a palpable risk that inclusive “<a href="https://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/from-ict4d-to-digital-development/">digital development</a>” becomes merely a mirage, leading policy and practice to waste time and resources on misguided efforts.</p>
<p>We are not arguing that the internet is unimportant for development. Instead, we encourage a more nuanced view that acknowledges that the diffusion of internet connectivity comes with risks and unintended consequences. While value creation is globalised, value extraction often <a href="https://catalogue.sunderland.ac.uk/items/335477">remains concentrated</a> in the Global North.</p>
<p>More broadly, information technologies can exacerbate <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AwGJCgAAQBAJ">divides</a> within societies. It would be irresponsible and naïve if we continued pretending that more internet connectivity would simply lead to better development for everyone, everywhere.</p>
<p>An encouraging sign that such an acknowledgement is possible within international development was the World Bank’s recent <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2016">World Development Report</a>. It basically <a href="https://theconversation.com/connecting-everyone-to-the-internet-wont-solve-the-worlds-development-problems-54026">admitted</a> that digital development has remained elusive for many “digital have-nots” in the Global South. </p>
<p>Encouragingly, this report was the result of productive discussion between academia and practitioners. If we are to steer the impact of the internet in the direction that works for the world’s poor and powerless, many more open conversations between digital development believers and sceptics will have to follow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolas's research is funded by the European Research Council.</span></em></p>There’s a huge divide in thinking between academia and international development on the role of the internet in economic growth.Nicolas Friederici, Researcher, Digital Economies, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/689542016-12-12T03:41:07Z2016-12-12T03:41:07ZTrump trolls, Pirate Parties and the Italian Five Star Movement: The internet meets politics<p>We blame the internet for a lot of things, and now the list has grown to include our politics. In a turbulent year marked by the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump, some have started to wonder to what extent the recent events have to do with the technology that most defines our age.</p>
<p>In the aftermath of Trump’s victory, commentators accused Facebook of being <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2016/11/17/facebook-with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility/#380f552d6e7d">indirectly responsible</a> for his election. Specifically, they point to the role of social media in spreading virulent political propaganda and fake news. The internet has been increasingly presented as a possible cause for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-post-truth-election-clicks-trump-facts-67274">post-truth culture</a> that allegedly characterizes contemporary democracies.</p>
<p>These reactions are a reminder that new technologies often stimulate <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/13688804.2014.898904">both hopes and fears</a> about their impact on society and culture. The internet has been seen as both the harbinger of political participation and the main culprit for the decline of democracy. The network of networks is now more than a mere vehicle of political communication: It has become a powerful rhetorical symbol people are using to achieve political goals. </p>
<p>This is currently visible in Europe, where movements such as the <a href="http://piratar.is/en/">Pirate Parties</a> and the Italian <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-italys-five-star-movement-69596">Five Star Movement</a>, which we have <a href="http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/36/1/105.abstract">studied</a>, build their political messages around the internet. To them, the internet is a catalyst for radical and democratic change that channels growing dissatisfaction with traditional political parties.</p>
<h2>Web utopias and dystopias</h2>
<p>The emergence of political enthusiasm for the internet owes much to U.S. culture in the 1990s. Internet connectivity was spreading from universities and corporations to an increasingly large portion of the population. During the Clinton administration, Vice President Al Gore made the “<a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/icky/speech2.html">Information Superhighway</a>” a flagship concept. He linked the development of a high-speed digital telecommunication network to a new era of enlightened market democracy. </p>
<p>The enthusiasm for information technology and free-market economics spread from Silicon Valley and was dubbed <a href="http://www.imaginaryfutures.net/2007/04/17/the-californian-ideology-2">Californian Ideology</a>. It inspired a generation of digital entrepreneurs, technologists, politicians and activists in Silicon Valley and beyond. The <a href="http://time.com/3741681/2000-dotcom-stock-bust/">2000 dot-com crash</a> only temporarily curbed the hype.</p>
<p>In the 2000s, the rise of sharing platforms and social media – often labeled as “<a href="http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html">Web 2.0</a>” – supported the idea of a new era of increased participation of common citizens in the production of cultural content, software development and even political revolutions against authoritarian regimes.</p>
<p>The promise of the unrestrained flow of information also engendered deep fears. In 1990s, the web was already seen by critics as a vehicle for poor-quality information, hate speech and extreme pornography. We knew then that the Information Superhighway’s dark side was worryingly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/15/business/limiting-medium-without-boundaries-you-let-good-fish-through-net-while-blocking.html">difficult to regulate</a>.</p>
<p>Paradoxically, the promise of decentralization has resulted in few massive advertising empires like Facebook and Google, employing sophisticated <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-democracys-new-maxim-surveillance-and-soft-despotism-48879">mass surveillance techniques</a>. Web-based companies like Uber and Airbnb bring new efficient services to millions of customers, but are also seen as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-uber-opens-cities-only-to-close-them-59067">potential monopolists</a> that threaten local economies and squeeze profits out of impoverished communities.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://techliberation.com/2011/01/31/the-case-for-internet-optimism-part-1-saving-the-net-from-its-detractors/">public’s views</a> on digital media are rapidly shifting. In less than 10 years, the stories we tell about the internet have moved from praising its democratic potential to imagining it as a dangerous source of extreme politics, polarized echo chambers and a hive of misogynist and racist trolls.</p>
<h2>Cyber-optimism in Europe</h2>
<p>While cyber-utopian views have lost appeal in the U.S., the idea of the internet as a promise of radical reorganization of society has survived. In fact, it has become a defining element of political movements that thrive in Western Europe.</p>
<p>In Italy, an anti-establishment party know as the Five Star Movement became the second most-voted for party in Italy in the 2013 national elections. According to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics-5star-idUSKCN0ZM130">some polls</a>, it might soon even win general elections in Italy.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/36/1/105.abstract">our research</a>, we analyzed how the Italian Five Star Movement uses a mythical idea of the internet as a catalyst for its political message. In the party’s rhetoric, declining and corrupt mainstream parties are allied with newspapers and television. By contrast, the movement claims to harness the power of the web to “kill” old politics and bring about direct democracy, efficiency and transparency in governance.</p>
<p>Similarly in Iceland, the Pirate Party is now poised to lead a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pirate-party-may-step-in-as-iceland-hits-election-stalemate-a7435971.html">coalition government</a>. Throughout the few last years, other Pirate Parties have emerged and have been at times quite successful in other European countries, including <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/137305/rise-fall-pirate-party">Germany</a> and <a href="http://pol.sagepub.com/content/31/3/121?patientinform-links=yes&legid=sppol;31/3/121">Sweden</a>. While they differ in many ways from the Five Star Movement, their leaders also insist that the internet will help enable new forms of democratic participation. Their success was made possible by the powerful vision of a new direct democracy facilitated by online technologies. </p>
<h2>A vision of change</h2>
<p>Many politicians all over the world run campaigns on the promise of change, communicating a positive message to potential voters. The rise of forces such as the Five Star Movement and the Pirate Parties in Europe is an example of how the rhetoric of political change and the rhetoric of the digital revolution can interact with each other, merging into a unique, coherent discourse.</p>
<p>In thinking about the impact of the internet in politics, we usually consider how social media, websites and other online resources are used as a vehicle of political communication. Yet, its impact as a symbol and a powerful narrative is equally strong.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68954/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While the US is reeling from rampant fake online news, political movements in Europe are using the internet as a powerful democratic symbol to win elections. Will cyber-optimism or pessimism win?Andrea Ballatore, Lecturer in Geographic Information Science, Birkbeck, University of LondonSimone Natale, Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/679402016-11-02T10:32:57Z2016-11-02T10:32:57ZHow do children use the internet? We asked thousands of kids around the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144068/original/image-20161101-15814-wcg976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Checking-in after class in the city of Cebu, Philippines.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNICEF/Estey</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The internet has reached almost every corner of the globe, but most research on how it is used, particularly among children, focuses on the US and Europe. This is a problem, because according to best estimates <a href="https://www.cigionline.org/publications/one-three-internet-governance-and-childrens-rights">one in three children around the world</a> now uses the internet – most of them outside the West. An increasingly global internet requires increasingly international policy decisions – which must rely on global evidence.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.globalkidsonline.net/synthesis">report</a> from <a href="http://www.globalkidsonline.net">Global Kids Online</a> is the first stage of an ambitious project to find out which children are using the internet, what they are learning, and the opportunities and risks it presents. To hear their perspectives, the project conducted interviews and surveys of children aged between nine and 17 in South Africa, the Philippines and Serbia, and aged 13 to 17 in Argentina. You can listen to South African children and their parents talking about the internet <a href="https://youtu.be/EU4n0MrXw1o">here</a>.</p>
<p>We did not really know what to expect, although we knew some of the problems. In Latin America, for example, children live in hugely different urban and rural environments, and at the extremes of wealth and poverty. South African society exhibits high levels of violence, which now extends online. The Philippines faces a growing challenge around child sexual exploitation and abuse, while Serbia struggles with the social exclusion of its Roma population. Does internet access help children and their families face these issues, or does it make them worse?</p>
<h2>Don’t take away my internet</h2>
<p>There is no doubt that children worldwide welcome the internet into their lives, even when it is expensive, unreliable, or can only be accessed through shared devices or community provision – unlike the ease of access enjoyed by children in the West. A recent worldwide survey reveals that they are beginning to think of it as <a href="http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_76268.html">a human right</a>, a necessity. Similarly, some of the children we spoke to see the internet as an inseparable part of their lives – something they are proud of, as this 15-year-old boy from Serbia said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We grew up with the internet. I mean, the internet has always been here with us. The grown-ups are like “Wow the internet appeared”, while it is perfectly normal for us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A focus group of 14-17-year-olds from South Africa’s Eastern Cape agreed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’d say the generation of today knows more than our parents. We’re much smarter than the previous generation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s not surprising to learn that children love the freedom to learn or share what they are interested in, when they want to – as these Argentinian teenagers <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gko/argentina/">explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I wanted to learn to play the guitar and went online.
<br><br>
Being in contact with the others all the time; knowing what the others are doing.
<br><br>
You can contact somebody who is far away over Skype or a video call.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But in the face of moral panics about online risks, we should remind ourselves that children mainly want to learn and to be in touch with people. It is important that adults – whether parents or politicians – do not close off those opportunities.</p>
<h2>The good and the bad</h2>
<p>In many ways, children from very different countries share similar online interests. In the Philippines, for instance, children love Facebook and YouTube, and their top online activities are learning something new, social media, watching video clips, using the internet for schoolwork, and playing online games. In other words, pretty much <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/2014/12/02/maximising-the-opportunities-for-kids-online-where-are-we/">the same as found in Europe</a>. </p>
<p>It’s possible to see the fact that the same huge tech companies are able to extend their reach and profit from children worldwide as a problem. It is also not yet clear what children learn online – or whether it truly benefits them. But internet access does provide clear opportunities. </p>
<p>In South Africa, up to two in five teenagers look up health information online at least weekly. It is easy to imagine that teenagers value that they can find this just-in-time information online, confidentially. Where might they have found it before the internet? But there are issues surrounding the quality of information on the internet. Is it what they need? And do they have the critical skills to tell reliable from misleading information? We do not know, although what we have found does provide grounds for concern regarding the digital and critical skills of younger users.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">That’s a pic to upload later … boys and their smartphones in Mdantsane, South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNICEF/Afhsin Rohani</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Asked whether anything had happened to them online that upset them in the past year, three-quarters of the children in Argentina surveyed said yes – twice as many as in Serbia and the Philippines. In South Africa it was only one in five. Some examples of upsetting content include:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Gossiping about other people and there are ugly comments about other people.
<br><br>
Racism, xenophobia and killings.
<br><br>
Frequently having older strangers inviting me, seeing nude adverts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From the Philippines, we heard reports of <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gko/reportphilippines/">direct personal threats</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There was a time when I was impersonated by someone else on Facebook, the user has my photo as the profile picture but with a different name. (Girl aged 12-14)
<br><br>
I once experienced a stranger asking for “my price” - meaning how much it would cost the stranger for the child to do a sexual activity. (Boy aged 15-17)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But lest parents be tempted to ban their children from the internet, we also found lots of positive responses. Two thirds of Argentinian teens were very sure that “there are lots of things on the internet good for children my age”. Those in Serbia and the Philippines were a bit more lukewarm, and South African children more divided still. Striking the right balance of risk and rewards may be hard to achieve.</p>
<h2>Risks and opportunities intertwined</h2>
<p>To understand this, we have to consider the nature of the internet. Take social networking sites, for example: children can use them to connect with their friends, but they are also made visible to unknown others. Reflecting the risk and rewards children from each country experienced, we found that 92% of Argentinian children but only 65% of South Africans say they are allowed to use these sites at any time, with Serbia at 85% and the Philippines at 79%. </p>
<p>So whether parents take a more restrictive or laissez-faire approach makes a difference. But this is not an easy choice for parents to make. Partly because many parents judge their children’s digital skills to be greater than their own, and partly because they try to fit cultural norms and parenting styles, and the specific needs of their children.</p>
<p>Of course, irregular or expensive internet access can be a problem in itself. Our South African colleagues have used these findings to call for more affordable internet access, given the <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gko/research-results-southafrica/">high cost of data</a> – this goal is now included in South Africa’s <a href="http://www.gov.za/issues/national-development-plan-2030">National Development Plan 2030</a>. Argentinian children reported using internet most at school, so our Argentinian colleagues have called for more support through a national digital literacy programme.</p>
<p>Global Kids Online is a joint initiative from <a href="https://www.unicef-irc.org/">Innocenti</a>, the research arm of UNICEF, the <a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/Home.aspx">EU Kids Online network</a> and the London School of Economics and Political Science, supported by the <a href="http://www.weprotect.org/">WeProtect Global Alliance</a>. This research is just the beginning, and it will be hard to identify cross-cultural trends until more countries take part. But we would urge lawmakers in countries where little reliable evidence exists not to rush into new legislation until they are better able to understand how children and parents balance the risks and rewards they face.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67940/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sonia Livingstone receives funding from UNICEF and WeProtect Global Alliance</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mariya Stoilova receives funding from UNICEF and WeProtect Global Alliance</span></em></p>The developing world is waking up to the internet. We need to know how new generations of children use it.Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology, London School of Economics and Political ScienceMariya Stoilova, Post-doctoral Researcher, London School of Economics and Political ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/636572016-10-06T19:10:30Z2016-10-06T19:10:30Z‘Don’t feed the trolls’ really is good advice – here’s the evidence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140420/original/image-20161005-15882-1dgw5jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C25%2C2766%2C1861&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Just try not to get annoyed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren Woodward/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Almost <a href="https://www.brandwatch.com/2016/03/96-amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts-for-2016/">half the population of the planet</a> now has access to the internet, with about one in three of those people regularly active on social media. </p>
<p>But this increased opportunity to socialise and communicate in a virtual environment has offered new avenues for <a href="http://thirdworld.nl/virtually-criminal-discourse-deviance-and-anxiety-within-virtual-communities">antisocial behaviour</a>.</p>
<p>The problem of cyberbullying has received considerable <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycarticles/2014-04307-001">research attention</a>. However, other online antisocial behaviours with similarly harmful outcomes have received far less consideration – one example being anonymous online trolling. </p>
<p><a href="https://blog.codinghorror.com/what-is-trolling/">Trolling behaviours</a> typically include deliberately posting inflammatory comments and argumentative messages in an attempt to provoke, disrupt and upset others. “Trolls” may pretend to be part of the group, but their real intent is to create conflict for their own amusement. Shockingly, <a href="https://today.yougov.com/news/2014/10/20/over-quarter-americans-admit-malicious-online-comm/">more than a quarter of Americans</a> have admitted to engaging in trolling behaviour at some point.</p>
<p>Most concerning, however, is that harassing behaviours online (such as cyberbullying and trolling) are shown to have <a href="http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/29/9/1732.short">psychological outcomes</a> similar to those of harassment offline. These outcomes can include depression, social anxiety and low self-esteem. </p>
<p>But while cyberbullying is a clear extension of offline bullying, there is no obvious real-world counterpart to online trolling. This can make it harder to grasp exactly why it happens. </p>
<h2>Who are the trolls?</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140429/original/image-20161005-15879-23ovmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140429/original/image-20161005-15879-23ovmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140429/original/image-20161005-15879-23ovmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140429/original/image-20161005-15879-23ovmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140429/original/image-20161005-15879-23ovmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140429/original/image-20161005-15879-23ovmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140429/original/image-20161005-15879-23ovmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trollface: a sign that you should steer clear.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://twentytwo.fibreculturejournal.org/fcj-167-spraying-fishing-looking-for-trouble-the-chinese-internet-and-a-critical-perspective-on-the-concept-of-trolling/">Research</a> has defined a typical troll as an internet user who takes on a fake identity, which they then use to cause disruption and trigger conflict among others <a href="http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/4980/2/Hardaker,%20C.%202010.%20Trolling%20in%20ACMC.pdf">for their own amusement</a>.</p>
<p>The cover of <a href="http://phys.org/news/2016-07-trolls-waive-anonymity-online.html">anonymity</a> allows the troll to treat the internet as their personal playground, throwing provocative comments into forums like grenades into a crowd. Trolls remain unknown to victims and, unlike cyberbullying, <a href="http://academicearth.org/electives/psychology-internet-troll/">their victims are unknown to them</a>.</p>
<p>Online organisations and government bodies have <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13600869.2013.796706">made various attempts</a> to govern and combat trolling. These include <a href="http://anti-troll.org/">anti-troll.org</a> and the online group <a href="http://zerotrollerance.guru/">Zero Trollerance</a>.</p>
<p>But trolling has largely eluded most attempts to control it – as shown by the huge numbers of people who admit to having done it. </p>
<h2>Is there a trolling ‘type’?</h2>
<p>One way to try to understand why people engage in trolling is to investigate whether they are likely to show particular personality traits, such as narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism and everyday sadism – known as the “<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656602005056">dark tetrad</a>”.</p>
<p>These traits commonly underpin many forms of social manipulation and deception, and involve a drive for ruthless self-advancement, aggression and, most notably, a lack of empathy and severe callousness. Taking each of the tetrad in turn, narcissism is associated with feelings of superiority and ego-inflation; psychopathy is linked to impulsivity and callousness; Machiavellianism is associated with manipulation and exploitation of others; and sadism is defined as the enjoyment of inflicting pain on others.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886914000324">2014 study</a> found that people with higher levels of sadism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism were more likely to engage in online trolling behaviour, with sadism being the strongest predictor.</p>
<h2>What’s the ultimate motivation?</h2>
<p>But research on trolling behaviours has not yet considered the direct motivating factors. So <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886916307930">my recent research</a> sought to understand what motivates individuals to engage in trolling behaviours.</p>
<p>If a behaviour is rewarding, an individual is more likely to do it. Because trolling depends on interaction with others, we were interested in the social rewards experienced by those who provoke these interactions. </p>
<p>There are <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00201/full">two forms of social rewards</a>: typical and atypical. </p>
<p>Typical social rewards generally occur through reciprocal social behaviours and interactions. We experience positive (or typical) social rewards when we engage in helpful, altruistic behaviour. But in our study we explored atypical social rewards, also known as “negative social potency”. </p>
<p>Negative social potency is measured using the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24653711">Social Rewards Questionnaire</a>, in which participants indicate their agreement with statements such as “I enjoy making someone angry” and “I enjoy embarrassing others”. </p>
<p>These are the rewarding feelings that some people experience when creating social discord, through selfish or self-serving behaviours and interactions. Individuals who seek negative social potency are likely to enjoy inflicting psychological pain and distress on others. </p>
<p>They may achieve this through exerting negative social influence, power and strength.</p>
<h2>Personality vs motivation</h2>
<p>We gathered a sample of 396 adults (75.9% women and 24.10% men) and asked them to complete a questionnaire to measure their levels of narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism and sadism.</p>
<p>We also assessed their orientation towards negative social potency and their engagement in trolling behaviours on Facebook.</p>
<p>Higher levels of psychopathy and sadism tend to predict trolling behaviours, with sadism being the strongest factor. We also found that men were more likely than women to engage in Facebook trolling. </p>
<p>But more surprising was what we found when we included negative social potency in the model. The effect of negative social potency was far stronger than the effects of psychopathy and sadism. </p>
<p>This means that while antisocial personality traits do play a role, what really influences trolling behaviour is the social pleasure derived from knowing that others are annoyed by it. The more negative social impact the troll has, the more their behaviour is reinforced. </p>
<h2>Fighting back</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140430/original/image-20161005-15882-13x0gd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140430/original/image-20161005-15882-13x0gd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140430/original/image-20161005-15882-13x0gd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140430/original/image-20161005-15882-13x0gd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140430/original/image-20161005-15882-13x0gd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140430/original/image-20161005-15882-13x0gd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140430/original/image-20161005-15882-13x0gd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sage advice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">MemeCenter</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Happily, this discovery suggests an easy way to deal with trolls: ignore them, rather than giving them the satisfaction of an angry reaction. </p>
<p>Individuals seeking a negative social reward may still engage in trolling. But if they don’t receive that negative social reward, then their motivation to engage in this behaviour will likely diminish.</p>
<p>So it appears that the classic internet adage really does hold true: don’t feed the trolls. Deny them the pleasure of an angry reaction, and they’ll probably leave you alone. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Evita March will be online between 2.30 and 3pm AEDT on Friday, October 7. Leave a question for her in the comments below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evita March does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study suggests that the pleasure of getting an angry reaction is the biggest predictor of online trolling behaviour – meaning that the best way to fight back is just to ignore them.Evita March, Lecturer of Psychology, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.