Nearly half of teens say the effect of social media is neither positive nor negative on them; it is just life as they know it. So let’s support them through the highs and lows.
Not everyone possesses the skills to draw a cartoon, but pretty much anyone can make a meme.
Nick Lehr/The Conversation
With sharp political commentary just as likely to be found on Tumblr as in the pages of the Times, why aren’t the best internet memes being published in the nation’s top periodicals?
Visualisation of election-related Twitter activity on QUT’s Sphere display.
QUT Media
Axel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology; Daniel Angus, Queensland University of Technology e Timothy Graham, Queensland University of Technology
Analysis of tweets from the election campaign reveal two key trends: independents are organising, and embattled Liberal candidates are having to take the fight to their rivals.
The internet is growing, but old information continues to disappear daily.
wk1003mike/shutterstock.com
MySpace users were recently shocked to learn that the company lost 50 million user files. It’s a harsh lesson in not leaving your intellectual property unprotected on the information superhighway.
Jacinda Ardern and Immanuel Macron will head up the Christchurch Call meeting, aimed at coordinating international regulation of harmful online content.
Ian Langsdon / AAP
Being seen to lead is clearly an important political aspect of managing online content. But internet regulation must focus on creating policy that is clear, accountable, balanced and open to appeals.
Facebook’s Mia Garlick says, ‘we’re frequently seeing politicians use the Facebook Live tool to augment a press conference or to directly speak to voters about the issues of importance of the day.’
AAP/MICK TSIKAS
Facebook’s Mia Garlick on how Australian politicians are using social media
The Conversation44,8 MB(download)
Today's Media Files podcast examines the role of social media in election campaigns, including the spread of 'fake news' and foreign political interference.
Research into attitudes reveals some startling findings.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, with his wife Jenny Morrison, used a campaign rally at the Breakers Country Club in Wambarel to speak about online safety on May 5 2019.
Mick Tsikas /AAP
It’s easy to legislate for new offences and more incarceration. It’s harder – and more expensive – to ensure the community is safer in the long term. This involves addressing causes, not effects.
Political advertising has moved away from traditional media and is now more prevalent on platforms like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.
AAP/ALP/Liberal Party/GetUp!/Australian Youth Climate Coalition
The major parties are focusing on social media like never before to get their messaging out – and finding more creative ways to do it.
It’s almost impossible for users to detect which information is being collected, who’s collecting it and what they do with it.
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How did we become so submissive to a condition of constant surveillance that – except in spy movies or paranoid delusions – would have been considered preposterous a few decades ago?
The solution to too much screen time may just be more apps.
THE YOOTH/Shutterstock.com
Software makers including Apple have been creating apps aimed at limiting how much time we spend using our smartphones. A behavioral scientist explains how – and whether – they work.
What can you learn from your connections on social media?
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Simple math reveals some surprising facts about the underlying structure of Facebook and other social networks.
Claims of ‘fake news’ and misinformation campaigns have already arisen in the federal election campaign, a problem the political parties and tech companies are ill-equipped to address.
Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA
New regulations have been rolled out to counter the spread of misinformation during the campaign, but these steps will largely be ineffective in the fast-moving social media sphere
In a country with a weak press, social media played a key role in exposing the truth and building bridges between Sri Lanka’s different ethnic and religious groups.
The UK’s Online Harms White Paper provides a starting point to consider what internet regulation can look like.
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Britain’s Online Harms white paper was developed through public consultations and open, democratic processes. It suggests developing regulations that would be implemented by an arms-length entity.