tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/online-1853/articlesOnline – The Conversation2024-02-07T12:03:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224082024-02-07T12:03:02Z2024-02-07T12:03:02ZUsing AI to monitor the internet for terror content is inescapable – but also fraught with pitfalls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573450/original/file-20240205-17-4tssh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C0%2C3693%2C2460&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/technology-security-concept-personal-authentication-system-709257292">metamorworks/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every minute, millions of social media posts, photos and videos flood the internet. <a href="https://www.socialpilot.co/blog/social-media-statistics">On average</a>, Facebook users share 694,000 stories, X (formerly Twitter) users post 360,000 posts, Snapchat users send 2.7 million snaps and YouTube users upload more than 500 hours of video. </p>
<p>This vast ocean of online material needs to be constantly monitored for harmful or illegal content, like promoting terrorism and violence. </p>
<p>The sheer volume of content means that it’s not possible for people to inspect and check all of it manually, which is why automated tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), are essential. But such tools also have their limitations. </p>
<p>The concerted effort in recent years to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1057610X.2023.2222901">develop tools</a> for the identification and removal of online terrorist content has, in part, been fuelled by the emergence of new laws and regulations. This includes the EU’s terrorist content online <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32021R0784">regulation</a>, which requires hosting service providers to remove terrorist content from their platform within one hour of receiving a removal order from a competent national authority.</p>
<h2>Behaviour and content-based tools</h2>
<p>In broad terms, there are two types of tools used to root out terrorist content. The first looks at certain account and message behaviour. This includes how old the account is, the use of trending or unrelated hashtags and abnormal posting volume. </p>
<p>In many ways, this is similar to spam detection, in that it does not pay attention to content, and is <a href="https://www.resolvenet.org/research/remove-impede-disrupt-redirect-understanding-combating-pro-islamic-state-use-file-sharing">valuable for detecting</a> the rapid dissemination of large volumes of content, which are often bot-driven. </p>
<p>The second type of tool is content-based. It focuses on linguistic characteristics, word use, images and web addresses. Automated content-based tools take <a href="https://tate.techagainstterrorism.org/news/tcoaireport">one of two approaches</a>. </p>
<p><strong>1. Matching</strong></p>
<p>The first approach is based on comparing new images or videos to an existing database of images and videos that have previously been identified as terrorist in nature. One challenge here is that terror groups are known to try and evade such methods by producing subtle variants of the same piece of content. </p>
<p>After the Christchurch terror attack in New Zealand in 2019, for example, hundreds of visually distinct versions of the livestream video of the atrocity <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2019/03/technical-update-on-new-zealand/">were in circulation</a>. </p>
<p>So, to combat this, matching-based tools generally use <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2019/08/open-source-photo-video-matching/">perceptual hashing</a> rather than cryptographic hashing. Hashes are a bit like digital fingerprints, and cryptographic hashing acts like a secure, unique identity tag. Even changing a single pixel in an image drastically alters its fingerprint, preventing false matches. </p>
<p>Perceptual hashing, on the other hand, focuses on similarity. It overlooks minor changes like pixel colour adjustments, but identifies images with the same core content. This makes perceptual hashing more resilient to tiny alterations to a piece of content. But it also means that the hashes are not entirely random, and so could potentially be used to try and <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/black-box-attacks-on-perceptual-image-hashes-with-gans-cc1be11f277">recreate</a> the original image.</p>
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<img alt="A close up of a mobile phone screen displaying several social media apps." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573540/original/file-20240205-25-jovm4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573540/original/file-20240205-25-jovm4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573540/original/file-20240205-25-jovm4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573540/original/file-20240205-25-jovm4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573540/original/file-20240205-25-jovm4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573540/original/file-20240205-25-jovm4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573540/original/file-20240205-25-jovm4l.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">Millions of posts, images and videos are uploaded to social media platforms every minute.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moscow-russia-29072023-new-elon-musks-2339442245">Viktollio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p><strong>2. Classification</strong></p>
<p>The second approach relies on classifying content. It <a href="https://www.cambridgeconsultants.com/insights/whitepaper/ofcom-use-ai-online-content-moderation">uses</a> machine learning and other forms of AI, such as natural language processing. To achieve this, the AI needs a lot of examples like texts labelled as terrorist content or not by human content moderators. By analysing these examples, the AI learns which features distinguish different types of content, allowing it to categorise new content on its own. </p>
<p>Once trained, the algorithms are then able to predict whether a new item of content belongs to one of the specified categories. These items may then be removed or flagged for human review. </p>
<p>This approach also <a href="https://tate.techagainstterrorism.org/news/tcoaireport">faces challenges</a>, however. Collecting and preparing a large dataset of terrorist content to train the algorithms is time-consuming and <a href="https://oro.open.ac.uk/69799/">resource-intensive</a>. </p>
<p>The training data may also become dated quickly, as terrorists make use of new terms and discuss new world events and current affairs. Algorithms also have difficulty understanding context, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951719897945">subtlety and irony</a>. They also <a href="https://cdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Mixed-Messages-Paper.pdf">lack</a> cultural sensitivity, including variations in dialect and language use across different groups. </p>
<p>These limitations can have important offline effects. There have been documented failures to remove hate speech in countries such as <a href="https://restofworld.org/2021/why-facebook-keeps-failing-in-ethiopia/">Ethiopia</a> and <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/the-thread/facebooks-content-moderation-language-barrier/">Romania</a>, while free speech activists in countries such as <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/revealed-seven-years-later-how-facebook-shuts-down-free-speech-egypt">Egypt</a>, <a href="https://syrianobserver.com/news/58430/facebook-deletes-accounts-of-assad-opponents.html">Syria</a> and <a href="https://www.accessnow.org/transparency-required-is-facebooks-effort-to-clean-up-operation-carthage-damaging-free-expression-in-tunisia/">Tunisia</a> have reported having their content removed.</p>
<h2>We still need human moderators</h2>
<p>So, in spite of advances in AI, human input remains essential. It is important for maintaining databases and datasets, assessing content flagged for review and operating appeals processes for when decisions are challenged. </p>
<p>But this is demanding and draining work, and there have been <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/facebook-content-moderators-ireland">damning reports</a> regarding the working conditions of moderators, with many tech companies such as Meta <a href="https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/who-moderates-social-media-giants-call-end-outsourcing">outsourcing</a> this work to third-party vendors. </p>
<p>To address this, we <a href="https://tate.techagainstterrorism.org/news/tcoaireport">recommend</a> the development of a set of minimum standards for those employing content moderators, including mental health provision. There is also potential to develop AI tools to safeguard the wellbeing of moderators. This would work, for example, by blurring out areas of images so that moderators can reach a decision without viewing disturbing content directly. </p>
<p>But at the same time, few, if any, platforms have the resources needed to develop automated content moderation tools and employ a sufficient number of human reviewers with the required expertise. </p>
<p>Many platforms have turned to off-the-shelf products. It is estimated that the content moderation solutions market will be <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/content-moderation-solutions-market-to-cross-us-32-bn-by-2031-tmr-report-301514155.html">worth $32bn by 2031</a>. </p>
<p>But caution is needed here. Third-party providers are not currently subject to the same level of oversight as tech platforms themselves. They may rely disproportionately on automated tools, with insufficient human input and a lack of transparency regarding the datasets used to train their algorithms.</p>
<p>So, collaborative initiatives between governments and the private sector are essential. For example, the EU-funded <a href="https://tate.techagainstterrorism.org/">Tech Against Terrorism Europe</a> project has developed valuable resources for tech companies. There are also examples of automated content moderation tools being made openly available like Meta’s <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2022/12/meta-launches-new-content-moderation-tool/">Hasher-Matcher-Actioner</a>, which companies can use to build their own database of hashed terrorist content. </p>
<p>International organisations, governments and tech platforms must prioritise the development of such collaborative resources. Without this, effectively addressing online terror content will remain elusive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222408/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Macdonald receives funding from the EU Internal Security Fund for the project Tech Against Terrorism Europe (ISF-2021-AG-TCO-101080101). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashley A. Mattheis receives funding from the EU Internal Security Fund for the project Tech Against Terrorism Europe (ISF-2021-AG-TCO-101080101).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Wells receives funding from the Council of Europe to conduct an analysis of emerging patterns of misuse of technology by terrorist actors (ongoing)</span></em></p>The complex task of tackling online terror needs human eyes as well as artificial intelligence.Stuart Macdonald, Professor of Law, Swansea UniversityAshley A. Mattheis, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Law and Government, Dublin City UniversityDavid Wells, Honorary Research Associate at the Cyber Threats Research Centre, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag: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/2093842023-07-31T12:21:15Z2023-07-31T12:21:15ZCyber governance in Africa is weak. Taking the Malabo Convention seriously would be a good start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538831/original/file-20230723-40270-cicrdz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">African countries are lagging behind in digital advancements.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>_Several African countries are pursuing digital transformation ambitions – applying new technologies to enhance the development of society. But concerns exist over the absence of appropriate policies across the continent to create a resilient and secure cyber environment. </p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/nifeanyiajufo/">Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo</a>, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25741292.2023.2199960">technology law expert</a>, explains the current cyber governance situation in Africa.</em></p>
<h2>What is cyber governance and why is it so important?</h2>
<p>Cyber governance is an important aspect of the international cybersecurity strategy for preventing and mitigating cyber threats. It features oversight processes, decision-making hierarchies and international cooperation. It also includes systems for accountability and responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. In recent years, cyber governance has been prominent in diplomatic and political agendas when regions or countries need to work together.</p>
<p>To promote digital transformation, cyberspace must be made secure and stable, using appropriate governance standards. </p>
<p>Digital transformation offers Africa tremendous opportunities. These include the economic empowerment of citizens, transparent governance and less corruption. But digital transformation can only happen on the continent if its digital spaces are trusted, secure and resilient. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-for-governments-to-help-their-citizens-deal-with-cybersecurity-100771">It's time for governments to help their citizens deal with cybersecurity</a>
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<h2>How are African governments doing on this front?</h2>
<p>Not very well. In 2014, the African Union Commission adopted the <a href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/29560-treaty-0048_-_african_union_convention_on_cyber_security_and_personal_data_protection_e.pdf">African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection</a>. It is also known as the Malabo Convention. It is supposed to provide principles and guidelines to ensure cybersecurity and stability in the region. </p>
<p><a href="https://dataprotection.africa/wp-content/uploads/2305121.pdf#page=2">Only 15</a> out of the 55 AU member states have ratified the convention. These include Ghana, Mauritius, Togo and Rwanda. </p>
<p>Cyber governance has political dimensions. African countries are rooted in historical and cultural contexts that have an impact on politics and governance. Governance mechanisms in the region are further affected by political instability and conflicts. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-south-africa-must-do-to-combat-cybercrime-186089">Five things South Africa must do to combat cybercrime</a>
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<p>The borderless nature of cyberspace presents particular challenges. This is especially so for African states that are accustomed to controlling activities in their territory. </p>
<p>The result of this has been a misunderstanding of cyber governance. This has manifested in internet shutdowns and restrictions of online activities for citizens. We have seen recent examples of this in <a href="https://theconversation.com/senegals-internet-shutdowns-are-another-sign-of-a-democracy-in-peril-207443">Senegal</a>, <a href="https://www.mfwa.org/network-disruptions-how-govts-in-west-africa-violated-internet-rights-in-2022/">Burkina Faso</a>, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/ethiopians-in-social-media-blackout-for-second-month/">Ethiopia</a> and <a href="https://www.mfwa.org/network-disruptions-how-govts-in-west-africa-violated-internet-rights-in-2022/">Nigeria</a>.</p>
<p>African leaders’ views on regulating the digital space vary. This is clear from their reluctance to ratify the Malabo Convention. </p>
<p>Often, international standards collide with the realities of developing states. This is true for states in Africa that are on the wrong side of the digital divide. This means they lack the capacity, skills and infrastructure to govern cyberspace to international standards. Overall, this limited institutional and technical capacity implies that effective cyber governance may not exist in practice for Africa. </p>
<p>There are some good stories, though. Ghana has <a href="https://africacenter.org/spotlight/ghana-multistakeholder-cyber-security/">ratified</a> the Malabo Convention and the <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/cybercrime/the-budapest-convention">Convention on Cybercrime</a> of 2001. It also passed a <a href="http://ir.parliament.gh/bitstream/handle/123456789/1800/CYBERSECURITY%20ACT%2C%202020%20%28ACT%201038%29.pdf?sequence=1">Cybercrime Act</a> into law in 2020 and has developed a robust <a href="https://afyonluoglu.org/PublicWebFiles/strategies/Africa/Ghana%202014%20National%20Cyber%20Security%20Policy%20and%20Strategy-EN.pdf">cybersecurity strategy</a>. </p>
<h2>What needs to happen to bring all countries in line?</h2>
<p>Preserving cyber stability is a collaborative effort. African countries need to find ways to work together to foster appropriate policies or strategies. Adopting the Malabo Convention would show that countries see the importance of cooperation in governing the digital environment. </p>
<p>Greater coordination is also necessary at a regional level. For example, the Southern African Development Community has adopted <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Cybersecurity/Documents/SADC%20Model%20Law%20Cybercrime.pdf">a model law on cybercrime</a>. The Economic Community of West African States has developed a <a href="https://issafrica.org/ctafrica/uploads/Directive%201:08:11%20on%20Fighting%20Cyber%20Crime%20within%20ECOWAS.pdf">directive on fighting cybercrime</a>. Regional organisations have a key role to play in formulating policies and delivering outcomes. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/senegals-internet-shutdowns-are-another-sign-of-a-democracy-in-peril-207443">Senegal's internet shutdowns are another sign of a democracy in peril</a>
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<p>Beyond ratifying the Malabo Convention, African states must also rethink best practices and the value of strategic regional partnerships. These partnerships are important because they create shared responsibility in a borderless space.</p>
<p>Africa must approach diplomacy strategically in this space and seek increased representation at global dialogues. The African Union remains largely absent from the evolving UN processes on cyber governance development. This implies that African interests, realities and domestic capabilities won’t get enough attention in the processes. There is also a need to bridge the institutional and technical gaps that have prevented African states from participating fully. </p>
<p>Committing to the Malabo Convention would provide a framework for united cyber governance norms and standards across the continent. As the international community continues to define these standards, Africa should be included.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209384/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo 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 borderless nature of cyberspace presents particular challenges for African states used to controlling activities in their territory.Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Professor of Technology Law, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2084832023-07-17T00:29:33Z2023-07-17T00:29:33ZWhy am I online? Research shows it’s often about managing emotions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536716/original/file-20230711-15-phqior.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C30%2C6639%2C4436&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>Most of us <a href="https://wearesocial.com/au/blog/2022/02/digital-2022-australia-online-like-never-before/">go online</a> multiple times a day. About half of 18–29 year olds surveyed in a 2021 <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/03/26/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-say-they-are-almost-constantly-online/">Pew Research Study</a> said they are “almost constantly” connected.</p>
<p>How are we to make sense of this significant digital dimension of modern life? </p>
<p>Many questions have rightly been asked about its broader consequences for society and the economy. But there remains a simpler question about what motivates people across a range of ages, occupations and cultures to be so absorbed in digital connection. </p>
<p>And we can turn this question on ourselves: <em>why am I online?</em></p>
<h2>What are we doing when we go online?</h2>
<p>As the American sociologist Erving Goffman <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1975/02/16/archives/frame-analysis.html">pointed out</a>, asking “What is it that’s going on here?” about human behaviour can yield answers framed at different levels. These range from our superficial motives to a deeper understanding of what we are “really” doing.</p>
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Read more:
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<p>Sometimes we might be content to explain our online behaviour in purely practical terms, like checking traffic routes or paying a bill. Other times we might struggle to articulate our reasons for going or remaining online. </p>
<p>Why are we continually looking at our phones or computers, when we could be getting on with physical tasks, or exercising, or meditating, or engaging more fully with the people who are physically around us?</p>
<h2>The ever-present need to manage our emotions</h2>
<p>As researchers of human-computer interaction, we are exploring answers in terms of the ever-present need to manage our emotions. Psychologists refer to this activity as <a href="https://www.guilford.com/books/Handbook-of-Emotion-Regulation/James-Gross/9781462520732">emotion regulation</a>. </p>
<p>Theories of the nature and function of emotions are complex and contested. However, it is safe to say they are expressions of felt needs and motivations that arise in us through some fusion of physiology and culture. </p>
<p>During a typical day, we often feel a need to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271">alter our emotional state</a>. We may wish to feel more serious about a competitive task or more sad at a funeral. Perhaps we would like to be less sad about events of the past, less angry when meeting an errant family member, or more angry about something we know in our heart is wrong. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PQkNb4CLjJ8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Digital emotion regulation is becoming increasingly common in our everyday lives.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One way to understand our frequent immersions into online experience is to see them as acts within a broader scheme of managing such daily emotional demands. Indeed, in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1071581922001732">earlier research</a> we found up to half of all smartphone use may be for the purpose of emotional regulation.</p>
<h2>Digital technologies are becoming key tools of emotion regulation</h2>
<p>Over the pandemic lockdowns of 2020–21 in Melbourne, Australia, we investigated how digital technologies are becoming <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3491102.3517573">key tools of emotion regulation</a>. We were surprised to find that people readily talked of their technology use in these emotion-managing terms. </p>
<p>Occasionally, this involved specially designed apps, for mindfulness and so on. But more often people relied on mundane tools, such as using social media alongside Zoom to combat feelings of boredom or isolation, browsing for “retail therapy”, playing phone games to de-stress, and searching online to alleviate anxiety about world events. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A photo of a person's hands holding a phone and playing a game." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536718/original/file-20230711-19-wir0ba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536718/original/file-20230711-19-wir0ba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536718/original/file-20230711-19-wir0ba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536718/original/file-20230711-19-wir0ba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536718/original/file-20230711-19-wir0ba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536718/original/file-20230711-19-wir0ba.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536718/original/file-20230711-19-wir0ba.jpeg?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">Playing games to unwind after work is one of many ways people use digital technology for emotion regulation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>To some extent, these uses of digital technology can be seen as re-packaging <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/026999399379285">traditional methods</a> of emotion management, such as listening to music, strengthening social connections, or enjoying the company of adorable animals. Indeed, people in our study used digital technologies to enact familiar strategies, such as immersion in selected situations, seeking distractions, and reappraising what a situation means. </p>
<p>However, we also found indications that digital tools are changing the intensity and nature of how we regulate emotions. They provide emotional resources that are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquitous_computing">nearly always available</a>, and virtual situations can be accessed, juxtaposed and navigated more deftly than their physical counterparts. </p>
<p>Some participants in our study described how they built what we called “emotional toolkits”. These are collections of digital resources ready to be deployed when needed, each for a particular emotional effect. </p>
<h2>A new kind of digital emotional intelligence</h2>
<p>None of this is to say emotion regulation is automatically and always a good thing. It can be a means of avoiding important and meaningful endeavours and it can itself become dysfunctional. </p>
<p>In our study of a small sample of Melburnians, we found that although digital applications appeared to be generally effective in this role, they are volatile and can lead to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/27/social-dilemma-media-facebook-twitter-society">unpredictable emotional outcomes</a>. A search for energising music or reassuring social contact, for example, can produce random or unwanted results. </p>
<p>A new kind of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10187756/">digital emotional intelligence</a> might be needed to effectively navigate digital emotional landscapes. </p>
<h2>An historic shift in everyday life</h2>
<p>Returning to the question: <em>what am I doing online?</em> Emotion regulation may well be the part of the answer. </p>
<p>You may be online for valid instrumental reasons. But equally, you are likely to be enacting your own strategies of <a href="https://cis.unimelb.edu.au/hci/projects/digitalemotionregulation">emotion regulation through digital means</a>.</p>
<p>It is part of an historic shift playing out in how people negotiate the demands of everyday life. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-comparing-technology-to-drugs-isnt-simply-a-question-of-addiction-80150">Why comparing technology to drugs isn't simply a question of addiction</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208483/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wally Smith receives funding from Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Wadley receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p>What are we really doing when we go online? New research suggests much of our digital activity is about regulating our own emotions.Wally Smith, Professor, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of MelbourneGreg Wadley, Senior Lecturer, Computing and Information Systems, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989792023-03-02T19:38:20Z2023-03-02T19:38:20ZProtecting privacy online begins with tackling ‘digital resignation’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512989/original/file-20230301-26-syl2am.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C8%2C5725%2C3819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Going online often involves surrendering some privacy, and many people are becoming resigned to the fact that their data will be collected and used without their explicit consent.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>From <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/26/the-biggest-risks-of-using-fitness-trackers-to-monitor-health.html">smart watches</a> and meditation apps to digital assistants and social media platforms, we interact with technology daily. And some of these technologies have <a href="https://childdatacitizen.com/coerced-digital-participation/">become an essential part of our social and professional lives</a>. </p>
<p>In exchange for access to their digital products and services, many tech companies collect and use our personal information. They use that information to predict and influence our future behaviour. This kind of <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/03/harvard-professor-says-surveillance-capitalism-is-undermining-democracy/">surveillance capitalism</a> can take the form of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-dark-side-of-alexa-siri-and-other-personal-digital-assistants-126277">recommendation algorithms</a>, targeted advertising and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-future-of-personalization-and-how-to-get-ready-for-it">customized experiences</a>. </p>
<p>Tech companies claim these personalized experiences and benefits enhance the user’s experience, however <a href="https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1554&context=asc_papers">the vast majority of consumers are unhappy with these practices</a>, especially after learning how their data is collected.</p>
<h2>‘Digital resignation’</h2>
<p><a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1478214">Public knowledge is lacking</a> when it comes to how data is collected. Research shows that corporations both cultivate feelings of resignation and <a href="https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1554&context=asc_papers">exploit this lack of literacy</a> to normalize the practice of maximizing the amount of data collected. </p>
<p>Events like the <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/cambridge-analytica-facebook-privacy-awakening/">Cambridge Analytica</a> scandal and revelations of mass government surveillance by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nsa-spying-idUSKBN25T3CK">Edward Snowden</a> shine a light on data collection practices, but they leave people powerless and resigned that their data will be collected and used without their explicit consent. This is called <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444819833331">“digital resignation”</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512979/original/file-20230301-22-br1873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A smartphone displaying the facebook logo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512979/original/file-20230301-22-br1873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512979/original/file-20230301-22-br1873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512979/original/file-20230301-22-br1873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512979/original/file-20230301-22-br1873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512979/original/file-20230301-22-br1873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512979/original/file-20230301-22-br1873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512979/original/file-20230301-22-br1873.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">In 2022 Facebook’s parent company, Meta, agreed to pay $725 million to settle a lawsuit concerning users’ personal information to be fed to Cambridge Analytica.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File</span></span>
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<p>But while there is much discussion surrounding the collection and use of personal data, there is far less discussion about the modus operandi of tech companies. </p>
<p><a href="https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/990750/">Our research</a> shows that tech companies use a variety of strategies to deflect responsibility for privacy issues, neutralize critics and prevent legislation. These strategies are designed to limit citizens’ abilities to make informed choices. </p>
<p>Policymakers and corporations themselves must acknowledge and correct these strategies. Corporate accountability for privacy issues cannot be achieved by addressing data collection and use alone. </p>
<h2>The pervasiveness of privacy violations</h2>
<p>In their study of harmful industries such as the tobacco and mining sectors, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/653091">Peter Benson and Stuart Kirsch</a> identified strategies of denial, deflection and symbolic action used by corporations to deflect criticism and prevent legislation.</p>
<p>Our research shows that these strategies hold true in the tech industry. Facebook has a long history of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/23/cambridge-analytica-facebook-response-internal-document">denying and deflecting responsibility</a> for privacy issues despite its numerous scandals and criticisms.</p>
<p>Amazon has also been harshly criticized for providing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jul/13/amazon-ring-doorbell-videos-police-11-times-without-permission">Ring security camera footage to law enforcement officials without a warrant or customer consent</a>, sparking <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/02/lapd-requested-ring-footage-black-lives-matter-protests">civil rights concerns</a>. The company has also created <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/20/23362010/ring-nation-mgm-amazon-mark-burnett-barry-poznick-civil-rights-cancel">a reality show using Ring security camera footage</a>. </p>
<p>Canadian and U.S. federal government employees have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/canada-follows-u-s-europe-with-tiktok-ban-on-government-devices-2273b07f">recently been banned from downloading TikTok</a> onto their devices due to an “unacceptable” risk to privacy. TikTok has launched <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/2/23583491/tiktok-transparency-center-tour-photos-bytedance">an elaborate spectacle of symbolic action</a> with the opening of its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxfIGVQTfWQ">Transparency and Accountability Center</a>. This cycle of denial, deflection and symbolic action normalizes privacy violations and fosters cynicism, resignation and disengagement.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512973/original/file-20230301-424-zveqs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and silver ring doorbell on a door frame." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512973/original/file-20230301-424-zveqs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512973/original/file-20230301-424-zveqs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512973/original/file-20230301-424-zveqs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512973/original/file-20230301-424-zveqs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512973/original/file-20230301-424-zveqs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512973/original/file-20230301-424-zveqs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512973/original/file-20230301-424-zveqs2.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">Amazon has faced criticism for creating a new reality show based on footage captured by Ring doorbells.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>How to stop digital resignation</h2>
<p>Technology permeates every aspect of our daily lives. But informed consent is impossible when the average person is neither motivated nor <a href="https://ndg.asc.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Persistent-Misperceptions.pdf">knowledgeable enough</a> to read terms and conditions policies designed to confuse.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age_en">European Union</a> has recently enacted laws that recognize these harmful market dynamics and have started holding platforms and tech companies <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/tech/twitter-eu-compliance-warning/index.html">accountable</a>. </p>
<p>Québec has recently revised its privacy laws with <a href="https://www.quebec.ca/gouvernement/ministeres-et-organismes/institutions-democratique-acces-information-laicite/acces-documents-protection-renseignements-personnels/pl64-modernisation-de-la-protection-des-renseignements-personnels">Law 25</a>. The law is designed to provide citizens with increased protection and control over their personal information. It gives people the ability to request their personal information and move it to another system, to rectify or delete it (<a href="https://gdpr.eu/right-to-be-forgotten/">the right to be forgotten</a>) as well as the right to be informed when being subjected to automated decision making. </p>
<p>It also requires organizations to appoint a privacy officer and committee, and conduct privacy impact assessments for every project where personal information is involved. Terms and policies must also be communicated clearly and transparently and consent must be explicitly obtained.</p>
<p>At the federal level, the government has tabled <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/innovation-better-canada/en/canadas-digital-charter/bill-summary-digital-charter-implementation-act-2020">Bill C-27, the <em>Digital Charter Implementation Act</em></a> and is currently under review by the House of Commons. It bears many resemblances to Québec’s Law 25 and also includes additional measures to regulate technologies such as artificial intelligence systems.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512971/original/file-20230301-20-41o1s8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A laptop showing a terms and conditions document." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512971/original/file-20230301-20-41o1s8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512971/original/file-20230301-20-41o1s8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512971/original/file-20230301-20-41o1s8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512971/original/file-20230301-20-41o1s8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512971/original/file-20230301-20-41o1s8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512971/original/file-20230301-20-41o1s8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512971/original/file-20230301-20-41o1s8.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">Online terms and conditions are often too long and difficult for consumers to understand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our findings highlight the urgent need for more privacy literacy and stronger regulations that not just regulate what is permitted, but also monitor and make accountable the firms who breach consumer privacy. This would ensure informed consent to data collection and disincentivize violations. We recommend that: </p>
<p>1) Tech companies must explicitly specify what personal data will be collected and used. Only essential data should be collected and customers should be able to opt out of non-essential data collection. This is similar to the <a href="https://gdpr.eu/cookies/">EU’s General Data Protection Regulation</a> to obtain user consent before using non-essential cookies or <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT212025">Apple’s App Tracking Transparency</a> feature which allows users to block apps from tracking them.</p>
<p>2) Privacy regulations must also recognize and address the rampant use of <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22351108/dark-patterns-ui-web-design-privacy">dark patterns</a> to influence people’s behaviour, such as coercing them into providing consent. This can include the use of design elements, language or features such as making it difficult to decline non-essential cookies or making the button to provide more personal data more prominent than the opt-out button.</p>
<p>3) Privacy oversight bodies such as the <a href="https://www.priv.gc.ca/en">Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada</a> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/houston-privacy-commissioner-promise-may-be-softening-1.6624079">must be fully independent</a> and authorized to investigate and <a href="https://financialpost.com/news/privacy-watchdogs-lament-lack-powers-tim-hortons-probe">enforce privacy regulations</a>.</p>
<p>4) While privacy laws like Québec’s require organizations to appoint a privacy officer, the role must also be fully independent and given the power to enforce compliance with privacy laws if it is to be effective in improving accountability.</p>
<p>5) Policymakers must be more proactive in updating legislation to account for the rapid advances of digital technology. </p>
<p>6) Finally, penalties for non-compliance often pale in comparison to the profits gained and social harms from misuse of data. For example, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2019/07/ftc-imposes-5-billion-penalty-sweeping-new-privacy-restrictions-facebook">a $5 billion penalty on Facebook</a> (5.8 per cent of its <a href="https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2021/Facebook-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2020-Results/default.aspx">2020 annual revenue</a>) for its role in the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/23/17151916/facebook-cambridge-analytica-trump-diagram">Cambridge Analytica scandal</a>.</p>
<p>While this fine is the highest ever given by the FTC, it is not representative of the social and political impacts of the scandal and its influence in <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/595338116/what-did-cambridge-analytica-do-during-the-2016-election">key political events</a>. In some cases, it may be more profitable for a company to strategically pay a fine for non-compliance. </p>
<p>To make tech giants more responsible with their users’ data, the cost of breaching data privacy must outweigh the potential profits of exploiting consumer data.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198979/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>Many people have become resigned to the fact that tech companies collect our private data. But policymakers must do more to limit the amount of personal information corporations can collect.Meiling Fong, PhD Student, Individualized Program, Concordia UniversityZeynep Arsel, Concordia University Chair in Consumption, Markets, and Society, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1964452023-01-19T13:07:38Z2023-01-19T13:07:38ZLiver King: how the rise of mega-influencers has put consumers at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505339/original/file-20230119-25-9o6dve.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C1982%2C970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In his videos, Liver King is regularly seen eating platefuls of bull's testicles, raw animal livers and cows' brains.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/liverking/">Instagram/@LiverKing</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the age of vloggers, influencers and content creators it might seem hard to imagine a world without YouTube. But back when the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw&vl=en">first ever video</a> was uploaded in April 2005, showing a man visiting a zoo, it was not really clear who would want to watch it, or how YouTube could make money. </p>
<p>These days, anyone can make money online by building a brand around being themselves – or not – as Liver King, an extremely buff fitness creator recently found out. <a href="https://www.liverking.com">Liver King</a>, is the social media personality of Brian Johnson, a muscular and often shirtless TikTok star who promotes “ancestral living” as something he does to be “strong, healthy and happy (autoimmune-free, eczema-free, allergy-free, fatigue-free”. For Johnson, this means eating platefuls of bull’s testicles, raw animal livers and cows’ brains.</p>
<p>He sells his lifestyle in the form of nutritional supplements, personalised dietary advice, as well as workout exercises – and he also promotes different services and products to his 1.7 million followers on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/liverking/?hl=en">Instagram</a> and 3.8 million followers on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@liverking?lang=en">TikTok</a>.</p>
<p>That is, he did until leaked emails revealed that Johnson’s looks were not so much explained by the performance of his products, but by a monthly <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11500623/Liver-King-45-admits-lying-taking-steroids-achieve-muscular-physique.html">US$12,000 (£10,000) investment in steroids</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKpmAGZQetc">which he hid from his fans</a>. Liver King is now being <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/28/ny-man-sues-liver-king-for-deceiving-consumers-about-diet/">sued for US$25 million</a> by his followers who feel they were tricked into buying his muscle-building supplements.</p>
<h2>How it began</h2>
<p>For as long as the internet has been in existence, users have been searching for creative (and sometimes scandalous) ways to monetise themselves. Back in the early days, some tried to ride the e-commerce wave, going as far as using auctioning websites to sell <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/01/nyregion/our-towns-a-boy-named-soup.html">the right to name their unborn child</a>, or <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=127755&page=1">their own virginity</a>. </p>
<p>Others went the advertising route, auctioning off parts of their face to become walking billboards for internet companies willing to pay them. <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/avyd8a/the-sad-saga-of-hostgator-m-dotcom-812">Hostgator M. Dotcom</a> was one of them. Between 2005 and 2008, he acquired around 30 ads on his face (mostly for porn websites and online casinos) before his body’s real estate value plummeted from four to two figures.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjQdrvSL1rR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>The Liver King exposé may have been shocking to fans, but influencer-related scandals are nothing new. And one of the biggest, the infamous 2017 <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7xwabq/fyre-fest-organizers-blew-all-their-money-months-early-on-models-planes-and-yachts">Fyre Festival</a>, that went bust after the organisers spent tremendous amounts of money on Instagram influencers and hidden advertising, marked a shift to the age of the mega-influencer. </p>
<p>Be they famous people from the “real” world – like sports stars and entertainers – or native internet celebrities such as YouTubers like <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/jenna-marbles-what-happened-youtube-nicki-minaj-b2133892.html">Jenna Marbles</a>, this was a time when influencer marketing became a desirable internet sales strategy. Anybody with a following, a phone and a YouTube account could start making (a lot of) money from brand deals. </p>
<h2>The internet entrepreneur</h2>
<p>These days mega-influencers are no longer the only stakeholders of an ever-growing industry. Instead, monetisation options on social media platforms have exploded, meaning that more and more people now make a living online. As mapped in <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2022/703350/IPOL_STU(2022)703350_EN.pdf">a recent study for the European Parliament</a>, subscriptions, donations from live streams and the selling of merchandise or digital content online is big business. </p>
<p>Even the terminology has changed: from the advertising-ridden “influencers”, to “<a href="https://reallifemag.com/name-of-the-game/">content creators</a>” – everyday internet entrepreneurs monetising their identity on the social media platforms of their choice. Just like the Liver King, who has fans and subscribers on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook, creators are often active on many platforms simultaneously. They combine whatever options they can to maximise their activity, depending on the algorithms of the platform as well as consumer trends. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BKpmAGZQetc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Through their content, creators establish trust, relatability and authenticity with their audiences. This one-sided relationship that a social media user engages in with a media persona is known as a “<a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-parasocial-relationship-5210770">parasocial relationship</a>”. This is where users form attachments with public figures that feel (and are) very real. <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA621689770&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=01444646&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Edbc6efc">Research shows</a> that these kinds of relationships can influence a person’s beliefs, attitudes and purchasing behaviour as well as levels of trust in various groups.</p>
<p>And when creators withhold their commercial incentives or hide inconvenient truths (see Liver King) they lie to and mislead their audiences. From a legal perspective, this raises many questions. </p>
<h2>More transparency</h2>
<p>Branded content, paid partnerships and content creation can open up whole new worlds to online entrepreneurs but it’s also important to acknowledge that commercial activity comes with <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/static/uploaded/3af39c72-76e1-4a59-b2b47e81a034cd1d.pdf">certain legal obligations</a> though currently the rules vary from one country to another. In the UK, for example, an influencer must disclose when they’ve received any form of monetary payment, a loan of a product or service, or have been given the product they’re posting about for free.</p>
<p>In my current <a href="https://erc.europa.eu/news/erc-starting-grants-2021-project-highlights">project</a>, which looks at how to tame influencer marketing, I want to find out what stricter transparency obligations on social media platforms might look like and if these are needed. </p>
<p>Many governments around the world, including in the <a href="https://ukparliament.shorthandstories.com/influencer-culture-DCMS-report/index.html?utm_source=committees.parliament.uk&utm_medium=referrals&utm_campaign=influencer-culture-report&utm_content=organic">UK</a>, <a href="https://www.ouest-france.fr/high-tech/instagram/pratiques-douteuses-conflits-d-interets-les-influenceurs-dans-le-viseur-du-gouvernement-979ec1e0-778e-11ed-8b33-be46011093e6">France</a> and the <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/advertising-marketing/endorsements-influencers-reviews">US</a>, have been already <a href="https://presse.economie.gouv.fr/section/les-ministres/bruno-le-maire/">investigating how to further regulate influencers</a>. And I believe that this is something that needs to happen sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Indeed, given that many of us can struggle to tell the difference between <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/recognising-ads-social-media.html">ads and regular content</a> online it’s clear that influencers could be doing a lot more in the way of transparency.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catalina Goanta receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant). </span></em></p>Liver King: scandal shows why more regulation is needed for TikTok and Instagram stars.Catalina Goanta, Associate Professor Law, Economics and Governance, Utrecht UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1942572022-11-17T14:19:39Z2022-11-17T14:19:39ZSocial media campaigns can be effective – if offline action is also taken. A case study from Ghana<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494819/original/file-20221111-18-fkr2kh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ghana's protest culture has grown along with the spread of social media</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dieu-Donné Gameli/Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ghana has about six million social media users out of a population of <a href="https://census2021.statsghana.gov.gh/">31 million</a>. WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube are the three dominant social media platforms, while Instagram and Twitter are gradually gaining popularity. </p>
<p>Most users are young, educated and in the middle class or above. Men outnumber women online. </p>
<p>Ghanaian political parties have used social media largely to complement their traditional communication channels. This was particularly true in the 2012, 2016 and 2020 general elections. </p>
<p>But a new trend is emerging – the use of social media for online activism. This was evident in the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/7/14/occupy-flagstaff-house-wake-up-call-for-ghanas-democracy">#OccupyFlagstaffHouse</a> and <a href="https://citifmonline.com/2014/07/red-friday-protest-against-govt-begins-today/">#RedFriday</a> 2014 campaigns. </p>
<p>The #OccupyFlagstaffHouse campaign was the first to be launched on Facebook and Twitter, on 28 June 2014. It was started by regular citizens engaging online. Within four days, it led to a demonstration at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Ghana’s capital and picketing at Flagstaff House, Ghana’s presidential palace and seat of government. </p>
<p>Ten days after the #OccupyFlagstaffHouse demonstration, the organisers launched “The Red Campaign” (#RedFriday), aimed at compelling the government to address the issues raised in the first demonstration. The campaign encouraged Ghanaians to wear red on Fridays to indicate solidarity with the campaign, and to post photos and videos of themselves on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtags #RedFriday and #OccupyFlagstaffHouse.</p>
<p>In my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14791420.2022.2130950">research paper</a>, I set out to highlight the synergy between social movement theory and social media critical discourse studies.</p>
<p>I conclude from my findings that the leaders of Occupy Ghana did some work in the physical world that enhanced their online campaign. I, therefore, argue that social media campaigns and digital activism can be fruitful if they are followed up by practical offline actions. The absence of action on the streets can result in people supporting a cause by performing simple measures without being truly engaged or devoted to making a change. This has been termed “slacktivism” in the literature.</p>
<h2>A digital warpath</h2>
<p>I based the study on <a href="https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/socialtheory/n278.xml#:%7E:text=Social%20movement%20theory%20attempts%20to,mobilization%2C%20and%20political%20process%20theories.">social movement theory</a>, which delineates how and why people mobilise themselves for sociopolitical action, as well as the effect of such action.</p>
<p>The data for this study comprised tweets produced by and interactions involving the OccupyGhana Official Twitter account before, during, and after the #OccupyFlagstaffHouse and #RedFriday campaigns. </p>
<p>The name of the Twitter handle is @occupyGh. The sample spanned 12 months of activity, from 28 June 2014 to 30 June 2015.</p>
<p>The analysis showed three mechanisms used in the tweets to promote the objectives of the protesters and put pressure on the government to tackle the issues responsible for the debilitating economic situation. </p>
<p>Specifically, the tweets performed a dual function of social activism in the form of promoting critical awareness and preparing the ground for an offline demonstration.</p>
<p><strong>Constructing the Ghanaian government as insensitive.</strong> The tweeters represented the Ghanaian government as an uncaring administration that showed little-to-no concern for the plight of Ghanaians. Tweets that expressed this constituted about 37% of the entire dataset:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>TWT 31. The government has been slow to respond to our #OccupyFlagstaffHouse petition. The cedi hasn’t fared better. The economy isn’t better.
TWT 36. The reason this government is not getting citizen support is that they deny what the real effects of their lack of ideas is on the masses.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In these tweets, the protesters, via a referential strategy realised by noun phrases such as “the government”, “this government”, “our government” and “they”, explicitly identify the entity they consider to be responsible for their predicament.</p>
<p><strong>Representing Ghanaians as the suffering masses.</strong> Positioning themselves as the voice of the people, the protesters construct Ghanaians as a people suffering due to poor leadership, bad governance and mismanagement of the economy. These constituted approximately 39% of the tweets analysed.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>TWT 247. #RedFriday because we are all living under increasingly harsh conditions and with IMF, we are likely to have worsened living conditions.
TWT 248. #RedFriday because workers face rapidly declining real wages due to the depreciation of the currency and increasing inflation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Using expressions such as “dire economic conditions”, “worsened living conditions”, “increasingly harsh conditions” and “declining wages”, the tweeters frame the people of Ghana as victims of an irresponsible government; hence the need to “remind our president that he promised us a better Ghana”.</p>
<p><strong>Exploiting stance for sociopolitical objectives.</strong> Stance is a term that refers to “the lexical and grammatical expression of attitudes, feelings, judgements or commitment concerning the propositional content of a message”. It gives an indication of how writers present themselves and communicate their opinions and commitment. Stance enables writers to position themselves in relation to others and to “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1461445605050365">stamp their personal authority onto their arguments or step back and disguise their involvement</a>”. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>TWT 73. #RedFriday demands @JDMahama should make prudent economic and social
policies that would make the standard of living better for Ghanaians.
TWT 74. #RedFriday demands Government should manage the exchange rate and save the #Ghana Cedi from the current free fall to prevent price hikes.
TWT 117. What do we want from all this? That we will hand to our children a Ghana better than we inherited from our fathers. #redFriday</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The use of stance in the form of “evidentiality”, “affect” and “presence”
helped the protesters project their positions and underline their advocacy and civic engagement commitments to persuade the masses to support the goals of the protest.</p>
<h2>Proof</h2>
<p>The Occupy Ghana pressure group was founded in 2014 as a result of the #OccupyFlagstaffHouse and #RedFriday campaigns. It continues to play a pivotal role in national discussions. Its leaders and members make regular media appearances, and it has built alliances and partnerships with other civil society organisations, think tanks and political pressure groups to analyse and review public policies and initiatives. </p>
<p>The movement is an example of how social media campaigns and digital activism can be fruitful if they are followed up by practical and strategic offline actions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Nartey 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>Digital activism can be fruitful if it is followed up by practical and strategic offline actions.Mark Nartey, Lecturer, English Language and Linguistics, University of the West of EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1930602022-11-16T13:27:38Z2022-11-16T13:27:38ZMath teachers in virtual classes tend to view girls and Black students as less capable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494491/original/file-20221109-16841-a4qjc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C125%2C6970%2C4387&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Black boys are more likely than white students to be identified as potentially in need of special education.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/growing-his-mind-royalty-free-image/1159785349?phrase=remote%20learning%20kids&adppopup=true">Hiraman via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>In virtual classrooms, math teachers deem Black students as less capable than white students. They also view girls as less capable than boys. That’s what we found after we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104627">conducted an experiment</a> with 1,000 teachers in schools throughout the United States. </p>
<p>For our experiment, we had teachers evaluate student answers to various math problems. Those answers were accompanied by images of different students online. We asked them to tell us how correct the students’ answers were. We also asked them to tell us how capable they thought the student was and how likely they would be to refer the student to be tested for a special education program to get extra help, or a gifted program, which would enable them to do more advanced work. We randomly changed the images of students presenting their solutions in Zoom classes to show Black and white girls and boys. However, the solutions stayed the same. </p>
<p>We found that teachers more often thought the student needed to be tested for special education when they saw a screenshot of a Black student explaining their answer rather than a white student. The teachers more often thought the student was gifted if the screenshot showed a boy rather than a girl. </p>
<p>Furthermore, our study showed that when teachers work in schools that serve higher concentrations of Black students, they often assumed that Black students had less math ability than white students. They also considered them more in need of instructional support. But in schools with virtually no Black students, teachers were more likely to say that white boys should be tested for a gifted and talented program than white girls. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Our experiment suggests teachers are identifying Black students as potentially having disabilities more often than white students who produced the same answers to math problems. Further, girls are not being given equal chances to be placed in gifted programs even when they give answers identical to those given by boys.</p>
<p>As virtual instruction is expected to become <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-1.html">more commonplace</a> than before the pandemic, our study warns that virtual classrooms may perpetuate the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19890577">same biases</a> that exist in traditional school settings. </p>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16644606">Researchers</a> are still trying to understand whether the overrepresentation of minority students in special education is the result of systematic racial bias.</p>
<p>As we found in this study and in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19890577">our prior work</a>, teachers assumed boys had a higher ability than girls when both gave answers that were not fully correct. Such blind trust in boys’ math ability can boost their confidence and may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba7377">embolden them to pursue math-intensive fields at a higher rate</a> than girls, who are not seen by teachers as having as high a math ability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193060/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yasemin Copur-Gencturk receives funding from the Joan Herman and Richard Rasiej Mathematics Initiative. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Cimpian receives funding from the Institute of Education Sciences and the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Thacker 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>Researchers found that students are being judged by their race and gender, not how well they do math.Yasemin Copur-Gencturk, Associate Professor of Education, University of Southern CaliforniaIan Thacker, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, The University of Texas at San AntonioJoseph Cimpian, Professor of Economics and Education Policy, New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1927912022-11-09T14:13:42Z2022-11-09T14:13:42ZDigital activism: study shows the internet has helped women in urban Ghana and Nigeria raise their voices<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491369/original/file-20221024-6143-daep55.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women in rural areas have limited access to the internet. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Information technology and the internet have proven to be a strong force for building collective action groups and mobilising communities of protesters. Among the main advantages of digital and online activism are its increasing accessibility (relatively low-cost and easy to use), its speed, and the ability to reach large numbers of people around the world. </p>
<p>Digital activists can protest and advance their cause using a variety of digital tools. They include websites for online petitions (such as Change.org and Avaaz.org), social networks (Facebook, YouTube, Myspace), blogs (as a form of citizen journalism), micro-blogging (Twitter), mobile phones and proxy servers. </p>
<p>These digital platforms can connect with a large community and at both local and international levels. The interconnected nature of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook makes it easy to share information. Activists can post messages, slogans, photos and instructions more easily than using the traditional street protests or door-to-door mobilisation strategies. </p>
<p>The drawback of digital campaigning, however, is that the same tools can be used for hate speech and misinformation. This has sometimes endangered the goals of such campaigns.</p>
<p>Women’s rights groups in Nigeria and Ghana are among social movements that have these tools at their disposal. Groups like Female in Nigeria and Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana seek to empower women economically and politically. They also advocate for women’s rights to education, respect, social justice and inclusion in political leadership. They protest against violence and victimisation and call attention to inequalities.</p>
<p>As a scholar of social media and society, I carried out a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17405904.2021.1999287">study</a> to investigate women advocacy action groups in Nigeria and Ghana and how digital communication may have enhanced or limited their actions and objectives.</p>
<p>My findings show that social media give women advocacy groups a voice, allowing them to speak more freely in a context of traditional patriarchy. This shows the importance of technology in shaping social life. Women in these countries are demanding change – and change is happening. But the groups’ reach is limited mostly to urban areas because access to the internet is constrained in rural areas. </p>
<h2>A safe space</h2>
<p>For my study, I drew on the websites of women advocacy groups in Nigeria and Ghana and posts on their social media platforms. I used computer-mediated discourse analysis, a method of analysing online interactions and their implications for society. The analysis considers information about the people interacting online, their relationship with one another, their purposes for communicating, what they are communicating about and the kind of language they use.</p>
<p>The groups I looked at were the <a href="https://nigerianwomentrustfund.org/">Nigerian Women Trust Fund</a>, Nigerian League of Women Voters, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (<a href="https://kind.org/">KIND</a>), <a href="https://genced.org/">Gender Centre For Empowering Development</a> and <a href="https://landportal.org/fr/organization/network-women%E2%80%99s-rights-ghana#:%7E:text=The%20Network%20for%20Women's%20Rights,to%20strengthen%20women's%20human%20rights.">Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana</a>. </p>
<p>These groups have been very active for some time. They target public audiences, including the government and other interest groups. </p>
<p>My focus was on campaigns for political empowerment rather than access to economic and material resources.</p>
<p>These groups’ websites were notably non-confrontational in style. They promoted group activities, created public awareness, and sought feedback and involvement. Mostly the language was used to inform, report and claim, and to describe events and processes. Sometimes it was used to give direction, such as appealing for and inviting certain actions.</p>
<p>English was the language used for most of the website content.</p>
<p>The groups were not only active via their websites but also on their social media platforms, particularly Twitter and Facebook. Campaign messages on these platforms were different from those on the websites. They celebrated successful female politicians and expressed resistance and hope. They showed solidarity with inspiring women parliamentarians and other role models, and mobilised support for women running for political office.</p>
<p>Messages on social media called for members to participate in rallies and offline protests, demand change and reject the marginalisation and victimisation of female politicians.</p>
<p>The messages did not explicitly challenge male authority, but asked for a fair chance for women to decide on issues that affect their lives. </p>
<p>Other campaign messages were about group activities such as webinars and training for women aspiring to political office. </p>
<p>The language used tended to be encouraging towards women, and not hostile to men.</p>
<h2>Room for improvement</h2>
<p>With the <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation">backing</a> of the United Nations and the African Union, women in African countries are achieving progress. Rwanda, for example, has the <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/best-countries-women-in-politics-equality/">world’s highest level</a> of female representation in government, at 61%. </p>
<p>The number of women in government in sub-Saharan Africa <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2019-july-2019/african-women-politics-miles-go-parity-achieved#:%7E:text=(812%20out%20of%203922).,Map%20of%20Women%20in%20Politics.">grew to a regional average</a> of 23.7% in 2018. In Ghana, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1244930/share-of-female-seats-in-parliament-in-ghana/">14% of seats in parliament</a> are held by women after the election in 2020. <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/528219-low-number-of-women-in-politics-bane-of-nigerias-development-minister.html">In Nigeria</a>, the House of Representatives has 18 female members (5%) out of 360 while the Senate has eight women (7%) out of 109 members. </p>
<p>Further progress will depend in part on the challenges that online activism faces. These problems are not particularly related to the content and character of online communication, but rather to access to technology. Urban women have an advantage over women in rural areas because of their access to the internet. </p>
<p>In Ghana and Nigeria, the internet doesn’t reach rural areas due to perceived low revenues and steep investment cost. Technology companies don’t invest where the population is small or sparsely distributed.</p>
<p>So it is difficult for people in rural areas to access online-based advocacy forums and training. </p>
<p>While online activism of the women’s empowerment advocates is effective, it is limited to a small percentage of the population. Women are still grossly underrepresented in Nigeria and Ghana.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192791/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Innocent Chiluwa 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>Only a small percentage of women in rural areas have access to the Internet, so participation in online activism is limited to urban centres.Innocent Chiluwa, Professor, Language and Media/Digital Communications, Covenant UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1895282022-08-30T20:04:38Z2022-08-30T20:04:38ZWhy do people overshare online? 5 expert tips for avoiding social media scandal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481698/original/file-20220830-12804-ucjkc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C41%2C5512%2C3638&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/e7jq0NH9Fbg">Steve Gale / Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Social media are increasingly blurring the lines between our personal and professional lives, leaving us at risk of posting sensitive information that could have ramifications far beyond our “friends” list.</p>
<p>Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin recently found this out the hard way after a video of her <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/finnish-pm-sanna-marin-seen-partying-in-leaked-video/news-story/ee2c1b2a86add23a7d693598a20d2631">dancing and drinking</a> with friends, first posted to a private Instagram account, was leaked to the press. Marin was forced to apologise, and even volunteered for a drug test, after enduring a worldwide media storm.</p>
<p>Other kinds of oversharing can have consequences, too. In 2020, police in Australia shared photos of <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/thirteen-victoria-police-employees-suspended-or-transferred-over-dean-laidley-photos-20200717-p55d39.html">arrested ex-footballer Dani Laidley</a> in a private WhatsApp group, and the photos were then made public. Thirteen officers were suspended or transferred, with some facing charges for privacy and human rights breaches.</p>
<p>Many employers are <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7877807/parliament-house-crackdown-on-public-servants-social-media/">introducing policies</a> to reduce this kind of risk. <a href="https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2021/user_behaivors/user_behaivors/5/">Our research</a> shows what drives much online oversharing – and we can offer some tips to keep yourself clear of social media scandal.</p>
<h2>The personal and professional risks of oversharing</h2>
<p>People have different preferences for boundaries between their professional and personal lives. Some prefer to keep their work relationships formal, while others treat colleagues as friends. </p>
<p>However, even if we choose to maintain strong boundaries between our professional and personal lives, we may still find details of our lives divulged on social media by others.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.webroot.com/gb/en/resources/tips-articles/hey-teens-chances-are-youll-regret-oversharing-information-online">Research</a> has reported more than half of us feel anxious about family, friends and colleagues sharing information, photos or videos we do not want to be shared publicly. Yet many of us also reveal an inappropriate amount of detail about our own lives (“oversharing”) on social media, and regret it later.</p>
<p>Beyond the potential for embarrassment, indiscriminate sharing on social media can have significant negative consequences for your professional life. Many employers actively use social media to <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-half-of-employers-have-found-content-on-social-media-that-caused-them-not-to-hire-a-candidate-according-to-recent-careerbuilder-survey-300694437.html">research job candidates</a>, while some employees have <a href="https://careers.workopolis.com/advice/6-people-who-were-fired-for-social-media-posts/">lost their jobs</a> due to social media posts.</p>
<h2>Emotions drive oversharing</h2>
<p>Why are so many of us prone to oversharing? <a href="https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2021/user_behaivors/user_behaivors/5/">Our research</a> suggests emotions are central. </p>
<p>When we feel strong emotions, we often use social media to communicate with and get support from friends, family and colleagues. We might share good news when we feel happy or excited, or anger and frustration might drive us to vent about our employers.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-overshare-the-long-and-gendered-history-of-tmi-45070">To overshare: the long and gendered history of TMI</a>
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<p>When emotional, it is easy for us to cross the boundary between work and social life, underestimating the consequences of social media posts that can quickly go viral.</p>
<p>We have five simple tips for people to avoid oversharing and creating a social media scandal for themselves or others.</p>
<h2>1. Set clear boundaries between personal life and work</h2>
<p>Be clear about the boundaries between your social life and work. Set rules, limits and acceptable behaviours to protect these boundaries. </p>
<p>Let your friends, colleagues and family know your expectations. If someone oversteps your boundaries, raise your concerns. Consider your relationship with individuals who do not respect your boundaries. </p>
<p>You can also establish boundaries by maintaining separate professional and social accounts on different social media platforms, and only sharing things relevant to work on your professional account.</p>
<h2>2. Respect the boundaries of others</h2>
<p>Be aware of and respect the boundaries of others. Don’t share photos or videos of others without their permission. </p>
<p>If someone doesn’t want their photo to be taken, video to be recorded or their name to be tagged, respect their wishes. Treat others on social media the same way you would like to be treated.</p>
<h2>3. Lock down your social media accounts</h2>
<p>Adjust your privacy settings to control who can view your profile and posts. </p>
<p>Most social media platforms provide features to help users protect their privacy online. Facebook’s “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/443357099140264">Privacy Checkup tool</a>”, for example, lets you see what you’re sharing and with whom. </p>
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<p>Also consider what information you place in your profile. If you don’t want your personal social media profile associated with your employer, do not list your employer in your profile. </p>
<h2>4. Share consciously to avoid mistakes</h2>
<p>Do not use social media when you feel emotional. Especially if you are feeling strong emotions like hurt, anger or excitement, give yourself time to process your feelings before posting. </p>
<p>Ask yourself: How many people will see this post? Would anyone be hurt? Does anyone benefit? Would I feel comfortable if my colleagues or supervisors saw this? </p>
<p>Assume what you share can be seen by your friends, enemies, colleagues, boss and another 5,000 people. Stop if you don’t want any of them to see what you’re thinking about posting.</p>
<h2>5. If you do overshare, try to remove unwanted content</h2>
<p>Oversharing and accidental posting are not uncommon. If you have posted unwanted content, remove it immediately. </p>
<p>If you are concerned about information about yourself on someone else’s social media, raise your concerns and ask the person who posted to remove it. </p>
<p>If the information has spread through multiple sources, it is a bit tricky, but it is worth trying to contact the website or service that hosts the information or image to remove the content. </p>
<p>If you need further assistance with removing online content, you can also try a <a href="https://www.contentremoval.com/about">content removal service</a>.</p>
<h2>Posting is forever</h2>
<p>Be aware that nothing shared over social media is private. Even “private” messages can easily be forwarded, screenshotted, posted and shared elsewhere.</p>
<p>You should treat social media content like your personal brand. If you wouldn’t say it to your colleagues and managers, don’t post it online.</p>
<p>Social media can enrich our professional and personal lives, but ill-considered posts and oversharing can be damaging to yourself and others. Being smart on social media is something we need to get better at in our professional lives, just as much as our personal lives.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-delete-your-social-media-but-cant-bring-yourself-to-do-it-here-are-some-ways-to-take-that-step-176149">Want to delete your social media, but can't bring yourself to do it? Here are some ways to take that step</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189528/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>Research shows strong emotions are what drives oversharing online – but there are simple things you can do to keep your social media professional.Van-Hau Trieu, Senior Lecturer in Information Systems, Deakin UniversityVanessa Cooper, Professor, Information Systems, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1892632022-08-25T14:40:08Z2022-08-25T14:40:08ZSocial media ads are about to change – how new rules on content marketing will affect what you see and share<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480614/original/file-20220823-8395-7uzyfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C27%2C5979%2C3944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Content marketing encourages social media users to like and share posts. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/freelance-woman-using-laptop-computer-marketing-1130593820">24Novembers / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We’ve all scrolled through social media and come across a witty post shared by a friend. Perhaps it references a <a href="https://sayingimages.com/friends-meme/">favourite TV show</a>, or speaks to your <a href="https://tenor.com/search/me-right-now-gifs">current mood</a>. If you were intrigued enough to click on it, you may have been surprised to discover it’s actually an ad for fast food, fashion or even gambling. </p>
<p>Such ads, with no apparent connection to the product and which are not overtly trying to sell you something, are called content marketing. The UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has recently <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/news/remit-statement-content-marketing-for-gambling-products-online.html">decided</a> that most content marketing ads fall under its regulations. While this decision was in relation to gambling specifically, an ASA spokesperson provided the following statement to The Conversation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our remit applies in the same way to advertising for all sectors, so the statement we published for gambling reflects how we’d approach content marketing from other industries such as alcohol brands or fast food chains. The vast majority of social media content from marketers is within our remit and therefore subject to our rules.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This could cause a major shift in the types of ads we see online.</p>
<p>Content marketing is everywhere on social media – big names like supermarket chain <a href="https://twitter.com/AldiUK/status/1382740269540466692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1382740269540466692%7Ctwgr%5E5fd0d4e6af6d08431e0c371d091c4aca8055fd17%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.embryodigital.co.uk%2Fthis-isnt-just-social-media-marketing-its-aldi-social-media-marketing%2F">Aldi</a> and sports brand <a href="https://coschedule.com/blog/nike-marketing-strategy#:%7E:text=promote%20the%20benefits%20and%20use%20cases%20for%20products%2C%20rather%20than%20the%20products%20themselves">Nike</a> use it with great success. Forbes Magazine has suggested that brands should invest <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/01/20/how-much-should-your-company-budget-for-content-marketing/?sh=3527e0296047">up to a third</a> of their overall marketing budgets in this type of ad, with <a href="https://www.digitalmarketingcommunity.com/indicators/average-26-marketing-budget-spent-b2c-content-marketing-2017-content-marketing-institute-marketing/">other research</a> showing the average among North American companies is close at 26%. And it’s no wonder this form of advertising is becoming more popular, when it generates three times as many leads as other types of marketing yet <a href="https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/10/stats-invest-content-marketing/">costs 62% less</a> to produce.</p>
<p>But if you’re still wondering what content marketing is, that’s not necessarily by accident. Content marketing ads are designed to go under the radar, so that you may not actually notice a funny meme has been posted by a brand – in this case, the fashion retailer ASOS: </p>
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<p>While the main purpose of content marketing is to enhance brand reputation and ultimately increase sales, the big benefit for the companies is that these ads are designed to make you do the work. By sharing, liking or commenting, you’re expanding the brand’s audience via the myriad networks of social media users. You may not do this for a “Buy 2 for 1” supermarket ad, but an image of a cute cat next to a fan posted during a national heatwave could be a different story. </p>
<p>Of course, the idea behind content marketing is that you will make the brand connection subconsciously, as will everyone in your network who you share it with. This will create a positive relationship with the brand. Research shows these <a href="http://files.masmi.com/articles/251013_Research_The_Emotions_that_Make_Marketing_Campaigns_Go_Viral.pdf">positive emotions</a> will strengthen every time you (subconsciously) see funny or cute content from the same brand, eventually leading you to start consuming its products. It’s a sneaky but very powerful form of advertising, but it’s also one that’s changing.</p>
<h2>New regulations</h2>
<p>Until July 2022, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) did not recognise content marketing as <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/static/c389c59b-8d64-4f39-afffbd93dca42df6/Gambling-and-children-update-response-to-GambleAware.pdf">a form of advertising</a>, so its regulations did not apply to such ads. This meant that, in theory, content marketing posts from gambling firms could feature children, alcohol brands could encourage drinking and driving, and fast food chains could target kids, all without breaking any advertising regulations. </p>
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<p>While encouraging drinking and driving is a far cry from a funny cat meme, regulation of social media content marketing ads is crucial. For one thing, these posts are deceptive because most people don’t realise they are advertising something. They can bypass the <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/jconrs/v21y1994i1p1-31.html">cognitive defences</a> we all use when we see an ad to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-children-are-being-targeted-with-hidden-ads-on-social-media-170502">protect us</a> from buying unnecessary stuff. Of course, the effects of this missing link are more harmful for certain products or services.</p>
<p>Gambling is known to be addictive, for example, so a traditional gambling ad will get most people’s alarm bells ringing. But if gambling companies use content marketing, users may engage with the post without even thinking and eventually follow the account. Once this happens, they will be exposed to all of the account’s content – not just the funny memes but also the highly appealing, immediate-action ads encouraging users to “click here for a free bet”. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-children-are-being-targeted-with-hidden-ads-on-social-media-170502">How children are being targeted with hidden ads on social media</a>
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</em>
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<p>We know that this is happening on a large scale. We have already written for The Conversation about our <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/news/2019/aug/D1261_Horne_DEMOS_Management%20report_2019_web.pdf">study</a> of more than 888,000 gambling ads on Twitter. We found that around 40% of those ads were content marketing, and many were <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/management/documents/what-are-the-odds-rossi-nairn-2021.pdf">highly appealing to children</a>.</p>
<p>After pressure from our academic <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0743915621999674">publications</a>, a debate in <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2021-12-06/debates/44AB4984-2554-4B48-84D5-8B708BEDBC69/GamblingChildrenAndYoungPeople">the UK House of Lords</a> and an episode of comedian <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Channel4/videos/should-kids-be-seeing-this-joe-lycetts-got-your-back/286995216362344/">Joe Lycett´s Channel 4 show Got Your Back</a>, the regulator stepped in to expand its rules to content marketing. The ASA now recognises that most <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/news/remit-statement-content-marketing-for-gambling-products-online.html">content marketing posts</a> are actually ads, and that all existing advertising codes should apply to these posts. </p>
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<p>This means that posts like the overheated cat could still appear in your social media feed, but it would now have to adhere to all regulations. For gambling, fast food or alcohol brands, this could mean they cannot use content marketing at all without breaching regulations. Our <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/management/documents/what-are-the-odds-rossi-nairn-2021.pdf">previous research</a>, for example, showed that 11 out of 12 gambling content marketing posts were strongly appealing to children — something not allowed under the existing regulations for adverts.</p>
<p>The regulator’s decision on content marketing is a seismic shift in advertising regulations. But the real work has just begun, because the expansion also brings up new issues. Enforcement will be tricky, for example, considering everyone’s social media feed is different, and content marketing pieces are often posted briefly and then spread by users, not advertisers. </p>
<p>But the most fundamental question will be whether, under these new regulations, it is even possible to post content marketing that is not <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/02.html">obviously recognisable</a> as such. The whole point of content marketing is that we don’t recognise it, otherwise we wouldn’t share it. But this breaks one of the first rules of advertising standards so, presumably, every content marketing piece will have to be marked “ad” or “sponsored” so that we recognise it, making it considerably less cool to share. </p>
<p>As such, this regulation could kill off the practice of content marketing completely, which in our view would be a good thing. Memes can be cute and funny, but using them to sell unhealthy food or gambling services is sneaky, deceptive and potentially very harmful.</p>
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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/189263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raffaello Rossi currently receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agnes Nairn receives funding from GambleAware as Co-Director of the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research</span></em></p>Social media ads are set to change under new content marketing regulations.Raffaello Rossi, Lecturer in Marketing, University of BristolAgnes Nairn, Professor of Marketing, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1851302022-06-16T05:10:13Z2022-06-16T05:10:13ZGoodbye Internet Explorer. You won’t be missed (but your legacy will be remembered)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469144/original/file-20220616-11875-8jqevi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=101%2C21%2C4716%2C2289&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>After 27 years, Microsoft has finally bid farewell to the web browser Internet Explorer, and will redirect Explorer users to the latest version of its Edge browser. </p>
<p>As of June 15, Microsoft ended support for Explorer on several versions of Windows 10 – meaning no more productivity, reliability or security updates. Explorer will remain a working browser, but won’t be protected as new threats emerge.</p>
<p>Twenty-seven years is a long time in computing. Many would say this move was long overdue. Explorer has been long outperformed by its competitors, and years of poor user experiences have made it the butt of many internet jokes.</p>
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<h2>How it began</h2>
<p>Explorer was first introduced in 1995 by the Microsoft Corporation, and came bundled with the Windows operating system.</p>
<p>To its credit, Explorer introduced many Windows users to the joys of the internet for the first time. After all, it was only in 1993 that Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the web, <a href="https://thenextweb.com/news/20-years-ago-today-the-world-wide-web-opened-to-the-public">released</a> the first public web browser (aptly called WorldWideWeb).</p>
<p>Providing Explorer as its default browser meant a large proportion of Windows’s global user base would not experience an alternative. But this came at a cost, and Microsoft eventually faced multiple <a href="https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/microsoft-antitrust-case/">antitrust investigations</a> exploring its monopoly on the browser market.</p>
<p>Still, even though <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browsers/browser-history/">a number</a> of other browsers were around (including Netscape Navigator, which pre-dated Explorer), Explorer remained the default choice for millions of people up until around 2002, when Firefox was launched.</p>
<h2>How it ended</h2>
<p>Microsoft has released 11 versions of Explorer (with many minor revisions along the way). It added different functionality and components with each release. Despite this, it lost consumers’ trust due to Explorer’s “legacy architecture” which involved poor <a href="https://www.optimadesign.co.uk/blog/internet-explorer-end-of-life-or-not">design and slowness</a>. </p>
<p>It seems Microsoft got so comfortable with its monopoly that it let the quality of its product slide, just as other competitors were entering the battlefield.</p>
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<p>Even just considering its cosmetic interface (what you see and interact with when you visit a website), Explorer could not give users the authentic experience of <a href="https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-fix-internet-explorer-pages-not-displaying-correctly">modern websites</a>. </p>
<p>On the security front, Explorer exhibited its <a href="https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-26/product_id-9900/Microsoft-Internet-Explorer.html">fair share of weaknesses</a>, which cyber criminals readily and successfully exploited. </p>
<p>While Microsoft may have patched many of these weaknesses over different versions of the browser, the underlying architecture is <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-security-iemode-safer-than-ie">still considered vulnerable</a> by security experts. Microsoft itself has <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-security-iemode-safer-than-ie">acknowledged</a> this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… [Explorer] is still based on technology that’s 25 years old. It’s a legacy browser that’s architecturally outdated and unable to meet the security challenges of the modern web.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These concerns have resulted in the United States <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/">Department for Homeland Security</a> repeatedly advising internet users against <a href="https://windowsreport.com/internet-explorer-security-issues/">using Explorer</a>.</p>
<p>Explorer’s failure to win over modern audiences is further evident through Microsoft’s ongoing attempts to push users towards Edge. Edge was first introduced in 2015, and since then Explorer has only been used as a compatibility solution.</p>
<h2>What Explorer was up against</h2>
<p>In terms of <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share#monthly-202206-202206-bar">market share</a>, more than 64% of browser users currently use Chrome. Explorer has dropped to less than 1%, and even Edge only accounts for about 4% of users. What has given Chrome such a leg-up in the browser market? </p>
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<p>Chrome was first introduced by Google in 2008, on the open source <a href="https://www.chromium.org/chromium-projects/">Chromium project</a>, and has since been actively developed and supported. </p>
<p>Being open source means the software is publicly available, and anyone can inspect the source code that runs behind it. Individuals can even contribute to the source code, thereby enhancing the software’s productivity, reliability and security. This was never an option with Explorer. </p>
<p>Moreover, Chrome is multi-platform: it can be used in other operating systems such as Linux, MacOS and on mobile devices, and was supporting a range of systems long before Edge was even released. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Explorer has <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/zune-hd-no-youtube-in-the-browser-for-you/">mainly</a> been <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-supported-operating-systems">restricted</a> to Windows, XBox and a few versions of MacOS.</p>
<h2>Under the hood</h2>
<p>Microsoft’s Edge browser is using the same <a href="https://www.chromium.org/chromium-projects/">Chromium</a> open-source code that Chrome has used since its inception. This is encouraging, but it remains to be seen how Edge will compete against Chrome and other browsers to win users’ confidence. </p>
<p>We won’t be surprised if Microsoft fails to nudge customers towards using Edge as their favourite browser. The latest stats suggest Edge is still far behind Chrome in terms of market share. </p>
<p>Also, the fact Microsoft took seven years to retire Explorer after Edge’s initial release suggests the company hasn’t had great success in getting Edge’s uptake rolling. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A screenshot of a Microsoft web page showing Internet Explorer has been retired." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Only some Microsoft operating systems (mainly server platforms) will continue to receive security updates for Explorer under long-term support agreements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screenshot</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>Web browsers play a vital role in establishing privacy and security for users. Design and convenience are important factors for users when selecting a browser. So ultimately, the browser that can most effectively balance security and ease of use will win users. </p>
<p>And it’s hard to say whether Chrome’s current popularity will be sustained over time. Google will no doubt want it to continue, since web browsers are significant <a href="https://fourweekmba.com/how-does-mozilla-make-money/">revenue sources</a>. </p>
<p>But Google as a corporation is becoming increasingly unpopular due to massive <a href="https://theconversation.com/google-is-leading-a-vast-covert-human-experiment-you-may-be-one-of-the-guinea-pigs-154178">data gathering</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-google-getting-worse-increased-advertising-and-algorithm-changes-may-make-it-harder-to-find-what-youre-looking-for-166966">intrusive advertising</a> practices. Chrome is a key component of Google’s data-gathering machine, so it’s possible users may slowly turn away.</p>
<p>As for what to do about Explorer (if you’re one of the few people that still has it sitting meekly on your desktop) – simply <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/developer/browsers/installation/disable-internet-explorer-windows">uninstall</a> it to avoid security risks. </p>
<p>Even if you’re not using Explorer, just having it installed <a href="https://mashable.com/article/internet-explorer-hacker-windows-pc-exploit">could present</a> a threat to your device. No one wants to be the victim of a cyber attack via a dead browser!</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1537005145711472641"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185130/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>Explorer came at the dawn of the public internet. For millions of people, it will always be their first experience of the World Wide Web.Mohiuddin Ahmed, Lecturer of Computing & Security, Edith Cowan UniversityM Imran Malik, Cyber Security Researcher, Edith Cowan UniversityPaul Haskell-Dowland, Professor of Cyber Security Practice, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1809572022-04-19T20:14:33Z2022-04-19T20:14:33ZFrom Reddit to Sea of Thieves to Grand Theft Auto: how online games are shaped by the communities that use them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458105/original/file-20220414-20-nti9wg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1917%2C1077&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sea of Theives/Rare</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2015, well before the first iteration of r/place – a celebration of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-r-place-a-massive-and-chaotic-collaborative-art-project-on-reddit-showcased-the-best-and-worst-of-online-spaces-180662">collaborative chaos of online spaces</a> – Reddit ran another curious experiment called <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/thebutton/">r/thebutton</a>. </p>
<p>The now inactive page once hosted a large red button at the top of its feed next to a 60-second countdown timer. Each individual user could only press the button once, an action that would then reset the countdown. </p>
<p>After just over two months, the countdown reached zero for the first time – when no users pressed the button before the 60 seconds were up. As a result, r/thebutton was archived and closed to further activity, having served no apparent purpose.</p>
<p>Both r/place and r/thebutton bore witness to an inane tribalism among their users that seemed to manifest out of the online space itself. </p>
<p>If a user pressed the button during a specific ten second interval, they were assigned a coloured “flair” next to their username, feeding into a manufactured hierarchy of factions within the community. </p>
<p>While loyalty forms these factions, a sense of community and belonging sustains them. This type of factional warfare is somewhat endemic to online spaces that invite interactivity. The invitation to interact is also an invitation to corrupt. </p>
<p>But this corruption isn’t always a negative tribalism. Circumventing the goals of game developers can also be a powerful act of community building and collaboration.</p>
<h2>Crafting new conversations</h2>
<p>In games, interactivity exists on a scale of what a virtual world’s developer will allow. If a developer offers more freedom to their users, they offer more ways for users to interact with each other and the world according to users’ own goals and objectives.</p>
<p>In the virtual worlds of first person shooter video games (think Call of Duty or Halo) gamers know an allied player crouching down and then standing up repeatedly is trying to say hello. A quick crouch down/stand up response is the equivalent of waving hello back. </p>
<p>In the absence of any ability to have their online avatar literally wave hello, players have circumvented the limits of the virtual space to do it anyway.</p>
<p>(Strangely, if the player is a member of the opposing team this same gesture is offensive and sexually suggestive.)</p>
<p>Users have manipulated and circumvented the rules of this world in order to fulfil any number of parallel – or even opposing – purposes based on their own needs and desires.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/minecraft-teaches-kids-about-tech-but-theres-a-gender-imbalance-at-play-89496">Minecraft teaches kids about tech, but there’s a gender imbalance at play</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<h2>Shaping our own worlds</h2>
<p>In a conversation I once had with Adelaide-based narrative designer and game developer Damon Reece, I asked Damon what game they were enjoying lately. They regaled me with an anecdote about Sea of Thieves (2018). </p>
<p>In this game, players are expected to play the role of a cutthroat pirate in competition with other marauding bands of pirates. Damon and their friends disregarded this objective and instead invited other players aboard their virtual pirate ship for drinking, dancing and general merriment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458106/original/file-20220414-11-tlk3a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pirate ship" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458106/original/file-20220414-11-tlk3a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458106/original/file-20220414-11-tlk3a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458106/original/file-20220414-11-tlk3a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458106/original/file-20220414-11-tlk3a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458106/original/file-20220414-11-tlk3a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458106/original/file-20220414-11-tlk3a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458106/original/file-20220414-11-tlk3a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Open-world games like Sea of Thieves offer opportunities for players to re-purpose the world of the game for their own needs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rare</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In video game terminology, an “open-world game” like Sea of Thieves is a virtual world open to the free-roaming of its players. </p>
<p>This freedom means the possibilities of these worlds are dictated by the communities that occupy them as much as it is by the developers that build them.</p>
<p>In Grand Theft Auto V (2013), the <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-violent-videogame-has-made-more-money-than-any-movie-ever-2018-04-06">highest grossing media product of all time</a>, players are meant to focus their efforts on building their own criminal empire. This is the advertised goal of the game and the fictional city of Los Santos is a virtual space designed to facilitate it.</p>
<p>However, the online metropolis also plays host to communities of <a href="https://www.trueachievements.com/n46381/gta-online-car-meet-crews-highlight">car meets</a>, <a href="https://www.pcgamesn.com/grand-theft-auto-v/gta-police-rp">police role-players</a>, <a href="https://kotaku.com/grand-theft-photo-why-these-gta-shots-look-so-damn-goo-1823743440">photographers</a>, <a href="https://socialclub.rockstargames.com/">social clubs</a>, <a href="https://www.provideocoalition.com/matt-macdonald-created-film-using-video-game/">film makers</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50894769">protesters</a>. </p>
<p>Some of these are intended consequences of the game’s robust design – but most are the result of like-minded individuals collectively shaping their shared online spaces. </p>
<p>Across a broad spectrum of virtual worlds users have, time and again, repurposed the space to suit their needs.</p>
<p>Online spaces, just like offline ones, evolve to meet the demands of their users. For better or worse, they are fundamentally democratic spaces shaped by the communities that use them. </p>
<p>Where these online spaces diverge from their offline counterparts is in their global accessibility and their almost total anonymity. </p>
<p>It is difficult to imagine a democratic space occupied not by faces or bodies but by usernames and avatars, yet this is precisely the form of democracy offered by virtual worlds.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gamer-disclaimer-virtual-worlds-can-be-as-fulfilling-as-real-life-29571">Gamer disclaimer: virtual worlds can be as fulfilling as real life</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180957/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Williams 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>Online communities are increasingly reshaping the virtual spaces they call home. Their worlds are purpose built, but they are also fit for purpose.Timothy Williams, PhD candidate, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1787752022-03-27T12:55:19Z2022-03-27T12:55:19ZThe COVID-19 pandemic pushed social media to become increasingly tribal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454239/original/file-20220324-25-16tq9mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C22%2C3024%2C1987&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed people online, the result has been increasing divisions on social media.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Media theorist Marshall McLuhan suggested that <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/understanding-media">each media-related extension of man comes at the expense of another organ</a>. For example, by increasing reliance on visual media, we lose touch with oral communication. </p>
<p>McLuhan also formulated the <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9780802077158/laws-of-media/">laws of media</a> which states that all media aim to extend the body, and when they do so some media become obsolete, some get revived and when a new medium is pushed to its limits, it reverts to an early version.</p>
<p>McLuhan’s theories take on a new significance as we witness <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12636">a reversion of social media</a>, which I refer to as “tribal media.” By this, I mean media that reflects a fragment of a society consisting of like-minded people within specific political, economic, cultural and personal parameters.</p>
<p>Social media has now been around for two decades, and has been treated <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/01/15/psychological-stress-and-social-media-use-2/">with ambivalence since its inception</a>. The global COVID-19 pandemic may have pushed social media to its limits, and reverted it to an earlier version: chatrooms. </p>
<p>Until a few years ago, one of the greatest worries about the internet was how addictive it could be. However, when we studied the <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/11485">relationship between screen addiction and stress</a>, we found a <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/08/31/could-our-addiction-to-screens-have-a-silver-lining.html">silver lining</a>: There was a possibility that addiction to screens helped reduce the emotional burden of other stressors, such as financial worries or relationship problems.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic forced a different consideration of whether or not social media use produced stress and anxiety. Those who were searching for the potential harms of screen addiction on brain development now had to contend with life and work activities moving online. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454241/original/file-20220324-21-10d2ghy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A phone's screen showing the twitter feed for twitter spaces" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454241/original/file-20220324-21-10d2ghy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454241/original/file-20220324-21-10d2ghy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454241/original/file-20220324-21-10d2ghy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454241/original/file-20220324-21-10d2ghy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454241/original/file-20220324-21-10d2ghy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454241/original/file-20220324-21-10d2ghy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454241/original/file-20220324-21-10d2ghy.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">Twitter Spaces is an example of how a social media platform has reverted to an earlier version of online social communication.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pandemic reversal</h2>
<p>In March 2020, our research team used the occasion of the pandemic to explore <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/20186">whether social media causes or relieves stress</a>. We asked respondents about the change in their patterns of different media usage as a result of the pandemic. One year later, we repeated the same question. What we found was a significant change in the nature of people’s interactions with social media — users avoided what was perceived as sensational and political content, but gravitated towards building community. </p>
<p>We observed this trend in another independent analysis of how older adults used social media and communications technology to cope with public health measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that, for them, <a href="https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/role-of-social-media-in-coping-with-covid-19-stress-searching-fo/19324966">social media and new platforms such as Zoom were important only in as far as they connected them to their own families and communities</a>. </p>
<p>The pandemic made social media and communication platforms the inevitable extension of us. But by bringing us into this forced global embrace, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/opinion/covid-tribalism-politics.html">it may have also forced us to split along tribal divisions</a> — what anthropologist Gregory Bateson refers to as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2789408"><em>schismogenesis</em></a>. These divisions occur because of, and are exacerbated by, increasing conflict in communications about contentious topics such as lockdowns and mandatory vaccinations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454242/original/file-20220324-25-1hi8i67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a group of people surrounding a banner reading WE DO NOT CONSENT" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454242/original/file-20220324-25-1hi8i67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454242/original/file-20220324-25-1hi8i67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454242/original/file-20220324-25-1hi8i67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454242/original/file-20220324-25-1hi8i67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454242/original/file-20220324-25-1hi8i67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454242/original/file-20220324-25-1hi8i67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454242/original/file-20220324-25-1hi8i67.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">Protests against lockdowns were held globally, like this one in London, U.K. in March 2021, and the social divisions were also reflected online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Chatroom revival</h2>
<p>COVID-19 revealed that social media companies are neither neutral nor benevolent. They pick their own tribes too. And when this happened, users reacted.</p>
<p>Research by <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/05/americans-are-changing-their-relationship-with-facebook/">the Pew Research Center</a> found that more than 40 per cent of Facebook users had begun abandoning the social network before the pandemic. </p>
<p>This followed a chain of controversies involving <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-scandal-fallout.html">selling data to Cambridge Analytica</a> to gathering data about the psychological profile of American voters and allowing the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-facebook-russia-idUSKBN25S5UC">Russians to interfere with an American election</a>. </p>
<p>When Facebook was accused of profiting from the spread of misinformation, they used the same type of data-mining methods <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/08/18/facebook-says-it-has-removed-20-million-pieces-of-covid-misinformation-but-sees-signs-vaccine-hesitancy-is-declining/">to monitor and censor posts on their platform</a>. Users could no longer ignore the fact that <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/11/1020600/facebook-responsible-ai-misinformation/">Facebook gathered and capitalized on their information for corporations that would pay for the data</a>. </p>
<p>As a result of this accelerated exodus, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2022/02/08/meta-platforms-stock-dropped-by-25-last-week-what-next/?sh=3841de28182e">the company’s shares dropped by 25 per cent</a>. But Facebook acquired <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-12-09/facebook-fb-plans-to-turn-messaging-app-whatsapp-into-a-moneymaking-business">the end-to-end encrypted group chat app WhatsApp</a> and launched <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/04/introducing-messenger-rooms/">private chatrooms unregulated by censoring algorithms</a>.</p>
<p>Both of these platforms represented a revival of chatrooms.</p>
<h2>Tribal platforms</h2>
<p>Donald Trump’s use of Twitter as his personal propaganda machine, especially in relation to his public health disinformation, pushed social media <a href="https://www.tweetbinder.com/blog/trump-twitter/">to a new edge</a>. When <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension">Twitter blocked Trump’s account</a>, it illustrated the power of social media in political interference. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/mar/11/social-media-facebook-google-russia-ukraine">Media commentators sounded the alarm</a>, concerned that a corporation’s meddling in determining the legitimacy of narratives sets a dangerous precedence and threatens the right to the freedom of expression. </p>
<p>When cultural and ideological <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41290-020-00121-y">schismogenesis surfaced in different narratives of health and safety</a>, Twitter decisively took a position. In response, Trump created his own media platform: <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/21/22944179/truth-social-launch-ios-donald-trump-twitter-platform">Truth Social</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">CNN asks whether Trump’s social media platform is something to be taken seriously.</span></figcaption>
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<p>There might still be a silver lining in changing our habits with regards to tribalized media usage. Anthropologist Heidi Larson, director of <a href="https://www.vaccineconfidence.org/">The Vaccine Confidence Project</a>, warns that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00920-w">centralized “censorship” of information runs a greater risk in creating conspiratorial forms of information communications</a>. Larson suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07034-4">targeted social media is better suited to promote trust and serve public safety</a>.</p>
<p>It is not surprising that over the past two decades of globalized social media, we are now returning to the controlled-access chatrooms for people with proven ties and loyalties to each other. Whether this ‘tribalization’ is an effective response to how we cope with the stress of a world in which <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/19/1087265230/4-reasons-why-social-media-can-give-a-skewed-account-of-the-war-in-ukraine">social media can be weaponized in times of war</a> remains to be seen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178775/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Najmeh Khalili-Mahani is a research associate at McGill University (McGill Centre for Integrative Neuroscience) and Concordia University (engAGE Centre for Studies in Aging). For her research, she has received funding from FRQSC-AUDACE. She is the founding director of Media Health Laboratory and the Game Clinic, which are dedicated to examining the implications of new media technologies in public health.</span></em></p>People used social media to connect with others, but after the pandemic, social media is increasingly fractured. Users adopt closed media spaces where they feel safe to express personal values.Najmeh Khalili-Mahani, Researcher, Director of Media-Health/Game-Clinic laboratory, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1773912022-03-13T06:30:45Z2022-03-13T06:30:45ZTinder use in Cape Town reveals the paradox of modern dating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450411/original/file-20220307-85648-19yt4qk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&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>Dating apps are the new reality, but do they really make dating easier? My study suggests they complicate it further. </p>
<p>Questions about trust and online dating regularly crop up along with headlines about unpleasant online approaches, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/15/tinder-swindler-americans-romance-scam-con-fbi">scams</a> and even physical assaults when dates move offline. Still, dating apps like <a href="https://tinder.com">Tinder</a> remain hugely popular, downloaded and used mostly on cellphones to meet new people. In fact, they have received increasing traffic globally in recent years despite these bleak stories and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-hinge-match-group-dating-apps-more-users-coronavirus-2020-8?IR=T">spurred</a> by COVID-induced lockdowns.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/35694">ethnographic research</a> in Cape Town, South Africa, shows that Tinder dating is riddled with contradictory feelings. As an anthropology scholar who is curious about intimacy and apps, I followed the dating journeys of 25 Tinder users for two years. </p>
<p>I soon found myself confronted with a paradox: even though using the app had become a mundane everyday practice, app users described meeting someone on Tinder as less “real” or less “authentic” than meeting someone offline. This may make it even more challenging to relate intimately in a time when trust is often likened to naivety or vulnerability. </p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p>What I set out to explore was how the app becomes part of people’s lives in Cape Town. Meeting most of my research participants regularly, I was able to see how their approach to using the app changed over time. They were from different areas and cut across age groups (5 were under 25, 17 between 25-40 and 3 between 40-55). 14 of them identified as male, and 11 as female. The majority (75%) would be classified as “white” – I recruited most participants via a research profile on the app in a “whiter” area of a town, a lingering result of apartheid spatial segregation.</p>
<p>A Tinder profile can be set up in almost no time. After downloading the app and connecting it to a Facebook account, all that is left to do is select some profile pictures, perhaps write a short biography, and choose a few parameters (interested in men or women, within what age frame, and how far do you want to venture to meet them?). Encountering a potential match, users move their finger over the image of the person to the right if they are interested in them and left if not. If a person expresses interest back, you’re matched and can exchange messages.</p>
<p>Geographic proximity aside, who one sees on the app is further determined by an <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/2/7/18210998/tinder-algorithm-swiping-tips-dating-app-science">opaque algorithm</a> that Tinder is notoriously secretive about. Parent company Match Group Holdings owns 45 dating services worldwide and Tinder alone has been <a href="https://www.datingsitesreviews.com/article.php?story=tinder-releases-its-year-in-swipe-report">downloaded</a> more than 400 million times, producing 55 billion matches, a compelling impact on a lot of love lives.</p>
<h2>Common experiences</h2>
<p>Exploring what it means to use Tinder for the individuals in my study, I found that the app was regularly deleted. This was because of an accumulation of disappointments such as missing a “spark”, excitement thinning out and being “ghosted”(ignored).</p>
<p>Interestingly, though, users also kept re-downloading Tinder and changing their approaches by choosing different profile pictures, tweaking biographies and patterns of swiping. Swiping styles would depend on previous experiences and the kinds of intimacy they were currently looking for. Commonly, returning users would adopt a more casual approach and try to manage their expectations.</p>
<p>32-year-old PhD student Johana (not their real name), for instance, had been on and off Tinder for years but continued mustering hope of a meaningful connection. Most of her dates had been either mediocre or disillusioning. One looked nothing like his profile picture, another was much shyer offline than on and others were pushing for sex. Then suddenly she found herself on a captivating eight-hour-long date.</p>
<p>For days she waited for him to respond to a message she sent after their magic night. She tried everything to distract herself: she buried herself in her studies, met with friends, and switched her phone off – just to switch it back on and sneak another peek at it. When it had become clear he had no interest in pursuing anything further (and after deleting and re-downloading the app) Johana decided to approach Tinder dating differently.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-tinder-is-being-used-for-more-than-just-hook-ups-131256">How Tinder is being used for more than just hook-ups</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>She explained that she was now simply using Tinder as a means to connect and potentially have a “fun experience” that may or may not evolve into something worthwhile. Concluding that her directness on Tinder was interpreted as neediness by men, it seemed restraint might avoid further frustration and rejection. This affected how she was chatting, the kinds of meetings she arranged (daytime rather than night) as well as her biography, now briefly describing her as wanting to meeting new people. However, each intriguing connection would have the ultimate dating challenge resurface: how to establish a meaningful connection while managing the risk of being hurt. And that at Tinder’s fast, gamified swiping pace.</p>
<h2>The end of love?</h2>
<p>Tinder is marketed as liberating and empowering, especially for young women. The app promises the chance to create connections and meaning out of nowhere, to link people and places and fulfil romantic desires. And users in my research did embrace Tinder as a tool to meet people they would otherwise have been unlikely to meet. </p>
<p>However, grand romantic ideals seem to be replaced by uncertainty and strategies of detachment in the process. The app’s mostly vacant assurance of romantic magic helps explain why many users insisted that Tinder makes matches that lack meaning and “realness”.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-scammers-like-anna-delvey-and-the-tinder-swindler-exploit-a-core-feature-of-human-nature-177289">How scammers like Anna Delvey and the Tinder Swindler exploit a core feature of human nature</a>
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<p>The idea that Tinder-initiated encounters lack authenticity is also in sync with the dominant view that embedding technologies into everyday activities (including the most intimate ones) is a damning symptom of the contemporary zeitgeist. </p>
<p>Undeterred by years of dating app use and numerous stories of relationships and friendships originating on apps, satiric <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/africa/south-africa/articles/the-10-types-of-south-african-youll-meet-on-tinder/">blog entries</a> poking fun at Tinder clichés, Instagram accounts like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tindernightmares/?hl=enas">Tinder Nightmares</a> as well as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307862744_Liquid_love_Dating_apps_sex_relationships_and_the_digital_transformation_of_intimacy">academic</a> <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/bodies-on-the-market/">literature</a> suggest that Tinder intimacy liquefies or ends love as we know it. </p>
<h2>All is not lost</h2>
<p>But after two years using an in-depth research approach, I came to the conclusion that, despite negative associations, dating apps have their place and their intimacies are not lesser than those originating elsewhere. Connections made via Tinder are neither different by nature, nor are they easier to navigate.</p>
<p>Regardless of the image of Tinder as a superficial platform and of Tinder fatigue, there was not just a persistent use of the app but also an enduring desire for connections that feel meaningful. The problem with Tinder is not that experiences are less real. At the root of frustrations is rather a one-dimensional view of “dating”, formatted as an eroticised encounter that requires an immediate and powerful spark.</p>
<p>From excitement to hurt, a lot happens in commodified, gamified dating app environments – notwithstanding the composed approaches adopted by their users. Thinking of emotions on the app as something that can be kept in check and of Tinder as something removed from “real life” may not only produce disappointing encounters in the moment, but it could also influence how people think about dating in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177391/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leah Davina Junck 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>Dating on apps is the new reality, but do they really make dating easier? A Cape Town study finds Tinder complicates it further.Leah Davina Junck, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1723802021-12-10T13:37:33Z2021-12-10T13:37:33ZGot Zoom fatigue? Out-of-sync brainwaves could be another reason videoconferencing is such a drag<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436504/original/file-20211208-15-iliwgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6173%2C4112&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Conversation in person usually feels effortless. Conversation over video? Not so much.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/stressed-business-woman-working-from-home-on-laptop-royalty-free-image/1249628154">nensuria/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During the pandemic, video calls became a way for me to connect with my aunt in a nursing home and with my extended family during holidays. Zoom was how I enjoyed trivia nights, happy hours and live performances. As a university professor, Zoom was also the way I conducted all of my work meetings, mentoring and teaching. </p>
<p>But I often felt drained after Zoom sessions, even some of those that I had scheduled for fun. <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2021/02/23/four-causes-zoom-fatigue-solutions/">Several well-known factors</a> – intense eye contact, slightly misaligned eye contact, being on camera, limited body movement, lack of nonverbal communication – contribute to Zoom fatigue. But I was curious about why conversation felt more laborious and awkward over Zoom and other video-conferencing software, compared with in-person interactions.</p>
<p>As a researcher who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8j4_-aYAAAAJ&hl=en">studies psychology and linguistics</a>, I decided to examine the impact of video-conferencing on conversation. Together with three undergraduate students, I ran <a href="https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/xge0001150">two experiments</a>.</p>
<p>The first experiment found that response times to prerecorded yes/no questions more than tripled when the questions were played over Zoom instead of being played from the participant’s own computer. </p>
<p>The second experiment replicated the finding in natural, spontaneous conversation between friends. In that experiment, transition times between speakers averaged 135 milliseconds in person, but 487 milliseconds for the same pair talking over Zoom. While under half a second seems pretty quick, that difference is an eternity in terms of natural conversation rhythms.</p>
<p>We also found that people held the floor for longer during Zoom conversations, so there were fewer transitions between speakers. These experiments suggest that the natural rhythm of conversation is disrupted by videoconferencing apps like Zoom. </p>
<h2>Cognitive anatomy of a conversation</h2>
<p>I already had some expertise in studying conversation. Pre-pandemic, I conducted several experiments investigating how topic shifts and working memory load affect the timing of when speakers in a conversation take turns.</p>
<p>In that research, I found that <a href="https://cogsci.mindmodeling.org/2019/papers/0048/index.html">pauses between speakers were longer</a> when the two speakers were talking about different things, or if a speaker was distracted by another task while conversing. I originally became interested in the timing of turn transitions because planning a response during conversation is a complex process that people accomplish with lightning speed. </p>
<p>The average pause between speakers in two-party conversations is about one-fifth of a second. In comparison, it takes more than a half-second to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139508925238">move your foot from the accelerator to the brake</a> while driving – more than twice as long. </p>
<p>The speed of turn transitions indicates that listeners don’t wait until the end of a speaker’s utterance to begin planning a response. Rather, listeners simultaneously comprehend the current speaker, plan a response and predict the appropriate time to initiate that response. All of this multitasking ought to make conversation quite laborious, but it is not. </p>
<h2>Getting in sync</h2>
<p>Brainwaves are the rhythmic firing, or oscillation, of neurons in your brain. These oscillations may be one factor that helps make conversation effortless. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108610728">Several</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206432">researchers</a> have proposed that a neural oscillatory mechanism automatically synchronizes the firing rate of a group of neurons to the speech rate of your conversation partner. This oscillatory timing mechanism would relieve some of the mental effort in planning when to begin speaking, especially if it was <a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68066">combined with predictions</a> about the remainder of your partner’s utterance.</p>
<p>While there are many open questions about how oscillatory mechanisms affect perception and behavior, there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00320">direct</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4186">evidence</a> for neural oscillators that track syllable rate when syllables are presented at regular intervals. For example, when you hear syllables four times a second, the electrical activity in your brain <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4186">peaks at the same rate</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A spectrograph of human speech with a rough sine wave overlaid on it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=145&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=145&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=145&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This acoustic spectrogram of the utterance ‘Do you think surfers are scared of being bitten by a shark?’ has an overlaid oscillatory function (blue wave). This shows that midpoints of most syllables (numbered hash marks) occur at or near the wave troughs, regardless of syllable length. The hash marks were generated with a Praat script written by deJong and Wempe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julie Boland</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also evidence that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190618216.001.0001">oscillators can accommodate some variability</a> in syllable rate. This makes the notion that an automatic neural oscillator could track the fuzzy rhythms of speech plausible. For example, an oscillator with a period of 100 milliseconds could keep in sync with speech that varies from 80 milliseconds to 120 milliseconds per short syllable. Longer syllables are not a problem if their duration is a multiple of the duration for short syllables.</p>
<h2>Internet lag is a wrench in the mental gears</h2>
<p>My hunch was that this proposed oscillatory mechanism couldn’t function very well over Zoom due to variable transmission lags. In a video call, the audio and video signals are split into packets that zip across the internet. In our studies, each packet took around 30 to 70 milliseconds to travel from sender to receiver, including disassembly and reassembly.</p>
<p>While this is very fast, it adds too much additional variability for brainwaves to sync with speech rates automatically, and more arduous mental operations have to take over. This could help explain my sense that Zoom conversations were more fatiguing than having the same conversation in person would have been.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/xge0001150">Our experiments</a> demonstrated that the natural rhythm of turn transitions between speakers is disrupted by Zoom. This disruption is consistent with what would happen if the neural ensemble that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190618216.001.0001">researchers believe normally synchronizes with speech</a> fell out of sync due to electronic transmission delays. </p>
<p>Our evidence supporting this explanation is indirect. We did not measure cortical oscillations, nor did we manipulate the electronic transmission delays. Research into the connection between neural oscillatory timing mechanisms and speech in general <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-020-0304-4">is promising</a> but not definitive.</p>
<p>Researchers in the field need to pin down an oscillatory mechanism for naturally occurring speech. From there, cortical tracking techniques could show whether such a mechanism is more stable in face-to-face conversations than with video-conferencing conversations, and how much lag and how much variability cause disruption. </p>
<p>Could the syllable-tracking oscillator tolerate relatively short but realistic electronic lags below 40 milliseconds, even if they varied dynamically from 15 to 39 milliseconds? Could it tolerate relatively long lags of 100 milliseconds if the transmission lag were constant instead of variable?</p>
<p>The knowledge gained from such research could open the door to technological improvements that help people get in sync and make videoconferencing conversations less of a cognitive drag.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172380/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Boland 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>It appears that the rhythms of your brain waves get in sync with the speech patterns of the person you’re conversing with. Videoconferencing throws off that syncing process.Julie Boland, Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1690022021-11-19T13:15:10Z2021-11-19T13:15:10ZMonitor or talk? 5 ways parents can help keep their children safe online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432663/original/file-20211118-20-t5yhng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C0%2C6649%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Communication is key, experts say.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mother-an-son-using-laptop-at-home-royalty-free-image/1033164998?adppopup=true">damircudic/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/16/health/covid-kids-tech-use.html">spending more time online</a>. A May 2020 study found that U.S. teenagers spent <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.4334">around seven hours a day, on average</a>, using screens. Even before the pandemic, U.S. teens were indicating in surveys that they were “<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/#a-growing-share-of-teens-describe-their-internet-use-as-near-constant">almost constantly online</a>.”</p>
<p>As with any venue, parents might be concerned about what dangers lurk on the internet – from <a href="https://cyberbullying.org/bullying-during-the-covid-19-pandemic">cyberbullying</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3183">teen-to-teen sexting</a> – and tempted to use various technological tools to monitor their children’s online activities. </p>
<p>As a researcher who specializes in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=N3T-78EAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">how teens operate in online environments</a>, I know that spying on your children’s keystrokes and web browsers isn’t the only or even the best parental practice to employ and may create problems of its own. Here are five tips on how parents can encourage their children to adopt safer online behavior beyond using spyware or computer surveillance.</p>
<h2>1. Don’t just monitor your kids online, talk to them</h2>
<p>Technical measures, such as those that allow parents to monitor <a href="https://www.mspy.com/">every keystroke</a>, can provide parents with an additional way to keep tabs on what their children are doing. However, parental controls should not replace an ongoing conversation with children about their digital media use and what it means to be safe online. </p>
<p>Many parents <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.04.004">value open communication</a> with their children about their internet use. This can be beneficial in keeping them safe. Research on related traditional risk behaviors, such as teenage substance use, has found that children who have open conversations with their parents are less likely to engage in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2016.1251920">these risky behaviors</a>. Open communication about online experiences may also allow children to stay safer online.</p>
<h2>2. Search for conversation starters</h2>
<p>More and more television series and films have story lines about digital media use that serve as natural conversation starters. For example, in Episode 5 of the first season of Netflix’s “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80197526">Sex Education</a>,” sexting is a central theme as sexually explicit images of a girl are sent to her schoolmates. The main characters of the show try to put a stop this revenge porn. The movie “<a href="https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/love-simon">Love, Simon</a>” portrays the struggles of a gay teenage boy who seeks and finds online support from another closeted gay student in his school through an online confession site, only to be outed through the same online platform. </p>
<p>Alternatively, you could ask your children to teach you how to use some of their favorite apps. This would be an excellent opportunity to discover together all the features as well as the privacy settings that these applications offer.</p>
<h2>3. Assure your children they can turn to you if they run into trouble</h2>
<p>As part of an ongoing conversation about media use, parents should make sure that their children feel they can reach out to them for help when they run into unpleasant online experiences. Research has found that some children are <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/article/adolescents-experiences-of-cyberbullying/173740">afraid to talk</a> to their parents when they face problems such as cyberbullying. They worry that parents may overreact or take away their devices. </p>
<p>Making sure that your child knows that they can reach out for help and that you will try your best to understand their needs can make them less vulnerable to risks like online extortion. If your child does disclose a particular online problem, a good way to respond is to simply ask your child how the problem makes them feel.</p>
<h2>4. Explain why you’re monitoring their online activities</h2>
<p>Parents who do decide to monitor their children’s internet use should always disclose that they are doing so. Most parents already do this, as evidenced in a study that found most parents believe that not telling their children that they are being monitored would <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2020.1744458">violate their child’s sense of privacy and security</a>.</p>
<p>Moreover, when children find out that their internet use has been monitored without their knowledge, it could lead to a <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/assets/documents/research/projects/childrens-privacy-online/Evidence-review-final.pdf">breach of trust</a>. One study found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000615">intrusive parenting</a>, such as snooping without their children’s knowing, can lead to more negative interactions between parents and children once the children find out and could make some children less likely to communicate with their parents. Consequently, parents will become less informed about their children’s lives. Therefore, it is important for parents to explain the reasons they are monitoring their children’s online behavior.</p>
<h2>5. Tailor monitoring to your child’s maturity and unique situation</h2>
<p>While young children can benefit from a close monitoring of their internet use, research has found that many parents gradually grant more autonomy to their children and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.04.004">become less restrictive in their monitoring</a><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.09.002">as the children get older</a>. As a natural part of growing up, teenagers increasingly value <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.04.004">personal autonomy</a>, especially when it comes to their media use.</p>
<p>Just as parents cannot always monitor their teenage children in the offline world, they could find it useful to grant their children gradual increased autonomy in the online world as they get older. This can encourage children to develop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10342-w">problem-solving skills</a> and teaches them to navigate online risks. What this looks like will differ for each child and depends on their age. Everyone is susceptible in different ways <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0122">to media effects and online risks</a>. This is why it is important to adapt the autonomy that you grant your child based on their personality, their maturity and their prior online experiences.</p>
<p>Online monitoring can also have some unintended side effects. For example, parents of LGBTQ teenagers should be aware that sexual and gender minority youths often rely on the internet to find information, explore their identities and connect with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/2005615X.2017.1313482">broader LGBTQ community</a>. Restrictive forms of monitoring may take away youth agency and may severely limit opportunities for them to grow in their identities.</p>
<p>Whether or not parents decide to monitor their children’s internet use, there is still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/20501579211012436">much to learn</a> about effective parental mediation in an increasingly complex digital world. While parental monitoring differs for each child, it should primarily start with good communication and a balance between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10342-w">surveillance and autonomy</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169002/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joris Van Ouytsel received funding from the Research Foundation - Flanders.</span></em></p>Parents who spy on their children’s online activity run the risk of doing more harm than good, an expert says.Joris Van Ouytsel, Assistant Professor of Interpersonal Communication, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1670102021-09-23T17:37:21Z2021-09-23T17:37:21ZHow to empower older adults to become digital citizens in our tech-dependent world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420081/original/file-20210908-27-g09jpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C20%2C6659%2C4446&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Technology can improve quality of life for older adults.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Living in a technology dependent world means we all want to stay connected, regardless of age. And the COVID-19 pandemic was a major catalyst <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ijinfomgt.2020.102171">for increasing our technological dependence</a>. </p>
<p>It became normal to do weekly online grocery shops, attend doctors’ appointments or work via Zoom and FaceTime family and friends. The reality is however, that not everyone is fortunate enough to have access to the technological devices or skills to operate in our online world — some of the most impacted by this are older adults. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s41256-020-00154-3">magnified the pandemic for them, especially in terms of isolation</a>. Older adults were left without the main resource that has been keeping many of us connected — technology.</p>
<p>But that’s not all the pandemic has laid bare for older adults. A <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-aging-face-of-homelessness-in-north-american-cities-111702">large number of them are also either experiencing, or are vulnerable to homelessness</a>. Older adults have become one of the <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/resource/%E2%80%9Cno-home-no-place%E2%80%9D-addressing-complexity-homelessness-old-age-through-community-dialogue">groups most at-risk for housing insecurities during the pandemic</a>. And one of the <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/education-training-employment/poverty">largest barriers to housing, is low socioeconomic status</a>. </p>
<p>Our technological dependence has created new challenges for older adults, and helped solidify pre-existing ones, like navigating online platforms to secure housing. Older adults face housing barriers due to the lack of technological resources and education on how to use them; there is a clear need to empower them to be digital citizens.</p>
<h2>Finding housing in an internet-dependent world</h2>
<p>Overall, older adults are often excluded from using the internet because they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa098">lack devices and connectivity, or are inexperienced in using it</a>. So when it comes to finding housing, they’re often left behind. </p>
<p>A decade ago, it was possible to walk through the streets, sift through newspapers, notice boards and discover apartments for rent, but this is increasingly uncommon. The platforms themselves — like Kijiji, PadMapper and Facebook Marketplace — are not made with older adults in mind; meaning <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X19869678">the ability to navigate and access these resources makes it even more difficult for them to find housing</a>. On top of having to search through unfamiliar platforms, they’re also faced with finding an apartment on a limited budget.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two older women look at an iPad together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422978/original/file-20210923-28-1o6071z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422978/original/file-20210923-28-1o6071z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422978/original/file-20210923-28-1o6071z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422978/original/file-20210923-28-1o6071z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422978/original/file-20210923-28-1o6071z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422978/original/file-20210923-28-1o6071z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422978/original/file-20210923-28-1o6071z.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">Older adults are more vulnerable to phishing and scams and may have trouble recognizing fake housing advertisements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Imagine you don’t know housing websites exist. Or know how to navigate online ads. Or have a device to access the internet. You’re put at a serious disadvantage when it comes to accessing housing.</p>
<p>In North America “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X19869678">large portions of the rental housing market have moved online … more renters in urbanized areas found their current homes through a site like Craigslist than through any other information channel</a>.” Meaning the majority of rental properties are accessible through online platforms. Older adults who are not part of this digital world have limited opportunities to find housing. </p>
<p>We don’t want to suggest that finding an apartment is impossible but, if you are an older adult lacking technological resources and digital literacy, it may feel overwhelming.</p>
<h2>Making technology more accessible</h2>
<p>How can we move forward in this digital world, when so many are being left behind? We should at least make technology accessible, so the choice is up to the user. </p>
<p>When it comes to older adults, having the liberty to choose their involvement with technology can provide independence and autonomy. When the decision is theirs to make, their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.092">quality of life tends to increase, especially regarding social isolation</a>.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.ncoa.org/article/top-10-financial-scams-targeting-seniors">older adults are more vulnerable to phishing and scams</a> and may have trouble recognizing fake housing advertisements, <a href="https://helpagecanada.ca/seniors-can-connect/">having support</a> and <a href="https://youthteachingadults.ca/resources/">educational resources</a> can <a href="https://www.connectedcanadians.ca/">promote the adoption of a conscious and cautious attitude</a> online, promote the use of trusted websites and avoid disclosing personal information such as SIN and credit card information. This can actively enable older adults to feel more comfortable and confident online. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Grandmother looks at ipad with her granddaughter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422977/original/file-20210923-15-2urmof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422977/original/file-20210923-15-2urmof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422977/original/file-20210923-15-2urmof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422977/original/file-20210923-15-2urmof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422977/original/file-20210923-15-2urmof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422977/original/file-20210923-15-2urmof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422977/original/file-20210923-15-2urmof.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">Technology can improve quality of life for older adults by helping them stay in touch with family and friends.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We are a part of the <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/airp/news-events/in-the-news/spike-in-homelessness-among-aged-prompts-research-for-solutions-.html">Aging in the Right Place (AIRP) Project</a> which looks at the causes of homelessness for older adults in order to evaluate <a href="https://www.seniorsservicessociety.ca/">current promising practices in place, such as temporary housing that support older adults who are at risk of experiencing homelessness</a>.</p>
<p>An integral part of this project is to not only be in close contact with the people working towards supporting this population, but also with older people experiencing homelessness themselves. In our preliminary client interviews of those living in the temporary housing, we’re often told how invaluable technology is when searching for stable housing. </p>
<h2>Technology can improve quality of life</h2>
<p>As a society we assume older adults are not interested in various technologies, <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2020/07/seniors-technology-illiteracy-misconception-pandemic.html">not because they’re resisting but because technologies that currently exist were simply not created with them in mind</a>. Failing to include older adults as technology users further perpetuates the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39949-2_15">social, information and digital exclusion they experience</a>.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=425680">leaves very few opportunities for them to access education and awareness</a>. Opportunities that do exist to learn are often found in schools or at work — which are environments many older adults no longer frequent. </p>
<p>Technology can improve the quality of life for older adults by providing ease, inclusion and comfort by making the essentials, like finding housing, more accessible. </p>
<p>It’s time we <a href="https://helpagecanada.ca/seniors-can-connect/">draw on the resources</a> <a href="https://youthteachingadults.ca/resources/">and educational initiatives</a> <a href="https://www.connectedcanadians.ca/">in place and reach out to the ones who have been left behind</a>. Let’s empower older adults to be digital citizens. </p>
<p>As digital citizens, they will have more opportunities to secure housing and tools to prevent homelessness. These supports will not only give them a sense of involvement in a technologically dependent world, but also provide a sense of belonging and inclusion in today’s society.</p>
<p><em>Diana Juanita Mora, an undergraduate research assistant from Simon Fraser University, helped research and co-author this piece.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167010/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Atiya Mahmood receives funding from Social Science and Humanities Research Council - Partnership Grant.
Project Title: Aging in the Right Place: Building Capacity for Promising Practices that Support Older People Experiencing Homelessness in Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Priscilla Ruth Chyrva receives as a RISE Globalink Research Intern funding from the German DAAD and Mitacs. This enabled her to contribute to the AIRP Project which is funded by Canada’s Mortgage and Housing Cooperation and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachelle Patille receives funding from Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in affiliation with the AIRP Project which this piece is linked to. </span></em></p>Empowering older adults to become digital citizens will not only help them stay connected, but help them access essential services like housing.Atiya Mahmood, Associate professor, Gerontology Department, Simon Fraser UniversityPriscilla Ruth Chyrva, Assistant Researcher, Aging in the Right Place (AIRP), Simon Fraser UniversityRachelle Patille, Research Assistant, Aging in the Right Place (AIRP), Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1673162021-09-14T20:52:19Z2021-09-14T20:52:19Z‘What is my IP address?’ Explaining one of the world’s most Googled questions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421006/original/file-20210914-27-1tpy7ey.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&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><em>What is my IP?</em> It’s an odd question in most people’s minds, yet it’s one of the <a href="https://www.semrush.com/blog/most-searched-keywords-google/">top ten most-searched</a> questions on Google. </p>
<p>Those who know what an IP address is will already know most of these searches are coming from people who understand what they’re searching for. But for the rest of us a more relevant question might be: <em>what is an IP address?</em></p>
<p>Across the globe there are billions of computing devices that connect to the internet. To communicate, each device needs an address, just like our homes. </p>
<p>Our home address is typically structured along the lines of “number, street, city, postcode, country”. And our entire postal delivery network is based on this system.</p>
<p>Our digital world is similar, and has an address system that allows network traffic to move around the internet. So, an IP (internet protocol) address — which also has its own implicit structure — is fundamentally a numeric address for an endpoint on the internet.</p>
<h2>An online content delivery system</h2>
<p>Akin to postal addresses, IP addresses are assigned to each recipient in a worldwide infrastructure. The recipient could be a single device such as a laptop, phone, tablet or even your air-conditioner controller — but could also be a network entry point to a large organisation.</p>
<p>Since its inception, IP was designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind. That’s why it has remained effective at handling internet traffic, starting on a network with four nodes in the late 1960s, to billions of devices today.</p>
<p>An IP address is a number in binary format, which means it has 32 digits (or bits) comprising 1s and 0s. The address is typically grouped as four 8-bit numbers, so each number is eight digits that are either a 1 or 0. </p>
<p>But we usually view IP addresses in a decimal format, wherein the value between 00000000-11111111 becomes a number between 0 and 255. So the complete IP address space ranges from 0.0.0.0 through to 255.255.255.255. </p>
<p>See an example below, using the IP address of one of the servers that hosts theconversation.com.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420143/original/file-20210909-23-51710p.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420143/original/file-20210909-23-51710p.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=91&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420143/original/file-20210909-23-51710p.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=91&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420143/original/file-20210909-23-51710p.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=91&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420143/original/file-20210909-23-51710p.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420143/original/file-20210909-23-51710p.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420143/original/file-20210909-23-51710p.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Examples of the same IP address in three different notations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>IP addresses are centrally managed by the <a href="https://www.iana.org/">Internet Assigned Numbers Authority</a>, which delegates to one of five regional registries: Africa, America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Europe-West/Central Asia.</p>
<p>Not all addresses are available for use by anyone. Many are <a href="https://www.arin.net/reference/research/statistics/address_filters/">reserved</a> for specific purposes. For example, three ranges of addresses (10.0.0.0—10.255.255.255, 192.168.0.0—192.168.255.255 and 172.16.0.0—172.31.255.255) are reserved for private networks such as your home.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420142/original/file-20210909-23-1mp476r.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420142/original/file-20210909-23-1mp476r.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420142/original/file-20210909-23-1mp476r.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420142/original/file-20210909-23-1mp476r.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420142/original/file-20210909-23-1mp476r.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420142/original/file-20210909-23-1mp476r.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420142/original/file-20210909-23-1mp476r.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For an IT geek, <em>there’s no place like your local loopback address</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other large blocks of addresses are <a href="https://www.pingdom.com/blog/where-did-all-the-ip-numbers-go-the-us-department-of-defense-has-them/">assigned to specific organisations</a>. The US Department of Defense “owns” the “6” prefix (6.x.y.z), as well as 11 others.</p>
<h2>IPv6: a new frontier</h2>
<p>IPv4 (version 4) is the most widely used version of IP in the world right now. Dating <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc791">back to the 1980s</a>, it has a capacity of more than four billion unique addresses — which was considered enough back then.</p>
<p>But a combination of wasteful use (such as organisations being allocated larger IP address spaces than they need), and the exponential increase of users, is causing this space to run out.</p>
<p>For now, IPv4 is still here. But its demise has long been <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/07/the-internet-is-running-out-of-addresses-but-dont-worry/60242/">predicted</a> and it will eventually no longer be fit for purpose. There are technical solutions, however. </p>
<p>The most useful ones are Network Address Translation (more on this later) and a newer version of IP: version 6. Although IPv6 is newer than IPv4, it isn’t really “new”. It was originally proposed some <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1883">25 years ago</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-why-the-internet-will-always-have-enough-space-for-all-our-devices-122559">Here's why the internet will always have enough space for all our devices</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The shift to IPv6 brings a range of benefits, even if they are basically transparent as far as consumers are concerned. The most significant change with IPv6 is the increase in the size of IP addresses from 32 bits to 128 bits.</p>
<p>Version 6 also boosts the total number of unique IP addresses on offer, up to some 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456. Even with the rapid rise in device usage, this address pool should <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-end-of-the-internet-ipv4-versus-ipv6-145">last us a long time</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420149/original/file-20210909-13-1ooar7o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420149/original/file-20210909-13-1ooar7o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420149/original/file-20210909-13-1ooar7o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420149/original/file-20210909-13-1ooar7o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420149/original/file-20210909-13-1ooar7o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420149/original/file-20210909-13-1ooar7o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420149/original/file-20210909-13-1ooar7o.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">While IPv6 contains an unimaginable number of assignable addresses, as technology evolves we may well reach address exhaustion again!</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">xkcd</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making efficient use of addresses</h2>
<p>As mentioned above, private addresses can be used for individual devices inside an organisation (or home). But private addresses can’t be used on the internet, so these devices “hide” behind one public/external IP address.</p>
<p>This public address is capable of supporting up to hundreds of thousands of devices for a large organisation. But a router is needed to connect the network to the internet. The router translates the many internal private addresses which are hiding behind the public IP address (or several of them).</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420148/original/file-20210909-26-mw8wyj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420148/original/file-20210909-26-mw8wyj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420148/original/file-20210909-26-mw8wyj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420148/original/file-20210909-26-mw8wyj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420148/original/file-20210909-26-mw8wyj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420148/original/file-20210909-26-mw8wyj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420148/original/file-20210909-26-mw8wyj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Private address spaces often use the 192.168 prefix. You cannot trace an address to this network remotely!</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">xkcd</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When data is delivered to a private organisation or home network, the router forwards the traffic to a specific internal computer using that computer’s private IP address. </p>
<p>The process of routing many devices through a single IP address is called “nesting” networks. And the technique it uses is referred to as Network Address Translation (NAT). </p>
<h2>IP and download speeds</h2>
<p>You probably won’t be using IP addresses in your daily life. But in order to access a website our computers need to “look up” the IP address for that site. This all happens in the background.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420141/original/file-20210909-21-15xill5.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420141/original/file-20210909-21-15xill5.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420141/original/file-20210909-21-15xill5.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420141/original/file-20210909-21-15xill5.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420141/original/file-20210909-21-15xill5.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420141/original/file-20210909-21-15xill5.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420141/original/file-20210909-21-15xill5.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An example DNS lookup, the web address ‘www.theconversation.com’ is converted to the shorter form ‘theconversation.com’ and returns four distinct IP addresses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once our computer has retrieved the website’s IP address, our browser will connect to the address, request the website data from the server and load the page. </p>
<p>In the image above, you’ll notice four different addresses. This allows the servers delivering the content to distribute the workload between four servers. Some websites go further and use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fastly-global-internet-outage-why-did-so-many-sites-go-down-and-what-is-a-cdn-anyway-162371">Fastly global internet outage: why did so many sites go down — and what is a CDN, anyway?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>CDNs host copies of web content in servers around the globe. This means the content requested can be delivered from a location that is geographically closer to the user trying to access it. This reduces the time it takes to load the page. </p>
<h2>The future of IP</h2>
<p>IPv6 may be slowly rolling out in ISP networks and large organisations, but home users and smaller companies will still be using IPv4 for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>The increased number of devices connected to the internet will certainly test our home routers – with predictions of <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1183457/iot-connected-devices-worldwide/">25 billion</a> devices expected globally within the next decade. Fortunately, even with this predicted explosion, IPv4 at home will be able to cope.</p>
<p>In the meantime, if you want to know your public IP address, simply search “<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+my+IP+address">what is my IP address</a>” and Google (as well as several other search engines) will deliver your public IP address. If you want to check your private IP address, this will take a <a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/236838/how-to-find-any-devices-ip-address-mac-address-and-other-network-connection-details/">little more effort</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167316/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>IP addresses serve a similar function to postal addresses. Postal addresses allow our mail to circulate, while IP addresses allow network traffic to move around the internet.Paul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan UniversityBogdan Ghita, Associate dean (International), Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of PlymouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1639552021-07-13T14:37:47Z2021-07-13T14:37:47ZVictoria’s Secret joins the ‘inclusive revolution,’ finally realizing diversity sells<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410424/original/file-20210708-25-hvedm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4962%2C3315&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Victoria's Secret we've become accustomed to is no more. The brand has finally realized that diversity sells.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Andy Wong) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-06-17/victorias-secret-rebrand-influencers-angels">Victoria’s Secret recently announced a cast of new “angels.”</a> They include American athlete Megan Rapinoe, actress and activist Priyanka Chopra Jonas and the brand’s first transgender model, Vanetina Sampaio. Together, they speak to a far more diverse image of beauty than was common for the once popular company. </p>
<p>Victoria’s Secret learned a lesson other leading fashion brands and the industry at large are coming to realize: diversity sells.</p>
<h2>Better representation</h2>
<p>This isn’t surprising. For years, consumers have <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/fashions-long-road-to-inclusivity">called for greater inclusion and better representation in mainstream fashion</a>. And the industry’s most avant-garde players have already responded, including <a href="https://www.theroot.com/rihannas-savage-x-fenty-show-is-a-masterclass-in-divers-1845252031">Rihanna’s much talked about Savage X Fenty</a> and <a href="https://people.com/style/summersalt-beach-body-campaign/">Summersalt’s “every body is a beach body”</a> campaign. </p>
<p>Consumers are willing to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/aeries-latest-inclusive-campaign-featuring-women-with-disabilities-and-medical-conditions-praised-online">back brands that feature diversity with their praise</a> and more importantly, their dollars. </p>
<p>In the last two years, fashion brands like <a href="https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/tommy-hilfiger-commits-to-diversity-with-people-s-place-program/2020071349808">Tommy Hilfiger</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/flyease-adaptive-fashion-1.6026277">Nike</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleykohan/2020/06/28/aeos-aerie-brand-built-on-body-positivity-and-inclusion-is-slowly-edging-out-sexy-supermodel-juggernaut-victorias-secret/">lingerie competitor Aerie</a> all made efforts toward greater inclusion. They feature plus-size models, transgender models and models with disabilities in their stores and online campaigns. </p>
<p>Each brand has been rewarded with public kudos and a flurry of consumer purchases. Yet others in the industry lagged. Despite Victoria’s Secret’s latest inclusion and diversity efforts, models with disabilities were missing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women with diverse bodies wear bikinis and hold signs that read 'fashion for every body' and 'We want diversity on our runways.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410442/original/file-20210708-19-h1k2jm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410442/original/file-20210708-19-h1k2jm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410442/original/file-20210708-19-h1k2jm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410442/original/file-20210708-19-h1k2jm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410442/original/file-20210708-19-h1k2jm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410442/original/file-20210708-19-h1k2jm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410442/original/file-20210708-19-h1k2jm.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">Undressed activists in swimsuits with posters that read ‘fashion for every body’ and ‘We want diversity on our runways’ on the street during London Fashion Week in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Embarking on diversity initiatives</h2>
<p>According to our new study, <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F14695405211022074">A model who looks like me: Communicating and consuming representations of disability</a></em>, the $3 trillion fashion industry has, until recently, paid little attention to gender, sexuality, race and disability. </p>
<p>We ask how and why the industry almost suddenly embarked on diversity initiatives. </p>
<p>We focus our attention on disability because it’s traditionally seen as <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/02/13/why-disabled-people-have-been-forgotten-by-the-fashion-industry">inconsistent with fashion</a>. The industry largely saw a person with disabilities as someone who can’t embody, reflect or convey beauty. In other words, disability would turn off consumers.</p>
<p>Our analysis over five years of three mainstream fashion magazines - <em>Vogue</em>, <em>InStyle</em> and <em>Harper’s Bazaar</em> - revealed not a single person with a disability appearing on the cover. A look at 2,500 ads in <em>InStyle</em> turned up similarly little. </p>
<p>So we turned to the recent and well-known Nike, Aerie and Tommy Hilfiger campaigns that featured a diverse cast of models, including those with a range of visible and non-visible disabilities.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1225902142462054402"}"></div></p>
<p>Tommy Hilfiger’s campaign went a step further. The brand developed <a href="https://usa.tommy.com/en/tommy-adaptive">adaptive clothing specifically designed for people with disabilities</a> — a step few others have taken. </p>
<p>This inclusion, though hugely important, often comes with more “sanitized” depictions of disability – creating images thought to be “more palatable” to consumers. </p>
<p>We found that editorials often reinforced distinctions between “ability” and disability, suggesting that disability is something to be overcome. For example, when athletes were praised for pushing the limitations of their disability. Sometimes, no photos of people with disabilities were included in editorials about them. When models with disabilities were included, they were often treated as too unremarkable to dress in brands referenced by the magazine’s editorial staff. </p>
<h2>Disability, diversity and inclusion efforts</h2>
<p>So why has disability become a more significant part of the fashion industry’s diversity and inclusion efforts?</p>
<p>Some brands take the leap, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahkim/2020/01/31/aerie-disability-representation/?sh=329e933250bd">challenging beliefs about potential consumer backlash</a>. They lower perceived risk as other brands follow suit. Risk, though, is also lessened when <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/tommy-hilfiger-spring-2018-adaptive-collection">consumers respond favourably to more inclusive initiatives</a>, sending a message to the industry at large. </p>
<p>We analyzed more than 200 online consumer comments about <em>Teen Vogue’s</em> “<a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/jillian-mercado-runway-debut">The New Faces of Fashion</a>” campaign that featured three models with disabilities: Chelsea Werner, Mama Cax and Jillian Mercado. We found that an overwhelming majority of consumers gave praise and admiration. </p>
<p>One viewer thanked <em>Teen Vogue</em> for “making great changes.” Another, eager for inclusion, wrote: “Let’s see this on a regular basis, please.” Brands like Dove Beauty and <em>Allure</em> left comments on the magazine’s Instagram page.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BnWAaypnMVF","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>In response to <em>Allure’s</em> praise, one viewer called on the magazine to “join the Inclusion Revolution too.” It wasn’t long after that Allure announced its own series on “<a href="https://www.allure.com/topic/the-beauty-of-accessibility">the beauty of accessibility</a>,” positioning Ellie Goldstein, a young model with Down syndrome, on the cover of their digital print magazine.</p>
<h2>Poised for a reboot</h2>
<p>Away from social media and after more than a year in lockdown, the fashion industry is poised for a reboot. Couturiers <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/dior-show-celebrates-fashion-up-close-personal-after-pandemic-2021-07-05/">like Dior</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/jul/06/begin-again-chanel-returns-first-major-live-shows-pandemic-paris-haute-couture">Chanel have convened</a> in Paris for the industry’s first set of in-person shows since the pandemic began. </p>
<p>As Victoria’s Secret and others set about reimagining the world that will be, we wonder what the “inclusion revolution” will look like — and whether people with disabilities will continue to be part of it. </p>
<p>We should look to industry leaders for signs of lasting change, but consumers matter too. They must continue demanding that fashion and beauty brands engage meaningfully with their efforts towards diversity and inclusion. </p>
<p>These demands will need to move beyond casting calls and runway models. They must include boardrooms and brand teams – those who ultimately influence and make decisions about what consumers see and purchase.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Pettinicchio receives funding from SSHRC</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Foster receives funding from the Government of Ontario and from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Victoria’s Secret learned a lesson other leading fashion brands and the industry at large are coming to realize: diversity sells. But when it comes to disability, brands aren’t quite there yet.David Pettinicchio, Associate Professor, Sociology, University of TorontoJordan Foster, PhD Student, Sociology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1596682021-04-29T20:02:53Z2021-04-29T20:02:53ZNot two different worlds: QAnon and the offline dangers of online speech<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397708/original/file-20210429-19-4hfe6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=84%2C60%2C7996%2C4082&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The arbitrary distinction between online and offline means much hate speech and abuse goes unnoticed until it’s too late.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The new docuseries, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK_Gf9H2CWI&ab_channel=HBO"><em>Q: Into the Storm</em></a>, is an investigation into the QAnon conspiracy theory and the shadowy online subcultures and spaces that fuel it. An important narrative throughout the series is the negative consequences of online speech, which demonstrates the danger of <a href="https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2011/02/24/digital-dualism-versus-augmented-reality/">digital dualism</a>: the tendency to treat online life as distinct, separate and sometimes as less real from offline life.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/designating-the-proud-boys-a-terrorist-organization-wont-stop-hate-fuelled-violence-154709">Designating the Proud Boys a terrorist organization won't stop hate-fuelled violence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In our academic research and daily lives, we’ve noticed examples of digital dualism everywhere. Sometimes these examples are subtle, though pervasive. </p>
<p>Consider, for example, Canada Post’s slogan “<a href="https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/doc/en/campaigns/2020/delivering-the-online-world/delivering-the-online-world-magazine-fall-2020.pdf">Delivering the online world</a>,” or the subheading in a recent <em>New York Times</em> article, which cautions that “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/world/europe/capitol-far-right-global.html">extremists have built a web of real and online connections</a>.” The dualism here is in the use of the word “real” to describe offline, which implies that online is less real. </p>
<h2>Digital life, real harms</h2>
<p>Making a distinction between online and offline life was not always a problem. Throughout the ‘80s and '90s there were <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/second-self-twentieth-anniversary-edition">compelling reasons to think of life in front of a screen and away from a screen as distinct</a>. But thinking about life away from a screen today is much harder to imagine, particularly with the nearly ubiquitous adoption of smartphones and the fact that our political, social and economic lives are increasingly digital. This is perhaps <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/07/technology/coronavirus-internet-use.html">truer today than it was just over a year ago</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/The-Emerald-International-Handbook-of-Technology-Facilitated-Violence-and-Abuse/?k=9781839828492">In recent research</a>, we studied the tendency to make this distinction and explored the negative consequences of digital dualist assumptions. </p>
<p>Other research examined the experiences of those targeted by online abuse and found evidence that <a href="https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7628/">digital dualism prevents them from finding proper support</a>. Some participants explained that friends, family, mental health care providers and perpetrators themselves dismissed online abuse as “just words” that are “just online.” When online abuse is <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-right-amount-of-panic">downplayed as harmless speech</a>, and as something that is separate from life offline, it can prevent people from getting the help they need. This can result in <a href="https://www.bwss.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CyberVAWReportJessicaWest.pdf">psychological, emotional</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447344">economic trauma</a>.</p>
<h2>Online speech and it’s consequences</h2>
<p><em>Q: Into the Storm</em> shows several examples of how online speech influenced violent and abusive actions that hurt people. The docuseries shows the current owners of 8chan (now 8kun), father and son duo Jim and Ron Watkins, as having unfettered dedication to free speech. This is contrasted with 8chan’s original founder/creator Frederick Brennan’s realization that an <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-weird-dark-history-8chan/">absolutist approach to free speech is highly toxic</a>. At one point in the documentary, Brennan explains: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I had this mental divide in my mind between like the digital world and the real world … I always just thought that the internet is the internet, and I kind of had, I guess, a kind of split personality. What I did on the internet was different from what I did in real life … There’s no difference at all. The internet is the real world.”</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397707/original/file-20210429-23-1s5j7c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People display Qanon messages on cardboards during a political rally" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397707/original/file-20210429-23-1s5j7c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397707/original/file-20210429-23-1s5j7c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397707/original/file-20210429-23-1s5j7c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397707/original/file-20210429-23-1s5j7c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397707/original/file-20210429-23-1s5j7c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397707/original/file-20210429-23-1s5j7c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397707/original/file-20210429-23-1s5j7c3.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">Conspiracy theories like QAnon have further blurred the line between online and offline.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By examining examples such as QAnon, the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill attack or the Christchurch mosque attack, the docuseries shows that distinguishing between online and offline life makes little sense. Drawing a line between where online harm ends and offline harm begins is arbitrary, and most attempts to do so focus on when harm becomes physical which is a misstep.</p>
<p>If we continue to view online and offline as distinct, then we won’t catch misinformation, conspiracies and online abuse until it’s too late. In other words, if we continue to view online speech as “just online,” and thus immaterial, we will continue to miss opportunities to respond to critical threats as they emerge online.</p>
<h2>Bridging the gap</h2>
<p>So how can we encourage others to stop adopting a mindset of digital dualism?</p>
<p>To start, we need to recognize that our online lives are our real lives. As our lives become more interconnected with digital devices — dating, working, shopping, learning, seeking health care — this distinction is no longer useful. </p>
<p>We need collective efforts to change how we speak, think about and treat online life. Documentaries like <em>Q: Into the Storm</em> that show how online messages have dramatic offline impacts will help, but we need to think about how other media can change as well. </p>
<p>For example, we could begin to change the way this issue is portrayed in the news. There is precedent for this. In the past major outlets have strategically modified the language they use to talk about certain issues. In 2019, the <em>Guardian</em> changed the language it uses to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/17/why-the-guardian-is-changing-the-language-it-uses-about-the-environment">discuss climate change</a>, and last year <em>BuzzFeed</em> decided to use the language of “<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/drumoorhouse/qanon-mass-collective-delusion-buzzfeed-news-copy-desk">collective delusion</a>” to describe QAnon. </p>
<p>A similar editorial decision to stop using words like “real” as the opposite of online can begin to change how we think about the social digital landscape. <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2019/08/22/the-power-of-language-how-words-shape-people-culture/">These changes in turn, will begin to influence how people talk about online activity</a>, and help people consider the link between online and offline actions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159668/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chandell Gosse receives funding from the Social Sciences and Research Council (SSHRC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaigris Hodson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Research Council (SSHRC) Canada Research Chairs Program</span></em></p>Online abuse is often dismissed as “just online.” But the rise of QAnon and similar groups demonstrates the very real consequences of online speech.Chandell Gosse, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Interdisciplinary Studies, Royal Roads UniversityJaigris Hodson, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Royal Roads UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1541082021-01-29T16:48:47Z2021-01-29T16:48:47ZFuture of high streets: how to prevent our city centres from turning into ghost towns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381390/original/file-20210129-20398-h6vsk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bands don't play no more ...</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-may-8-2020-empty-1726476982">CK Travels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The past few days have seen a watershed in the world of retail. Online-only fashion company Boohoo is on a spending spree, buying cash-strapped “bricks and mortar” brands that were previously staples of the high street. Barely out of infancy, Boohoo <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2021/jan/25/boohoo-buys-debenhams-55m-asos-in-exclusive-talks-to-buy-topshop-arcadia-ftse-pound-sterling-economy-retail-high-street-business-live">snapped up Debenhams</a> a few days ago and is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55852052">now in talks</a> to buy Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton – all brands from failed retail group Arcadia. Not to be outdone, <a href="https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/01/topshop-flagship-could-be-saved-if-asos-arcadia-deal-succeeds/">ASOS</a>, another online-only fashion retailer, is expected to step in and rejuvenate Topshop, which is also owned by Arcadia. </p>
<p>Tellingly, neither Boohoo nor ASOS are taking over the physical stores of the brands that they are buying. This inevitably confirms the closure of hundreds of shops and the loss of thousands of jobs. Indeed, the high street has been struggling for some time. In <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/highstreetsingreatbritain/march2020">more than three-quarters</a> of local authorities in the UK, for example, high street retail jobs fell between 2015 and 2018. In 2018, the same data showed that high streets were heavily dependent on offices, comprising 29% of high street employment in north-east England and 49% in London.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381096/original/file-20210128-13-1065n7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The Boohoo brand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381096/original/file-20210128-13-1065n7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381096/original/file-20210128-13-1065n7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381096/original/file-20210128-13-1065n7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381096/original/file-20210128-13-1065n7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381096/original/file-20210128-13-1065n7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381096/original/file-20210128-13-1065n7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381096/original/file-20210128-13-1065n7h.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">Boohoo: no tears for legacy stores.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moscow-russia-1-june-2020-boohoo-1764295304">Postmodern Studio</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The main reason for retail decline? Internet shopping, which explains the buying power of Boohoo and ASOS. One of the reasons for their success – and the failure of high-street rivals to compete – is business rates. Retailers with a presence on the high street <a href="https://www.retailresearch.org/future-of-the-high-street.html">paid £7.2 billion</a> in business rates in 2018/19, while online traders paid only £457 million on their out-of-town warehouses. </p>
<p>Then came COVID-19. Thanks to the government-mandated lockdowns, the retail industry’s shift to digital has become even more marked. Online sales are now predicted to grow to US$6.5 trillion (£4.7 trillion) worldwide by 2022, up from <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/379046/worldwide-retail-e-commerce-sales/">US$3.5 trillion in 2019</a>. </p>
<p>With automation <a href="https://cornerstonecapinc.com/retail-automation-stranded-workers-opportunities-and-risks-for-labor-and-automation/">also threatening</a> the loss of many retail jobs in future, some are predicting that as much as <a href="https://www.shipbob.com/blog/ecommerce-venture-capital/">95% of shopping</a> will be online by 2040.</p>
<h2>The future of high streets</h2>
<p>So what should be done with high streets in future? We suggest that high streets need to be social spaces. Shopping is usually seen as a fun social experience, which has been put on hold because of the health crisis.</p>
<p>The challenge is to find a social experience that can work on the high street but fits around online shopping. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/amazon-uk-shops-go-open-launch-jeff-bezos-a9651231.html">Amazon</a>, for example, has started to create Amazon Go showrooms, where people can view goods and pick up orders, and their accounts are debited without even having to go through a checkout. </p>
<p>Other online retailers could try something similar, or brands could pay a fee to have their products represented in someone else’s showroom. As for surviving traditional retailers, they will increasingly need to offer an experience that people can’t get online or on their phone if they want to keep attracting customers. Local authorities can help here by giving high streets face lifts, while encouraging communal activities for both adults and children. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NrmMk1Myrxc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Amazon Go is a new kind of store featuring advanced shopping technology. There are no lines and no checkout, you just grab and go.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other ideas discussed in <a href="https://www.ecrloss.com/research/buy-online-return-in-store">our research</a> involve concepts from the circular economy, which encourages the continual use of resources, and the sharing economy. For example, repair cafes, where people can have their broken products repaired for a small price, could become more popular. Also, <a href="https://www.retuna.se/english/">The Swedish ReTuna</a>, a recycling mall, is the best example of a shopping centre selling only items that were donated and upcycled. </p>
<p>Additionally, second hand shops and libraries of things, where people can borrow or rent items, including fashion, household, toys and games, and tools, could establish themselves in high streets. The current high street crisis is painful, but it is also an opportunity to reinvent the shopping experience we grew to know and love in the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154108/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Regina Frei receives funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for a research project entitled "Forecasting and influencing product returns and fraud rates in a Covid-19 World". She also consults to the ECR Retail Loss group. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Jack consults and is an academic advisor to ECR Retail Loss and the 'Buy online return in store' research was made possible by independent research grants from Checkpoint, RGIS, Genetec and Oliver Wyman. ORIS Forums members also participated in the research. </span></em></p>As online retailers like Boohoo and ASOS mop up some of the biggest high street brands, shops are increasingly under threat.Regina Frei, Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management, University of SouthamptonLisa Jack, Professor of Accounting, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1535112021-01-21T17:20:54Z2021-01-21T17:20:54ZFashion retailer Primark is refusing to sell online – here’s why it is right to do so<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379729/original/file-20210120-15-1ctswhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C3283%2C2999&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Customers queue to enter Primark on May 11 last year, after lockdown was eased. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/clients-queue-enter-shops-rue-neuve-1728573688">Alexandros Michailidis/shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Irish fast-fashion retailer Primark has no plans to sell its clothes online. This is despite the company warning that lockdown store closures could cost it losses of more than £1 billion. The retailer has shut 305 of its 389 global stores – including 190 in the UK. Primark has just announced a 30% sales fall to £2 billion in the 16 weeks leading to January 2, adding that this loss could mean price rises. </p>
<p>While the retail giant has no online store to fall back on, the likes of online-only fashion retailers Asos and Boohoo, saw <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55661741#:%7E:text=Primark%20says%20it%20has%20no,%C2%A31bn%20in%20lost%20sales.&text=It%20contrasts%20with%20online%20only,last%20four%20months%20of%202020.">sales rise by 40%</a> in the last four months of 2020. In fact, the Office for National Statistics says that <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/november2020">online retail sales</a> increased to 31.4% last November, compared with 28.6% reported in October - so it’s clearly unusual for Primark not to have a digital presence for shoppers.</p>
<p>Because Primark is one of the few high street fashion retailers without an online store, many of its <a href="https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/primark-urged-open-online-store-19598892">customers have called for</a> the business to adapt to the digital era and change this. But the store’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55661741#:%7E:text=Primark%20says%20it%20has%20no,%C2%A31bn%20in%20lost%20sales.&text=It%20contrasts%20with%20online%20only,last%20four%20months%20of%202020.">directors have no intention of doing so</a>, citing the high costs of running an online business and the associated customer returns as the main reasons. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://www.ecrloss.com/research/buy-online-return-in-store">have researched</a> the growth of “buy online, return in store” and the true cost of returns. Our view is that Primark is right to be extremely cautious, as online shopping is designed to favour “time-poor but cash-rich” customers, not necessarily retailers. It’s a good example of how an online offering is not always the right option for retailers – and as we shall see, there are implications for social justice. </p>
<h2>The problem with product returns</h2>
<p>A good returns policy can attract customers and increase sales, but high rates of returns can wipe out any profits for a retailer. The average rate of returns is 8% for store sales but around 25% for online sales, rising to between 30% and 70% in the fashion world. </p>
<p>A recent report by the UK’s online retail association, IMRG, <a href="https://www.imrg.org/data-and-reports/imrg-reports/imrg-returns-review-2020/#:%7E:text=The%202020%20IMRG%20Returns%20Review,retailers%20to%20make%20Returns%20work">indicates that</a> 31% of retailers found that managing online returns had a definite impact on profits. Some 33% reported increasing prices to cover the cost of returns. </p>
<p>In 2019, retailers had started to revise their policies and practices to combat these rates of return. In some cases, savings were made by simply enforcing the returns policy that they already had in place. </p>
<p>However, COVID-19 has negated most of this success. With stores closed, returns are coming through more expensive channels like post, courier and third-party collection points. There has also been <a href="https://www.retailtechnologyreview.com/articles/2020/08/18/fashion-victim-death-of-the-changing-room-and-the-rising-risk-of-returns-fraud/">an increase</a> in fraud-related returns. The cost of these offset any gains from increased online sales. </p>
<p>If Primark were to launch an online store, Brexit would mean that it would need to decide whether to establish two separate returns distribution stores in Ireland and the UK. Running all returns through a single warehouse would generate <a href="https://theconversation.com/brexit-uk-pound-has-not-crashed-yet-but-heres-why-it-will-probably-suffer-in-years-to-come-152646">additional paperwork</a> around export classifications and increase transaction costs. But ultimately both solutions would be expensive and complicated due to <a href="https://www.shopify.co.uk/enterprise/what-brexit-means-for-ecommerce">import/export and VAT regulations</a>. </p>
<h2>Learning from rivals</h2>
<p>In contrast, British clothing retailer Next has been successful online, though this not always straightforward. It began its <a href="https://www.nextplc.co.uk/about-next/our-history">directory business in 1988</a>, shortly after opening its first stores, and then went online in 1999. </p>
<p>In 2018, Next <a href="https://www.nextplc.co.uk/%7E/media/Files/N/Next-PLC-V2/documents/2019/annual-report-and-accounts-jan19.pdf">had to make an accounting adjustment</a> when it realised that the staffing and management cost of handling “click and collect” orders in-store was £0.89 per parcel and not the £0.57 previously assumed. With Primark selling clothes at lower prices than Next, it would likely not make a profit at all with click and collect. </p>
<p>Next’s online operation faces other challenges. In 2020, it said it would cost £12 million over two and a half years to modernise its website, which it described as “increasingly complex, unwieldy and expensive”. Additionally, the company reworked its distribution and inventory processes to turn around online orders more quickly. </p>
<p>We found that some retailers also face a problem of integrating their store and e-commerce channels. It is a major task to remodel the entire company IT infrastructure to accommodate the online business, and most settle for “bolt-ons”. Consequently, several of the businesses we studied used data from different systems to track refunds, returns and lost items. This is an issue Primark will have considered. And unlike Next, it had a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/primark-unlikely-continue-asos-online-collaboration-8923652.html">poor experience</a> of selling outside of the stores when it trialled selling through online retailer Asos a few years ago.</p>
<h2>The implications of selling online</h2>
<p>There is a perception that setting up and running a website should be easy. However, even small e-commerce owners quickly find that being online is not just a nice-to-have addition to their business.</p>
<p>To sell online, businesses need a gripping website with quality pictures. Returns usually occur when the item fails to match its online image or the information provided is incomplete or inaccurate. Additionally, the website needs a “back end” with very high functionality that links into inventory, logistics, customer accounts and finance systems. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Blond woman making purchasing via internet paying credit card. Focus on fresh buying packed in colored paper bags standing in front of her. Shopping, consumerism, delivery and present concept" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379726/original/file-20210120-21-1hwp7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379726/original/file-20210120-21-1hwp7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379726/original/file-20210120-21-1hwp7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379726/original/file-20210120-21-1hwp7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379726/original/file-20210120-21-1hwp7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379726/original/file-20210120-21-1hwp7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379726/original/file-20210120-21-1hwp7ch.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">Online shopping benefits time poor, cash rich people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blond-woman-making-purchasing-via-internet-296153651">megaflopp/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before you even start selling, that’s a lot of investment in design, photography, programming and testing. Then there are ongoing costs of maintenance, support, daily marketing and “click bait”. Online chat, call centres and customer support all need to be staffed, in addition to the warehouse operations dealing with online orders. </p>
<p>Most retailers find themselves setting up separate distribution warehouses to handle their online goods. Most major retailers have also set up separate distribution centres just to deal with returns. We found that accepting returns in store is the most cost-effective route. </p>
<p>But either way, there are still additional costs: even if there are no returns at all on a line or item, there is still a cost in maintaining the system <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-costs-of-online-shopping-for-customers-and-retailers-109694">just in case there is a return</a>. This means that for items under a certain price, the handling costs are more than the income from reselling the item – a problem for low price propositions like Primark. Using our model, the cost of returns on a £5.00 item can be around £6.50.</p>
<p>Online shopping offers advantages for cash-rich, time-poor customers, whereas the time-rich, cash-poor often rely on stores like Primark. This raises the uncomfortable question of whether online shopping might be another sign of inequality in society – benefiting those with access to credit and IT, and who can afford to pay enough to cover the hidden costs of returns.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Jack consults to ECR Retail Loss and this research was made possible by independent research grants from Checkpoint, RGIS, Genetec and Oliver Wyman. ORIS Forums members also participated in the research. Primark is a member of ECR but did not pay towards this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Regina Frei receives funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for a research project entitled "Forecasting and influencing product returns and fraud rates in a Covid-19 World". She also consults to ECR Retail Loss, and this research was made possible by independent research grants from Checkpoint, RGIS, Genetec and Oliver Wyman. ORIS Forums members also participated in the research. Primark is a member of ECR but did not pay for this research. </span></em></p>The Irish retailer is one of the few high street fashion retailers without an online store.Lisa Jack, Professor of Accounting, University of PortsmouthRegina Frei, Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1513192021-01-14T14:30:05Z2021-01-14T14:30:05ZNigeria’s State Houses of Assembly need a greater online presence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378270/original/file-20210112-23-1j6rho0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">State assemblies in Nigeria must devote more resources to digital communication </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/policemen-keeps-watch-at-the-bayelsa-house-of-assembly-in-news-photo/56290017">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigerians are now more active online than ever. Data from the <a href="https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics-reports/industry-overview#view-graphs-tables-5">National Communications Commission</a> and <a href="https://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm#ng">independent bodies</a> suggest that the majority of citizens use the internet, social media and smartphones for everyday activity. </p>
<p>Many of these people engage in political conversations. This is why government institutions should use online platforms to engage with the public. The legislature, as the voice of the people, is expected to connect with the people – and <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-polity/ip000316">online technologies</a> make this easier, cheaper and faster. </p>
<p>But do assemblies maintain an active online presence, in line with governance trends in the information era? We took on this important question in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13572334.2020.1818928">our research</a> by focusing on the 36 subnational legislatures in Nigeria. These are called State Houses of Assembly. </p>
<p>These assemblies should be closer to the people, but <a href="http://afrobarometer.org/online-data-analysis/analyse-online">data</a> show that they are disconnected and the public doesn’t fully trust them. This is all the more reason they should be using digital platforms to inform and listen to citizens. </p>
<p>We analysed the parliamentary websites as well as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts of the assemblies from June 2019 to March 2020. We also interacted with relevant officials and used <a href="https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary">data</a> from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, capturing revenue, internet penetration and literacy rates.</p>
<h2>Assemblies and online presence</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2018-11/world-e-parliament-report-2018">Evidence</a> from the Inter-Parliamentary Union,
an international organisation of parliaments, shows that national legislatures increasingly use websites, social media and related digital tools to perform their functions. They also share information and communicate with the public. </p>
<p>We found this didn’t happen in Nigeria.</p>
<p>At least half of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies had websites and Twitter accounts. Over three quarters had Facebook accounts, but only a handful had Instagram and YouTube accounts. </p>
<p>Online presence was skewed towards geopolitical zones with an economic advantage. South-west and South-south (six states apiece) had four assemblies with websites. Three states each in the North-east and North-central (of six states each) had websites. The South-east (five states) and North-west zones (seven states) had only two each with websites. </p>
<p>Lagos State Assembly appeared to be the only one with a relatively active presence on both <a href="https://www.lagoshouseofassembly.gov.ng">website</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/lshaofficial">social media</a>. This underscores the state’s elite status in terms of resources, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20421338.2020.1748335">proportion of internet users and literacy rates</a>. </p>
<p>Another factor that influenced online presence was the relationship between legislative bureaucrats and political aides. The presence was much better if the parliamentary leadership, as represented by presiding speakers, made it a priority. </p>
<p>As staff of information technology departments, bureaucrats have a duty to operate the institutional online accounts. But political aides, as appointees of elected members, especially presiding speakers, handle the individual accounts of their principals. Where they didn’t work together, lapses in the online presence of the legislature were evident. </p>
<p>Similarly, in two instances, respondents confirmed that they had lost their websites because the presiding speakers were not convinced of the need to sustain them. </p>
<p>We also observed that the websites projected the image of leaders and individual members more than the institution. The websites carried biographical descriptions of legislators. But they had nothing about members’ salaries and allowances and procedure for their recall.</p>
<p>There were significant shortcomings in the use of social media platforms for engagement. For instance, we tested for three levels of use: (i) to inform the public about the legislative institution, (ii) to inform about its activities and (iii) to promote conversations and relationships with the people. Only about 10% used Twitter for the third – the most important dimension of engagement. Facebook and Instagram were used mostly at the first levels, and, in few cases, the second. Whereas having Facebook accounts was very prominent, only about one-third of the assemblies frequently updated the accounts and activated tools that allow interaction with the public. </p>
<p>What is clear is that despite the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461355718763448">increasing popularity</a> of social media among citizens, assemblies don’t offer what citizens need: political information and the opportunity for two-way communication. </p>
<p>Similar to the ways in which they mostly use their websites, social media platforms are mostly used to disseminate information, rather than to promote two-way communication with the public. This detracts from the benefits that social media, especially, can bring to connections between public institutions and citizens. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>The assemblies must realise that the online space is the new campaign ground for public support. Whether they practise digital engagement or not, the public will continue to shape opinions about them, rightly or wrongly. It is only fair, then, that the assemblies add their voices to these online conversations. </p>
<p>They can do this by devoting more resources to digital communication and promoting overarching public engagement strategies. </p>
<p>There must also be regular training for digital managers of the legislative institutions and greater political will by the leadership. This will promote ongoing dialogue with Nigerians. </p>
<p>It may also help in reversing the level of public distrust of legislative institutions in Nigeria.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi receives funding for doctoral studies from Nigeria's Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) through the Obafemi Awolowo University. He is also affiliated with the University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom, where is a doctoral researcher. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Omomayowa Olawale Abati receives funding from the National Research Foundation of the Republic of South Africa through Stellenbosch University where he undertake his doctoral research. He is also affiliated to Kings University, Odeomu, Nigeria where he teaches Political Science. </span></em></p>While internet penetration is increasing in Nigeria, State Houses of Assembly have little or no online presence, this ought to change.Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi, Lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityOmomayowa Olawale Abati, Lecturer, Kings UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1481542020-11-19T19:28:46Z2020-11-19T19:28:46Z4 tips for college students to avoid procrastinating with their online work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369889/original/file-20201117-17-1y0yojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5455%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Time management and supportive learning environments are keys to avoiding procrastination. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/bored-exhausted-african-american-woman-falling-royalty-free-image/1127950018?adppopup=true">fizkes/ iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you take classes online, chances are you probably procrastinate from time to time.</p>
<p>Research shows that <a href="https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-0663.99.1.12">more than 70%</a> of college students procrastinate, with about 20% consistently doing it all the time.</p>
<p>Procrastination is putting off starting or finishing a task despite knowing that it will seriously compromise the quality of your work – for instance, putting off a major class project until the last minute.</p>
<p>In fact, research has shown that procrastination can be a harmful behavior that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.02.038">lowers a student’s grades</a>.</p>
<p>Now that so many colleges and universities are <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/11/17/colleges-end-person-instruction-early-due-covid-19-spread">operating remotely because of the COVID-19</a> pandemic, we worry that students are more prone to procrastinate because they have less access to campus facilities and structured support from instructors. We raise these concerns as researchers who study students’ <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=cBsh7i4AAAAJ&hl=en">motivation and engagement</a> and their <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=A_y6nEsAAAAJ&hl=en">procrastination in online learning</a>.</p>
<p>As professors, we’ve also heard our fair share of explanations and excuses for why students missed deadlines. Everything from “my computer doesn’t work” to “my Wi-Fi went dead.” We even had one student claim that “Grandma died” in one course and that “Grandpa died” in another course. We also have had students claim that their roommate deleted their homework.</p>
<p>Whether you see those reasons as valid or not, none of them really gets at why students procrastinate and end up in those kinds of situations in the first place. With that in mind, here are four tips that can help students deal better with the root causes of procrastination when it comes to online coursework.</p>
<h2>1. Manage motivation</h2>
<p>One of the main reasons students procrastinate is that they do not see their coursework as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2014.10.012">relevant</a> to what they’re doing now or expect to do later on. When students find that their academic tasks are interesting, important and useful, they are more likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2190/7BAK-EGAH-3MH1-K7C6">try harder to get them done</a> and less likely to <a href="http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1565872460207536">put them off</a>.</p>
<p>Remote learning can make students feel <a href="https://doi.org/10.46627/silet.v1i2.38">bored and frustrated</a>. Therefore, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608016300905">finding ways to stay motivated</a> can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608017302248?casa_token=jRn5aLqwA_EAAAAA:Pl3xnbkG7llxOvII1vRTkr6OhZwdjB4KbxKyujIsL8BiPLHsSWLoDbOGK4uMWFogD4zgzJRhpw">prevent procrastination</a>.</p>
<p>Remind yourself of the practical value of your academic tasks. Figure out the reasons you’re studying something in the first place. </p>
<p>For instance, instead of viewing the completion of an assignment as a way to fulfill course requirements, you can think about how to turn your coursework into something related to your life or career goals. For a computer science student, a programming assignment could be made a part of your portfolio to help secure an internship or even a job – as some of our own students have done. A research report could be turned into an academic journal article to enhance your profile when applying for graduate school in the future.</p>
<h2>2. Manage goals, tasks and time</h2>
<p>College life can get hectic. Many college students must juggle coursework, social events and work commitments at the same time. <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.133.1.65">Getting more organized</a> helps stave off procrastination. This means breaking long-term goals into smaller short-term, challenging and clear goals and tasks.</p>
<p>The reason this technique works is that procrastination is directly related to an individual’s <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/full/10.5465/AMR.2006.22527462?casa_token=z3rky_w4kkUAAAAA%3ASvKRFFdr7H-CACuzH0q7hnOibo2_J71L4t-iUJegIVyP1vxXLApXV_dqKFQHsaxCLOrbPpg2Flyw">preference and desire</a> for working on a task. When a goal is too large, it becomes not immediately achievable; therefore, you will see this task as less desirable and be more likely to put it off.</p>
<p>By breaking a large long-term goal into a series of smaller and more concrete subgoals, you will see the project as <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1990-97846-000?cid=SEM_DIR0016&con=13833&pkw=morningstar25252525252525252520direct&elqCampaignId=6282&prd=cloud&cap=research252525252525252520portal&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9KfZioi33AIVyLTtCh07gw7KEAAYASAAEgLGF_D_BwE">easier to complete</a> and, more importantly, your perceived distance to the finishing line will shorten. This way, you are more likely to perceive the project as <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/full/10.5465/AMR.2006.22527462?casa_token=z3rky_w4kkUAAAAA%3ASvKRFFdr7H-CACuzH0q7hnOibo2_J71L4t-iUJegIVyP1vxXLApXV_dqKFQHsaxCLOrbPpg2Flyw">desirable</a>, and you will be less likely to procrastinate.</p>
<p>Second, you need to plan your time daily by listing tasks based on their importance and urgency, estimating how much time you need to complete each task, and identifying concrete steps to reach daily goals. That is, tell yourself that in the context of X, I will need to do Y to accomplish Z.</p>
<p>It is also important to plan your time according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980309600625">how and when you prefer to study</a>. For example, you may concentrate the most late at night, your memory may work the best in the early mornings, or you may collaborate better during the day.</p>
<p>In addition, you should use tech tools, such as calendar and task-management apps, to plan your time and monitor how much you’re getting done.</p>
<h2>3. Create a good learning space</h2>
<p>Another important way to avoid procrastination is to make sure that your <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-31043-001">learning environment</a> is supportive for learning.</p>
<p>During the coronavirus pandemic, students are usually learning from home, but sometimes they study wherever they happen to be, even at picnic tables in public parks. These places may not be best suited for academic activities.</p>
<p>These environments have many characteristics that may be more interesting and less emotionally draining than academic tasks. Therefore, students could <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.133.1.65">drift away</a> from academic tasks and wind up instead chatting with friends or watching sports. This is why <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101872">choosing or creating a good place to study</a> can help people stop procrastinating.</p>
<p>Try to set up your surroundings in a way that suits your learning habits, including where you put tables and chairs and how you use lighting and block out noises. For example, some students may enjoy learning in a quiet and dark space with a spotlight. Others may learn best when they use a standing desk next to a bright window and constantly play soft background music.</p>
<h2>4. Get a little help from friends</h2>
<p>Friends and classmates can <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1220909">help one another stop procrastinating</a>. <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-45259-006">Colleagues and other contacts</a> can hold one another accountable and help one another meet deadlines. This is particularly important for anyone who struggles <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.133.1.65">with self-control</a>. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-008-9367-7">Research</a> also has shown that having supportive friends and other peers can boost self-confidence and make tasks seem more valuable and interesting.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students are physically isolated from most of their friends and classmates. The social support that students normally receive in face-to-face settings, such as after-class chats and study groups, has also been moved to virtual spaces. That is, it’s still available, but mainly through virtual means, such as instant-messaging apps, online collaboration tools or video conferencing software. Used wisely, these tools can help students work with friends to overcome procrastination and make the classwork more enjoyable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kui Xie receives funding from Institute for Educational Sciences, Spencer Foundation, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Department of Higher Education, and Ohio Mayfield School District.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shonn Cheng 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>More than 70% of college students engage in some form of procrastination, research shows.Kui Xie, Cyphert Distinguished Professor; Professor of Learning Technologies; Director of The Research Laboratory for Digital Learning, The Ohio State UniversityShonn Cheng, Assistant Professor of Instructional Systems Design and Technology, Sam Houston State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.