Alone Together: The Paradox of Loneliness in the Age of Social Media
Loneliness is universal—we all have experiences where we yearn for connection with others. Momentary loneliness is normal, but feeling chronically lonely can negatively impact mental and physical health. According to a study conducted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2020, young adults of university age were the hardest hit by loneliness from the […]
Building Your Digital Avatar Using LinkedIn
Building Your Digital Avatar Using LinkedIn Guest Post by Maitreyi Bodkhe After more than a year of Zoom school and professors encouraging everyone to turn on their cameras, I’ve spent a lot of time pondering my social media usage and digital identity. One of my favorite pandemic activities has been creating quirky Zoom backgrounds for […]
Guest Post: Are the Likes Worth It?
Are the Likes Worth It? by Sarah Robertson With the introduction of modern social media came the “like system”: a metric system which publicly reveals the positive interaction a person has received with a piece of content created for their audience, whether it be the general public or a select group of followers. Users were […]
Presentation for Educators: Managing Your Online Profile
Presentation for Educators: Managing Your Online Profile Educators and future educators: This presentation is designed and adapted for you to help you learn how to build a digital profile that expresses an authentic “you” while maintaining a professional profile that can help you connect with your community and even help you advance your career. Presentation […]
Guest Post: Algorithms and the Death of Democratic Discourse
Algorithms & The Death of Democratic Discourse by Christian Koch Our entire digital history tracked— and is still being tracked. Platforms like Google, Facebook, and others collect data from links clicked, time spent on a particular page, whether or not the content is shared, and even the most seemingly inconsequential choices— all to build pictures […]
Guest Post: Navigating COVID-19 Dashboards
Navigating COVID-19 Dashboards by Kailey Fukushima When COVID-19 arrived in British Columbia, I sought safety in information seeking. In Spring 2020, I visited COVID-19 dashboards several times daily. I experienced near-overwhelming anxiety until I learned to navigate these technologies intentionally. Does my story sound familiar to you? If so, you are certainly not alone. COVID-19 […]
Guest Post: Understanding Internet Regulation in Canada
Understanding Internet Regulation in Canada by Alexander Howes There have been several recent movements in Canada surrounding internet regulation. As nations around the world continue to develop policies that protect their citizens, it is important to be aware of what and who is being protected. In Canada, legislation is currently in the process of being […]
Guest Post: Social Media and You: What questions about social media haven’t we asked ourselves?
Social Media and You: What questions about social media haven’t we asked ourselves? by Annika Marshall “To capture the world’s moments.” [1] That’s the motto that caught everyone’s attention when Instagram first kicked off in 2010. However, the motto is missing a key detail – “with a filter on top.” Social media was once advertised […]
Guest Post: What is Your Digital Environmental Footprint?
What is Your Digital Environmental Footprint? by Sasha Krieger As an environmentally conscious citizen, I make choices to recycle and consume less because I care about the future of the planet. In an effort to combat global warming I vote for certain candidates, limit my driving, and use reusable coffee cups and bags. While environmental […]
Guest Post: What’s in My “Stream”?: Critical Knowledge for the Spotify User
What’s in My “Stream”?: Critical Knowledge for the Spotify User by Sam Davidson With 286 million users, Spotify is the world’s most popular music streaming platform, and there’s a good chance that you use it for your music listening needs [1]. What we don’t often consider when we’re putting in our earbuds is that Spotify […]
