Nothing is “Neutral:” Passive Digital Footprints and the Perpetuation of Inequality
Nothing is “Neutral:” Passive Digital Footprints and the Perpetuation of Inequality Guest Post by Kathryn LeBere Have you ever paused to reflect on your passive online activity? How long you lingered on a post? Which links you clicked on while browsing? We all make thousands of semi-unconscious decisions when using the Internet. Our digital presence, […]
Addictive by Design: How TikTok Keeps You Hooked
Addictive by Design: How TikTok Keeps You Hooked You don’t need me to tell you that TikTok is addictive. Spend a few minutes on the app and you can see how easy it is to fall down a rabbit hole of cute animals, short-form comedy, and innovative DIY. There’s endless content to keep you engaged […]
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 […]
Guest Post: The Revolution Will Not Be Streamed: Digital Activism in the Era of Mass Surveillance
The Revolution Will Not Be Streamed: Digital Activism in the Era of Mass Surveillance by Leila Matte-Kaci On December 4th, 2020, the State Council of France expanded three decrees to widen the scope of police surveillance. [1, 11, 28] French police will now be able to track citizens or groups whose activities indicate that they […]
Guest Post: Targeted Advertising and Ad Blocking Technologies
Targeted Advertising and Ad Blocking Technologies by Laura Moberg Have you ever wondered if your phone was listening to you? In an episode from their podcast Reply All, Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt investigate the belief many people have that Facebook is listening to us through our devices and using that information to create targeted […]
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: Chubby Cheeks, Tiny Hands, and Digital Footprints
Chubby Cheeks, Tiny Hands, and Digital Footprints By Kira Vandermeulen We’ve all seen those sweet posts featuring snaps of our friend’s baby with chubby cheeks and little hands. Today, social media is filled with children. This only makes sense: what with kids being so cute, why wouldn’t you Instagram it? However, as it becomes easier […]
Guest Video: Privacy vs. Anonymity
Privacy vs. Anonymity by Misha Khawaja and Ali Albastaki Do you know the difference between online privacy and anonymity? This excellent video by Misha Khawaja and Ali Albastaki from the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology, University of Toronto, Mississauga does a great job of explaining the difference! Which is more important to you […]
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: The Many Sides of Being Social
The Many Sides of Being Social by Alannah Berson In 2014, several drag queens found themselves locked out of their Facebook accounts because their names weren’t “authentic”. [1] The accounts had been flagged after Facebook instituted a “Real Name” policy that limits what types of usernames are allowed on the site and seeks to tie […]
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