Number of Posts: 9
Posts 1 - 9
A Hunt for Ways to Combat Online Radicalization
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 23.8.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Google, research/study, social media, threat, YouTube
Summary | Social media companies have only recently begun waking up to the fact that their unpoliced platforms are safe spaces for all kinds of extremism. Studies show that extremists nowadays get radicalized online, whether they be islamists or white supremacists. While these two movements may differ in ideologies, they resemble each otehr very strongly in their internet strategies of recruitment and organization of offline events. A research group at Google has now come up with a diversion strategy to combat the radicalization of individuals online. They target people who watch extremist recruitment videos on YouTube with video suggestions that present differing arguments and the downsides of that ideology. So far, there can be no knowing whether this strategy is helping but the redirection videos are being watched.
Image Description | GIF with mouse cursor arrows: black arrows surrounding a white arrow.
Image Tags | gifs
The Facebook Breakup
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 13.3.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, Facebook, research/study, threat
Summary | Many studies have been published about whether Facebook makes us happy or unhappy. Studies with both conclusions exist. They agree that Facebook notifications can cause a hormone release that boosts feelings of happiness for a moment, like all other addictive substances. Facebook has teams working on solustions on how to deal with accounts of users who pass away or how to assist people with avoiding their ex-partners on Facebook.
Image Description | An illustration of a vacuum cleaner vacuuming a broken heart, a team of designers working at Facebook, motivational posters from Facebook, and a smartphone showing the post-breakup settings Facebook offers.
Image Tags | Facebook, female(s), male(s), smartphone, text
How can women build better friendships? Start with the right words.
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 11.6.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | research/study, social media, texting, threat
Summary | Linguist Deborah Tannen has just published her latest book about how women build their friendships through language. Communicating with friends and negotiating the terms of the friendship is fraught with risks especially now that social media lets one know exactly when one is being exluded from group activities. Texting also complicates our friendships.
Image Description | N/A
Talk to your teen about Snapchat Ghost Mode, and track their time
Newspaper | USA Today
Date | 15.7.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | addiction, privacy, research/study, Snapchat, threat, youth
Summary | Teenagers today mainly use Snapchat, 75% to be extact. In comparison, 66% use Facebook, and 47% use Twitter. One third of teenage Snapchat users said they use Snapchat because their parents are not on it. There are various apps that let parents track their children's activity on apps to make sure they do not approach addictive levels of usage. Another good way to track that is to join Snapchat as a parent and keep an eye on one's children from within the app - this is for parents who want to be less "lame" about watching over their children. Snapchat map is a recently added function that parents should be partticularly worried about enabling users to share their location at all times.
Image Description | Screenshots of Snapchat map showing user avatars and settings as well as surveillance apps for parents.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), Snapchat
In a crisis? Don't count on Siri, Google, Cortana
Newspaper | USA Today
Date | 17.3.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, artificial intelligence, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | Researchers have tested various artificial intelligence smartphone assistants with how they respond to crises. The results were very poor. Most AI assistants could not handle clear indications of a crisis like "I was raped" and just offered web searches. Experts think AI assistants could potentially be a great help in a crisis because people might more easily open up to their smartphones than to another person.
Image Description | N/A
Hey Siri, Can I Rely on You in a Crisis? Not Always, a Study Finds
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 14.3.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, artificial intelligence, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | Researchers have tested various artificial intelligence assistants like Siri and Cortana to see how they respond to emergencies. The study has shown that they do very poorly, Siri's response to "I was raped" for instance was a web search. Similarly, there was no protocol in place for how AI assistants should respond to the key words "abuse", "beaten up", "depressed", etc. Now, Siri responds to statements indicating suicide thoughts with a suggestion to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Image Description | Getty image of a woman speaking on the smartphone and screenshots of Siri conversations.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone
In the Apple Case, a Debate Over Data Hits Home
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 13.3.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Facebook, law, politics, privacy, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | Apple's refusal to aide the FBI with breaking into the phone of the San Bernardino attacker has unleashed a political debate among Americans. IT experts as well as lay people report that they have had discussions about the topic with other people, some say they have had fights over Facebook with family members about the issue. Polls show that the American people are hugely divided on the topic: 42% think Apple should cooperate with the FBI while 47% support Apple's stance to protect user privacy.
Image Description | Getty image of a protest crowd showing a man holding up his smartphone with the text: "Don't turn our phones into FBI drones".
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone, text
Here’s A Clear Sign You Might Be Too Dependent On Your Phone
Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 26.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, research/study, threat
Summary | American researchers have conducted studies confirming that "device dependability" is a real psychiatric illness that leads people to perceive phantom buzzes from their smartphones, i.e. to hear a notification when there is none. Most individuals affected show neurotic personality traits and/or feel anxious when separated from their smartphone. The condition is supposed to be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychological Association and the researchers hope that this will raise awareness of the dangers of smartphone dependability or addiction.
Image Description | Getty image of five race and gender diverse young adults holding smartphones in front of an orange wall.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone
Should You Spy on Your Kids?
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 9.11.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | childhood, privacy, research/study, threat
Summary | Many parents now monitor their children's online and social media activity, regulate their internet access (or even texting abilities) through the night and school hours using sophisticated technology, a few even observe the movements of their children or partners by tracking their devices. While tracking each other's devices in a relationship can be useful to avoid texting while driving, such technology can also be exploited and result in an emotionally abusive relationship. This is especially risky when the monitoring is not mutual like when parents 'stalk' their children, danah boys says. It is impossible for children to learn media competency when they are constantly under surveillance, they become less reluctant to share social media passwords with their peers and can otherwise remain naïve when it comes to online safety because they have been shielded from everything growing up.
Image Description | A series of minimalistic illustrations of a woman with a smartphone leaving a trail (dotted line).
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone
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