The social steamroller

Social media began as a way for people to share fun snippets and chat, but under the control of big tech has become a corporate steamroller of advertising and cynical behavioural manipulation.

A voice for the nation

Australia should make better use of the ABC to promote its values and image abroad.

Twitterific

Elon Musk’s eccentric attempts to revitalise Twitter prompt wider questions of the financial viability and social responsibility of other social media platforms.

Keeping up appearances

People have always tried to ‘keep up with the Joneses” but the temptation to compare our humdrum lives with the sparkling boasts of others on social media can make us feel we’re falling behind everyone else in the world.

Online adolescence

Many adolescents spend hours online every day, at a time when social interactions play a crucial role in developing their sense of self and mental well-being, and a new study has examined the effects this may have on them.

The last of us

Videogames are the most successful media of our time, but film and TV adaptations of popular games are seldom successful. The Last of Us may buck that trend by respecting the source material.

The truth vs Twitter

Digital technologies are making the fight against misinformation even trickier for embattled social media giants such as Twitter.

LinkedIn at 20

Lots of people in the business world have a Linkedin account, which is why Microsoft paid billions for the company, although how much they actually use it is another matter.

Iran’s TikTok revolution

Gil Scott Heron was right, the revolution is not being televised, at least in Iran, but the ‘TikTok generation’ at the forefront of the protests is using social media to organise and get their message across.

Bye bye bluebird?

The mercurial Elon Musk seems determined to destroy the microblogging site he paid $44 billion for, but the world would lose a lot if Musk does ruin or even bankrupt Twitter.

#Democracy

There are two common ways of thinking about democracy in the online era. First, the internet is a liberation technology and will usher in an era of global democracy. Second, you can have social media or democracy, but not both.

Bird of prey

Elon Musk has imposed sweeping change on Twitter in his first week of ownership, sacking top executives and half the staff while promising higher fees on users. Far from offering a fresh start, nervous advertisers and users are already starting to flee.