In the world of social media, people have many different viewpoints on anything and everything. With the ability to conceal oneself by creating anonymous social media pages, you never know where or even whom a post is actually coming from. According to statistics from annapolis.gov, 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once. In a national study of recent years, as described by the link above, …
The Roman Empire still reigns supreme on social media
How often do you think about the Roman Empire? For me personally, before August 2023, I hadn’t thought about the Roman Empire since my 8th grade history class. In the ever-evolving landscape of pop culture, trends come and go, but some manage to stand the test of time. One such phenomenon has recently taken social media by storm – the “Roman Empire” trend. The trend’s roots lie in the initial question: “How much do you think about the Roman Empire?” As women probed the minds …
Did Threads mark X’s grave, or was their doom sewn from the start?
Almost a year ago, Elon Musk closed his $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter, making the platform’s future uncertain. A little over eight months later, Meta launched Threads in direct competition against Twitter. Within less than a week, Threads exceeded expectations and garnered 100 million users. One month later, more than half of users severed ties with Threads. The sudden success and subsequent backfiring of Threads is not a story new to the technology stratosphere. Social media, in particular, always has expiration dates for platforms …
PCC students, please: Get your news from us, not social feeds :)
It’s official, TikTok is no longer just an app to learn trendy dances. For many young adults social media is becoming a primary source to get news. According to Pew Research, roughly 26% of US adults under the age of 30 report regularly using the app as a news source. Other social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook remain the most popular social media for news amongst users. Other news sources such as The Evening Nightly News, 60 Minutes and publications such as The …
Would Johnny Depp sue me for this headline?
The verdict for the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial is as ridiculous as the public jokes made at Heard’s expense, which have proven to be an unfortunate and grotesque display of social insensitivity. Essentially the jury ruled that Heard lied about her abuse allegations but Depp’s camp also lied about her lying. Sound confusing and asinine? That’s because it is. The mismanagement of this trial began the moment it was filed in Virginia. Heard’s op-ed was published by the Washington Post and Depp’s …
Yik Yak finally cleans up its trash talking past
The app that caused cyberbullying, bomb threats, and hate speech has officially announced their comeback to social media. Yik Yak is an app that sends messages anonymously. The app closed down in 2017 after being swamped with complaints regarding racism, discrimation and threats of violence.
Unchecked social media power needs to get blocked
Imagine a world where a few companies have the power to control the discourse of almost 4 billion people. These companies decide independently who gets to work with the most essential tools of the 21st century.
Balancing performative and necessary social media activism
In times of injustice, our civil liberties serve as our only true tools of defense. With our freedom to assemble we take to the streets to protest, with our freedom of speech we hollar “No justice, no peace,” with our freedom of the press we report on the good, the bad, and the ugly without remorse.
Black lives matter: it’s more than just a hashtag
A screenshot copy chain has been going around Instagram with the caption of “tag 10 people who support black lives matters”. This screenshot has received a lot of backlash and criticism from many people who believe it is a fake allyship. Sharing this screenshot does not do much for the movement or spread awareness. The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement is not an aesthetic. It is also not an Instagram challenge. Anyone can share a trending post, but someone who truly supports the movement will take …
Toppling Big Tech: not an easy fix
It’s no secret that big tech companies are slowly taking over the world, with Facebook now owning more than one social media outlet, Amazon bringing down all their competition because anyone with internet access can quite literally buy everything on their website, and Google also becoming the next big thing with their search engine, e-mail service, tablets and laptops.