Stop Sharing Political Memes
They are a doorway into stupidity and misery.
Christopher J. Ferguson
· 5 min read
Social Media
A collection of 115 posts
Confessions of a Social-Justice Meme Maker
I made pretty pictures that helped keep people enraged and mobilized. Then I asked myself: ‘Why am I doing this?‘
Christina Buttons
· 10 min read
Building a Better Twitter
Twitter’s current policy on content isn’t one dimensional: It serves up both false positives and false negatives—wrongly banning certain accounts for thoughtcrimes while permitting others to continue on the platform despite engaging in grotesquely abusive behavior.
The Quillette Editorial Board
· 5 min read
Musk and Moderation
Reports that Twitter has accepted Elon Musk’s offer to buy the company for $54.20 a share have provoked much handwringing about his attitudes to free speech, especially with respect to possible changes in the social media platform’s moderation policies. So far, the discussion has been a largely
Jim Rutt
· 11 min read
How Much Real-World Extremism Does Online Hate Actually Cause?
While calls to censor hate speech and violent extremist content on social media platforms are common, there’s little evidence that online incitement leads to real-world radicalization. Ironically, such calls may actually galvanize extremists, who interpret hostile media coverage, commentary, and censorship policies as confirmation of their victimhood narratives and
Bill Ottman and Jesse Morton
· 7 min read
Involuntarily Celibate: Explanations and Practical Solutions to a Dangerous Phenomenon
The overall picture from our results is that places where local conditions make it harder than usual for young men to establish themselves as attractive mating prospects tend also to be places where online Incel action is more common.
Rob Brooks
· 6 min read
Troll Exposure
Hell hath no fury like a trolled daughter’s father: When multiple media houses and friends of friends from far overseas approach me and my family over a devastating, soul-destroying, career-ending lie, then the time of any person to act has arrived. It’s time to protect your daughter and
Sean Welsh
· 10 min read
An Outback Conspiracy
Misinformation results from the toxic combination of these two defining features, a lack of proximity to the Territory, and viewing the world through the lens of oppression.
Matthew Blackwell
· 13 min read
Facebook: The New Big Tobacco or A Media Moral Panic?
Social media changes the way people relate to each other whether they use it or not, and whether they use it sparingly or heavily.
Quillette
· 20 min read
The Exhibitionist Economy
Upcoming generations will not thank us for gifting them a world devoid of the concept of personal privacy.
Ari David Blaff
· 7 min read
Instagram's Mental Health Emergency
The main ethical problem posed by Instagram is that young people are not mature enough to give informed consent to having their preferences harvested and fed back to them by a corporation that specialises in attention manipulation.
Claire Lehmann
· 11 min read
Podcast #168: Jonathan Haidt on Instagram’s Mental Health Emergency
Jonathan Kay speaks with Jonathan Haidt about the emotionally destructive effect of social media on many young users.
Quillette
· 1 min read
Inflammatory Anti-Racism
The fear of being branded with one of the most deadly contemporary sins has generally ensured a pusillanimous collapse by corporations, institutions, and individuals.
John Lloyd
· 10 min read
The Victims’ Race
Victimhood may confer ancient and effective advantages, but researchers are nonetheless alarmed by the scale of digital self-harm in adolescents, and the recent recourse to false accusations more generally.
Tomasz Witkowski
· 10 min read
Children Are Lonelier Than Ever. Can Anything Be Done?
Loneliness was generally stable (with the bright spot being a significant drop in Asia) from 2000 to 2012 and then quickly reversed itself in all regions.
Camilo Ortiz and Stephanie De Leo
· 9 min read