All posts filed under: internet

Slacktivism: How powerful is online activism?

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Originally posted on The Scribble Bug:
Slacktivism is a funny little hybrid word – a portmanteau of ‘slacker’ and ‘activism’.  It applies to ‘actions taken to bring about political or social change but requiring only minimal commitment, effort, or risk’, but more generally referring to the casual liking or retweeting of political or issue-led content online in lieu of mobilising IRL. Over the last two years it’s received a serious amount of mixed press. On the one hand, it’s drawing attention to campaigns and causes that need them. On the other, slacktivism carries a pejorative undertone – implies people are interacting online to look good or feel good rather than actually engaging or committing to a cause. Is this all it is? Is it just a lot of talk but not a lot of do?  As a digital native who often finds themselves writing about activism – in particular those related to climate change, mental health, and equality – this is something that has increasingly bothered me. And you know me – if something causes a bother then it’s time to ask some questions and find…

The Internet Is Making Us Lonely

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Originally posted on Rosie Culture:
Likes, favorites, retweets, comments, and all those weird emotion things Facebook just added. We live for instant gratification. It’s not because we’re selfish, it’s because of the Internet. It’s because we not only have to look great in person but we also have to look great online. There is more than one impression to make and you never know when you are going to have to make it. You know when you’re going out to a bar to meet up with all your friends and look for cute guys. But, you never know when someone’s going to request you as a friend on Facebook or follow you on Insta. You could make a great first impression in person, but might totally bomb when your first impression online is break up quotes and pictures of wine. It always looks like everyone else is having so much fun. They add all of their vacation pictures to an album for the world to see. They Instagram the amazing brunch they’re having that Saturday…

Which Social Media Are You?

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Originally posted on SHEU QUEN | THE RACONTEUR:
Vanichi Magazine: What if guys were social networks? Who would YOU be? | Photo by Ads of the World. Like my husband said to me last night, social media exploded onto the scene of the World Wide Web just when youngsters of the latest Net Generation were born. This only means that those born after the Generation X or Y will be very well-read with smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers, and all other things tech-related. Is this how our world is moving towards in the near future? Do you like what you’re seeing now? Kids having meals with their families but instead of sharing a heart-to-heart conversation, their faces are glued to the small rectangular screens, hastily typing out a message to their friends before their tiger mothers and disciplinarian fathers bark orders to them to put their tech toys away. I was like that once upon a time. In fact, I actually devised a way to continue texting friends despite being at the dinner table! Back when…

Catfish Style

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In the past two weeks, I’ve had at least two of my friends mention online dating. Either they were encouraged to do it by someone else or they knew people who were already 40 profiles deep into a Catfish episode. Now, I don’t mean to diss anyone who might have found love in a hopeless place, but honestly, what has our generation come to? When people can only meet through virtual reality and text messaging apps, you have to ask the question. I realize that times are changing and the world is growing even more technologically based. Almost everything we do and see is electronic, but what happened to good old fashion face-to-face communication? Call me ole skool, but I don’t think that you can actually ever really know a person until you spend quality time with them…in person. See this is the root of the problem. You talk to a guy/girl for months online and you fall for the idea of the person they have created – the person they want you to believe …

Harassment on WordPress.

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Originally posted on Every Word You Say:
Yesterday I wrote a post called The British Tag, which was just a jokey post where I answer questions about my Britishness. I never thought it would lead to me be harassed. A few minutes after I’d published my post it was rebogged. Yay! Right? So I clicked on the site who had reblogged it and that’s where I saw that the only other posts this person had were pictures of his penis and posts asking people, specifically young British teens, to text him. This made me really uncomfortable, and I didn’t want my post being linked to someone like this. I commented on the post and asked him why he posted it, and if he could take it down, and that he needs to label his content as mature because anyone could visit his site. He then apologised, and I thought that would be the end of it. Until he sent me three comments in a row asking what I thought of his pictures, and whether I’d…