Tag: shopping

Here Are 10 Tips For Staying Safe And Avoiding Scams While Shopping Online During The Pandemic
BUSINESS

Here Are 10 Tips For Staying Safe And Avoiding Scams While Shopping Online During The Pandemic

The holiday season is already a booming time for online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic only increases the likelihood that when people shop this holiday season, they will choose online shopping over brick-and-mortar stores. However, this also means there is likely to be a boom in online scams. Already, multiple companies from outside the U.S. are advertising relatively unchecked on the internet, selling – or even just pretending to sell – all manner of products. The items are typically advertised using designs stolen from legitimate businesses and artists, often ripped off from Etsy, especially if those designs have been featured on popular sites like Bored Panda. When people buy these scam products, what arrives is typically of low quality. That’s if anything ever arrives. Often the com...
Here’s How Instagram’s Redesign Shifts Toward Shopping Can Be Harmful
BUSINESS, SOCIAL MEDIA

Here’s How Instagram’s Redesign Shifts Toward Shopping Can Be Harmful

Recently, when I opened Instagram, I noticed that the usual spot for checking notifications is now a Shop tab. The Instagram blog post announcing the redesign said that the change will support small businesses and connect people with their favorite brands and creators. This made me pause. As a researcher who studies social media, people and society, I’m concerned about the effects of surveillance capitalism. This includes social media companies profiting from collecting user data, making algorithmic inferences about people’s preferences and using this information to target people with advertising. Features like Instagram’s Shop tab facilitate surveillance capitalism, so it’s important to look at their consequences. Many people use Instagram to share their lives with other people, but the...
IN OTHER NEWS

‘Multiple’ injuries in gas explosion at Florida shopping center

At least 15 people injured as the blast sent large pieces of debris about 91 metres across the street. A powerful explosion from a suspected gas leak ripped through a shopping mall in Florida, injuring at least 15 people. Two of those were in serious condition after the blast in the town of Plantation in south Florida on Saturday. Between 15 and 20 people were injured, deputy fire chief Joel Gordon told reporters. Photos on US news outlets showed a large field of debris outside the Fountains Plaza shopping centre. The photos showed an LA Fitness gym heavily damaged, with its windows blown out. The blast sent large pieces of debris about 91 metres across the street. The fire department called it a gas explosion with "multiple patients". The Sun-Sentinel, a...