Monday, December 23

Tag: social

Are The Bonds That Keep Society Together Unraveling Due To Social Distancing?
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COVID-19

Are The Bonds That Keep Society Together Unraveling Due To Social Distancing?

Ilana Horwitz, Tulane University With birthday celebrations being downsized, religious services moving back online and indoor playdates getting canceled, millions of Americans are having fewer social interactions because of persistently high case numbers and high rates of transmission. It’s not just interactions with friends and families that are getting cut. Routine yet beneficial interactions with people at fitness and child care centers and volunteer organizations are also being eliminated. Social distancing is vital to combating COVID-19. But is it unraveling the social bonds that keep society together? Social capital adds up As a sociologist of religion and education, I study how Americans develop social ties, and how these social ties influence people’s lives. Scholars refer to re...
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When In-Person LGBTQ Communities Are Lacking – Social Media Gives Support To Youth
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LGBTQ

When In-Person LGBTQ Communities Are Lacking – Social Media Gives Support To Youth

Linda Charmaraman, Wellesley College Teens today have grown up on the internet, and social media has served as a space where LGBTQ youth in particular can develop their identities. Scholarship about the online experiences of LGBTQ youth has traditionally focused on cyberbullying. But understanding both the risks and the benefits of online support is key to helping LGBTQ youth thrive, both on- and offline. I am a senior research scientist studying the benefits and challenges of teen social technology and digital media use. My colleagues, Rachel Hodes and Amanda Richer, and I recently conducted a study on the social media experiences of LGBTQ youth, and we found that online networks can provide critical resources for them to explore their identities and engage with others in the community...
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Manipulation And Misinformation On Social Media – How ‘Engagement’ Makes You Vulnerable
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Manipulation And Misinformation On Social Media – How ‘Engagement’ Makes You Vulnerable

Filippo Menczer, Indiana University Facebook has been quietly experimenting with reducing the amount of political content it puts in users’ news feeds. The move is a tacit acknowledgment that the way the company’s algorithms work can be a problem. The heart of the matter is the distinction between provoking a response and providing content people want. Social media algorithms – the rules their computers follow in deciding the content that you see – rely heavily on people’s behavior to make these decisions. In particular, they watch for content that people respond to or “engage” with by liking, commenting and sharing. As a computer scientist who studies the ways large numbers of people interact using technology, I understand the logic of using the wisdom of the crowds in these algorithms...
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From Past Movements For Civil Rights – What America’s Social Justice Activists Can Learn
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

From Past Movements For Civil Rights – What America’s Social Justice Activists Can Learn

Anthony Siracusa, University of Colorado Boulder With Congress considering legislation to protect voting rights and address police accountability, it’s worth remembering that throughout U.S. history new civil rights laws have been followed by resistance and the stubborn persistence of racial inequity across American life. Still, these discussions in Congress come on the heels of millions of Americans calling for change. The demonstrations that followed George Floyd’s death belonged to a broader effort to reckon with white violence and discrimination in U.S. life. The historical roots of our contemporary racial injustice were documented in the 1619 Project, a New York Times undertaking that reexamined the legacy of slavery in the U.S. This year’s widespread commemoration of the Tulsa Ra...
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We Do Social-Good – Follow The-IRL On Social Media
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SELF

We Do Social-Good – Follow The-IRL On Social Media

Follow The-IRL On Social Media.We do Social-Good. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow our Parent Company on Instagram & Linkedin. If you want to contact TheIRL for some reason or send us a tip on a great news story for us to cover, email us Here.
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MacKenzie Scott’s $8.5 Billion Commitment To Social And Economic Justice Is A Model For Other Donors In 5 Ways
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MONEY

MacKenzie Scott’s $8.5 Billion Commitment To Social And Economic Justice Is A Model For Other Donors In 5 Ways

Elizabeth J. Dale, Seattle University The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced on June 15, 2021, that she and her husband Dan Jewett had given US$2.7 billion to 286 organizations, including universities, arts organizations and other nonprofits. It was her third announcement of this kind since she first publicly discussed her giving intentions in May 2019. Scott has donated about $8.5 billion to a constellation of nonprofits she calls “high-impact organizations in categories and communities that have been historically underfunded and overlooked.” She’s emphasizing racial justice, women’s rights and LGBTQ equality. The $5.8 billion Scott gave to charity in 2020 amounted to nearly 2% of the $324 billion donated by individuals over the course of the year. In early 2021, she ...
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Feeling Strong Social Support Can Break The Pattern Of Troubling Signs Of Stress Pregnant Women’s Brains Show
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SOCIETY

Feeling Strong Social Support Can Break The Pattern Of Troubling Signs Of Stress Pregnant Women’s Brains Show

Even before the pandemic, there was plenty for expectant mothers to worry about. Pregnant women must withstand a barrage of arguably well-intentioned, but often hyperbolic, warnings about their health and what’s to come, including concerns about everything from what to eat, to what to wear, to how to feel. Health professionals know that mothers-to-be experience predictable increases in anxiety levels before infants are born. Maternal mental health has been steadily deteriorating in the U.S., particularly among poor and minority women. The calls to “be afraid, be very afraid” are, of course, countered by the equally strong cautions for pregnant women to not worry too much, lest it lead to long-term negative outcomes for them and their infants. Such warnings are not entirely off base. Mate...
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Social Media Turns Online Arguments Between Teens Into Real-World Violence
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media Turns Online Arguments Between Teens Into Real-World Violence

The deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January exposed the power of social media to influence real-world behavior and incite violence. But many adolescents, who spend more time on social media than all other age groups, have known this for years. “On social media, when you argue, something so small can turn into something so big so fast,” said Justin, a 17-year-old living in Hartford, Connecticut, during one of my research focus groups. (The participants’ names have been changed in this article to protect their identities.) For the last three years, I have studied how and why social media triggers and accelerates offline violence. In my research, conducted in partnership with Hartford-based peace initiative COMPASS Youth Collaborative, we interviewed dozens of young people aged 1...
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How Search Engines Spread Misinformation – It’s Not Just A Social Media Problem
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SOCIAL MEDIA

How Search Engines Spread Misinformation – It’s Not Just A Social Media Problem

Search engines are one of society’s primary gateways to information and people, but they are also conduits for misinformation. Similar to problematic social media algorithms, search engines learn to serve you what you and others have clicked on before. Because people are drawn to the sensational, this dance between algorithms and human nature can foster the spread of misinformation. Search engines often serve up a distorting blend of information and misinformation. Crispin la valiente/Moment via Getty Images, CC BY-ND Search engine companies, like most online services, make money not only by selling ads, but also by tracking users and selling their data through real-time bidding on it. People are often led to misinformation by their desire for sensational and entertaining news as well as ...
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In The 19th Century Black People Used Photography As A Tool For Social Change
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

In The 19th Century Black People Used Photography As A Tool For Social Change

Frederick Douglass is perhaps best known as an abolitionist and intellectual. But he was also the most photographed American of the 19th century. And he encouraged the use of photography to promote social change for Black equality. In that spirit, this article – using images from the David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan – examines different ways Black Americans from the 19th century used photography as a tool for self-empowerment and social change. Black studio portraits Speaking about how accessible photography had become during his time, Douglass once stated: “What was once the special and exclusive luxury of the rich and great is now the privilege of all. The humblest servant girl may now possess a picture o...
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