Algospeak is driving us mad
Young people use code words like “seggs” to evade social media’s content filters, while still being bombarded with violent and…
BySocial Media
Find here all of the New Statesman’s comment and analysis about social media and the digital age.
The Policy Ask with Carl Miller: “I’ve had conspiracy theorists turning up at the office”
The cofounder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media on disinformation, online safety and protecting the BBC.
By
Celebrities are now “honest” about diet, exercise and beauty. I wish they weren’t
Kim Kardashian says she’d “eat poop every single day” to look young. Jennifer Aniston admits to salmon sperm facials. At…
By
Donald Trump: American vampire
He strengthens himself by weakening supporters, rivals and the United States.
By
How Vittles trolled London
The newsletter seems to hold its readers in low esteem.
By
Elon Musk owns Donald Trump now
The former president has returned to a platform that is little more than a circus.
By
Bring back indifference
From Taylor Swift to Rishi Sunak’s wedge issues, we must fight social media’s attempts to make us love or hate…
By That mug shot is a gift to Trump
The ex-president’s booking photo will energise his base.
By
The real cause of generational warfare
The internet has collapsed the space between young and old and exposed previously hidden divides.
By
The rise of pity marketing
On social media, the sob story has become a successful strategy for struggling artists bidding for virality.
By
De-optimise your life
Picking up novels from Tube station bookshelves has opened my eyes to the randomness and serendipity technology aims to rid…
By
Say no to Instagram therapists
Pop therapy promises solutions to problems that might not even exist.
By
Elon Musk is trying to silence his critics
X is threatening to sue an anti-hate group – the consequences could be catastrophic.
By
Journalling won’t save you
The art of writing our inner lives is being lost.
By
Britain’s reactionary centre is going mad
Centrists can no longer claim to be rational actors.
By
The psychological trauma of reading the news
Is compulsively doom-scrolling and checking the news the cause of our anxiety or a symptom of it?
By
We must resist the hype machine
Our critical culture is grossly overinflated with positive and promotional content. But popular is not always best.
By
The cultural divide no one wants to talk about
Liberal societies need to rediscover humour.
By
The risible origin story of “X”
Elon Musk tried to rebrand a company “X” before – and lost his job.
By
The age of digital outrage
The internet was once seen as a tool to promote empathy – so how did it come to amplify division…
By