The restoration of the coffeehouse
How a centuries-old institution can save today’s faltering social media culture.
BySocial Media
Find here all of the New Statesman’s comment and analysis about social media and the digital age.
It’s time to accept it: there’s no easy, painless way to break up with a friend
Sometimes the only thing that is right for us will be wrong for someone we care about, and there’s nothing…
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I can’t stop politicians invading my dreams, but I can control who plagues me on Twitter
It’s bad enough that people I haven’t voted for come to power; do they have to barge their way into…
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The Brazil riots were openly planned on social media. So why was nothing done?
Platforms are failing to prevent online radicalisation and organised assaults on democracy. More violence is inevitable.
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“It was a caprice of the algorithm”: Louis Theroux on becoming a Gen Z icon
An old documentary clip of the 52-year-old broadcaster rapping made him an unexpected TikTok sensation.
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In defence of “vibes”
Is the term helpful for a sentimentally stunted age?
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Is TikTok “bombarding” teenage users with harmful content?
Videos relating to self-harm, eating disorders and suicide are shown to 13-year-olds “within minutes” of joining the app, a new…
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“Fraud adapts”: How to fix the UK’s online crime problem
The Royal United Services Institute is calling for £250m a year to police cyber-enabled fraud.
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Labour: Social media bosses should be held criminally liable for harmful content
The party has called for the scope of the Online Safety Bill to be expanded as it returns to parliament.
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Elon Musk’s Kanye West problem
If you give awful people the ability to say anything they like, you can’t be surprised when they say something…
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You’re doing it wrong: why are strangers on social media trying to micromanage my life?
From gut health to posing for photos, the internet bombards us with instruction and criticism. No on thrives on this…
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The Online Safety Bill will make life harder for victims
The chilling effect of this new legislation will be violation of privacy and infringement of free speech online.
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Will Twitter collapse this weekend?
Staff are worried. Users are in panic. The platform may not last much longer.
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Is this the end of Twitter?
Elon Musk knows the only thing that would kill Twitter is another, better platform. Fortunately, I have just invented one.
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Elon Musk’s Twitter is the tech version of Liz Truss’s premiership
The chaos at Twitter has eerie echoes of recent political upheaval.
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How long does Facebook have left?
The departure of senior executives and a major round of redundancies raise questions about the company's future.
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The decline of text-based social media
The switch from Twitter and Facebook to video platforms such as TikTok is changing the face of the internet.
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Whatever Mastodon is, it won’t replace Twitter
The social network might be an alternative, but it’s unlikely to become a replacement.
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Elon Musk’s mismanagement suggests a dark future for Twitter
The exodus of advertisers from the social media platform indicates that Musk has little understanding of its business model.
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Why I’d mourn the loss of Twitter
The platform may have a dark side but it also engenders a particular type of warmth and community.
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