TikTok’s newest idea comes as they look to raise user engagement by creating a platform that resembles Instagram. The redesign was first spotted by New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz. TikTok also thinks that by mimicking Instagram, they will be able to bring new popular creators to the platform. TikTok hit 1.5 billion downloads in November and was the third most-downloaded non-gaming application in 2019. TikTok is demolishing Facebook and Instagram, which were in fourth and fifth spot in the App Store, separately.

Instagram itself is no more interesting to replicating; Instagram Stories broadly took Snapchat’s whole model of fleeting substance. This move by Instagram led to the end of Vine and the slight decrease in usage for Snapchat. TikTok replicating Instagram’s UI is a piece of a playbook for interpersonal organizations. They’re continually “obtaining” thoughts and highlights from their rivals. Instagram could potentially swoop in a recreate its own version of TikTok.

To read more about this topic, click on the link here: https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/3/21121322/tiktok-bytedance-instagram-profile-redesign

In the summer of 2019, The National Association of Insurance Commissioners formed the Artificial Intelligence Working Group. This group was established to study AI, the impacts it can have in the insurance industry, its impact on consumers, and its compatibility in the workplace. The current status of AI is that there is a lot of potential, but there are still some issues that need to be worked out, especially in regard to traditional insurers. The Working Group will develop guidelines and recommendations to present at the 2020 Summer National Meeting.

https://content.naic.org/cipr_topics/topic_artificial_intelligence.htm

https://digiparenthood.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/10-benefits-of-exposing-young-children-to-modern-technology/

Sometimes it seems like everyone is always lecturing about the downside of technology. These phrases are all too common: “It keeps you from sleeping”, “technology is taking over”, “it cause ADHD in children”, or the most absurd statement, “it causes cancer”. While I don’t quite believe that technology causes cancer, I have been guilty of lecturing about the negative effects technology can have. Especially when it comes to these class assignments. In this post however, I thought I would be helpful to discuss some of the benefits technology can have especially when relating to children. Linked above is a short article listing 10 benefits of exposing young kids to technology.

The Screens

Often times people have this idea that any type of electronic screen is bad for you. People are concerned with blue light, and pixels, and brightness, and the amount of time children are in front of a screen. The truth is: there are negative affects from staring at a screen all day, and blue light does keep you awake and can cause your eyes to strain. But did you know that you can also receive a lot of blue light from the sun. According to the article “Blue light: It’s both bad and good for you“, the sun is the main source of blue light. So yes, “The Screens” that appear in almost every aspect of our lives have some negative effects, but the content that is on the screens can also have some really good benefits.

Exploring the Benefits

The article list 10 benefits of exposing technology to young children. One of the most important of those being the “Increases Motivation to Complete Tasks.” Sometimes its hard to find things that motivate children. And motivation is something that needs to be learned at a very earlier age. Just as the article explains, most apps and computer games are designed to encourage the completion of a level or task in order to gain a reward. These early lessons of motivation will help children as the grow older and need motivation in order to complete school and gain achievements.

Another benefit that I found interesting was the improvement of language skills. Obviously reading is a great way to teach children how to talk, but with technology kids now have a variety of different learning mediums all their finger tips. Learning to speak, read, and write can all be encouraged by reading a eBook, watching a video, or by playing an interactive game.

Remembering the Bad

Even when discussing all the benefits of technology and of the content we show on the screen we can’t ignore the issues technology may bring. It’s import to take all into consideration. However, lets not forget, that sometimes the best skills come from things we once thought were bad.

With women representing a mere 20 percent of the current job force in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – it is quite trivial as to why.

Interestingly, women in STEM are underpaid compared to the male population. More over, it is shown that more women enroll in universities than their male counterparts, but men are still more likely to choose STEM careers than women with higher academic rankings.

Bigger studies are still unable to fully explain the gender disparity, but have pointed to a a few possible factors and influences such as differences in labour market expectations, interests, self-esteem and more. The real issue stems from something much more serious. That is, that women are still victims of harsh stereotypes. Despite working in fields of innovative and disruptive technologies – they still fall victim to various forms of discrimination in the workforce. #LIS4022spr20

http://theconversation.com/gender-inequality-is-alive-and-kicking-in-technology-92539

In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg testified to Congress that Facebook will exempt political ads and messages from fact-checkers because that is a limitation of freedom of speech. Their argument was that political turmoil, speech, and ads help each party, while also hurting, but that is a part of the job. This poses a question to our democracy of what “counts” as “hate speech” or “fake news”. Should it even count? Does it matter?

Social media is a place where virtual activism has influenced policy, politicians, gotten bigoted people fired from their jobs, and brought awareness to many of the social problems that different groups face within the American society.

Social Media is going to be another avenue in which 2020 Presidential Candidates use to reach their target audience and broadcast their message. Using available platforms will be pivotal in helping candidates distinguish themselves from their opponent. The fact that you can lose your job within a week of “backlash”, lose millions of dollars in revenue because of a boycott from backlash, gives you an insight into how powerful and careful 2020 candidates must be with their social media. Whether you agree or disagree, will be up to you.

https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/web-video/what-role-will-social-media-play-2020-election

SpaceX is at the front of the revolution in bringing access to Internet to everyone across the globe. In these efforts though, cybersecurity concerns have been brought up due to the vulnerability of the satellites that SpaceX houses.

” Makers of these satellites, particularly small CubeSats, use off-the-shelf technology to keep costs low. The wide availability of these components means hackers can analyze them for vulnerabilities. In addition, many of the components draw on open-source technology. The danger here is that hackers could insert back doors and other vulnerabilities into satellites’ software. ”

Access to these satellites affect not only SpaceX though, but interferes with the efforts of providing Internet access to those across the globe.

 

Read more about it here:

https://theconversation.com/hackers-could-shut-down-satellites-or-turn-them-into-weapons-130932

There are many different types of cyber security threats that you can come across while browsing the internet. One of the most common threats is Malware. Malware is a software, such as spyware, viruses, or Trojan horses, that can infect your computer. These can steal private information, delete files or folders off your computer, and take complete control over your computer. Another common threat that is used online is phishing. Phishing is when cyber criminals create fake websites or messages that look like they’re from real companies. Criminals use these to steal your information and use it for other reasons.

There are many more different types of cyber security threats to be aware of so that you don’t fall victim to these cyber criminals. To learn more about the different types of threats, click here.

---

In a case about 1 year ago, a 12-year-old girl had committed suicide by hanging herself. While her death was being investigated, they were made aware they she had possibly been cyber bullied. This caused them to look through the girl’s phone and social media accounts to see who should be held possible. This goes to show that If you have evidence of cyberbullying and want it to end, go to the police and show them. They do care and want to help people who are victims. Two weeks after her death, they interviewed two other 12-year-old girls who admitted to cyberbullying the girl who tragically killed herself.  Within their investigation they noticed that many students had unrestricted access and unmonitored access to the internet and many social media sites. Having parent monitor their children just a little could help reduce cyberbullying deaths and kids and teens telling an adult or letting people know so that they can help them do something about it. This shows that you don’t have to end a life to stop cyberbullying.

---

To read more about this situation and the loss of Gabbie go to:

https://abc13.com/2983420/

Cisco is a widely known and accepted company that specializes in advanced networking equipment. They manufacture equipment for small, medium, and large businesses as well as internet service providers. They have recently removed several backdoor accounts from their small business line of networking devices. They stated that these accounts were present for diagnostic and manufacturing purposes. This is reasonable, but the amount they have removed is somewhat unsettling. This is especially so with the conspiracies of NSA forcing them to install backdoors for law enforcement use. It is unclear if any still remain in the products, but it is interesting to note that these backdoors have only been discovered in small business devices so far. Because the Cisco IOS is closed-source, it cannot be audited by the general public, therefore we won’t know the full extent of how the operating system functions and if there are more security flaws. For now, at least they are heading in the right direction by patching their devices to increase security. For those concerned, open-source software and hardware based networking solutions may be worth researching and implementing.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/cisco-removed-its-seventh-backdoor-account-this-year-and-thats-a-good-thing/

This article shows the results of research that was conducted to investigate the correlation between using social media, upward social comparison, and negative affect.  There is even a word for the body comparison culture that exists on Pinterest, and it’s called “Thinterest.”  The experiment was conducted online of US women (118 participants) and looked into how the social media website Pinterest contributes to social comparison, as well as user’s intentions to engage in extreme weight-loss behaviors.  Using a media psychology approach, the study resulted in findings that suggested that if an individual follows more fitness boards on Pinterest, they are more likely to display intentions to engage in extreme weight-loss behaviors. 

The results of the study also showed that when there is endorsement of an ideal female body image, it correlates to both social comparison as well as intentions to engage in extreme weight-loss behaviors.  The findings that are discussed in this article are displayed in light of the social comparison theory.  This article also presents suggestions for future surveys or experiments on this issue.  This article directly correlates to my subsection on body image and comparison with social media.  This article can be used to give more information and context on the issue that I am researching.

Sophie Rhoads, ser18b

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2056305116640559