Social media Archives - Page 2 of 3

What’s Facebook’s status after 2018 scandals?

Written on January 22, 2019. Posted in Lifestyle, Pop Culture.

Not too long ago, the #10YearChallenge would’ve taken over our newsfeeds for a few days before dropping out of cultural relevancy, as most internet trends do. However, Facebook has become increasingly untrustworthy after last year’s data breaches and intrusive practices, the social media challenge...

Ova easy: Why an egg is Instagram's most-liked photo

Written on January 15, 2019. Posted in Lifestyle, Pop Culture.

On Sunday night, over 30 million people tapped their Instagram like buttons to propel a small, orange egg to Internet superstardom. The situation makes no sense, but nonsensical Internet news isn’t anything out of the ordinary by now. On Jan. 13, a photo of a freckled and stock photo-ready egg shattered...

Social media shouldn’t validate your experiences

Written on November 23, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

If we don’t post our daily experiences on Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook, they didn’t really happen. That may seem farfetched—of course, reality exists independent of social media. However, in an era where we post every outfit, event, and accomplishment online, this truth is becoming less clear. The...

Facebook fact-checkers impact more than fake news

Written on November 6, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Facebook’s expanded fact-checking practice doesn’t overstep the line, but it does call public media literacy into question. In late October, Facebook announced their updated fact-checking practice, which allows its 33 fact-checking partners to debunk and down-rank headlines deemed false even if the...

#WhyIDidntReport reveals the power of modern storytelling

Written on September 25, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

This signed editorial discusses sexual assault and may be triggering for some readers. The Journal uses “survivor” to refer to those who have experienced sexual assault. We acknowledge this term is not universal. As #WhyIDidntReport reveals the harrowing reality of reporting sexual abuse, the movement...

The keto diet isn’t a fitness solution

Written on September 17, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

In a social media-dominated world, misconceptions are a constant—especially when it comes to certain foods and diets. My friends have recently been trying out the keto diet, which primarily cuts out carbohydrates and expedites weight loss. But the effects of the diet can be illusory. Once the body...

What the Cambridge Analytica Facebook breach means for students

Written on March 29, 2018. Posted in Lifestyle.

It’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you – and, if you’re on Facebook, they really might be. In case you’ve avoided this news until now, IT service management company Cambridge Analytica harvested 50 million Facebook users’ personal data and used it to assist the Trump and Brexit campaigns...

A story of a real life 'Catfish'

Written on March 29, 2018. Posted in Lifestyle.

It turns out that Nev and Max’s hunt for internet frauds on Catfish isn’t just the basis of an American reality show. It also happens in our very own Queen’s community. For those who haven’t had much experience with online dating, ‘catfishing’ is a term used to describe the phenomenon where someone...

We need to be aware of the artificiality of Instagram

Written on March 16, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Over the years, I’ve often heard the words, “wait, she looks nothing like she does on her Instagram.” While there’s plenty of criticism on the over-use of social media, an overlooked issue is how it perpetuates negative body images. Before posting photos on social media, many girls edit their bodies...

Demonetization alone won’t solve YouTube’s content issues

Written on February 12, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

When YouTube was launched as a video sharing site in 2005, it was meant to be a platform for anyone to create content free of charge. Not only was there no such thing as a social media celebrity when the site started, but the thought that people could eventually make millions of dollars off of the...

We don’t need ‘Lady-Friendly’ Doritos

Written on February 9, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

In a time where gender inequality is in sharp focus, it’s ridiculous of the CEO of Pepsi-Co, Indra Nooyi, to propose women need a different kind of chip to appeal to them. In a Freakonomics interview that has since gone viral, Nooyi alluded to the possibility of Pepsi-Co, which owns Doritos, to create...

New year, same YouTube

Written on January 26, 2018. Posted in Lifestyle.

[This article mentions suicide and may be triggering for some readers.] Less than a month ago, YouTube superstar Logan Paul rang in the new year by posting a video that featured a dead body hanging in Japan’s Aokigahara forest, a site commonly known for its high suicide rates. The video blog, which...

Facebook’s political focus isn’t going anywhere

Written on January 19, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Despite changes to your Facebook timeline, don’t expect your politically-charged newsfeed to be replaced with a constant stream of dog photos just yet. After concluding users are happier when using Facebook to connect with their social circle, people in the coming weeks will begin seeing fewer posts...

The obsessive reality of HQ

Written on January 15, 2018. Posted in Lifestyle.

Have you been noticing that every night at 9 p.m. and every weekday at 3 p.m. everyone seems to drop whatever they’re doing to yell at their phone? The reason for this strange new ritual lies in two letters now synonymous with the world’s first live quiz app: HQ. If you’ve somehow...

Why your art should live online

Written on November 9, 2017. Posted in Arts.

As a theatre artist, a question I always ask myself is “how can I share my art with as many people as possible?” The answer is simple; get online. To a large extent, I’m preaching to the choir. As young, internet-savvy millennials, we’ve already carved personal spaces for ourselves online. But it...

Prioritizing the self in self worth

Written on November 3, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Despite its virtues, living in a more socially interconnected world has made us more susceptible to basing our self-worth on the opinions of others. From instantaneous communication to the maintenance of relationships with people a world away, the revolutionary benefits of social media aren’t lost...

Queen’s start-up admitted into Canada’s Top Software Technology Accelerator

Written on November 3, 2017. Posted in News.

Co-founded by a group of Queen’s students and alumni, PropertySpark has been admitted into Canada’s Top Software Technology Accelerator, L-Spark. According to their website, L-Spark was created to “help a new generation of software companies flourish in Canada.” The program connects Software as a...

Social media activism is no joke

Written on October 27, 2017. Posted in Lifestyle.

Social media activism is essentially using the platform of an online forum to lead or support a cause. It’s activism behind a screen. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter often ask their users to engage with different causes through various means, such as liking and sharing...

Although well intentioned, #MeToo needs to refocus

Written on October 20, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

While #MeToo is currently trending and well intentioned, it isn’t doing anything radically different than the hashtags that have come before it. The focus of this Twitter campaign is put on survivors or victims, potentially re-traumatizing them while ignoring the perpetrators who have inflicted this...

Exclusive interview with Queen's Baddies

Written on October 5, 2017. Posted in Lifestyle.

If you haven’t yet heard of the Instagram account Queen’s Baddies, you’re probably one of few. Queen’s Baddies is an Instagram account notorious for posting pictures of supposedly “beautiful” students, baddies if you will, who go to Queen’s. Students are able to submit their own pictures or those...

My summer on a social media cleanse

Written on September 14, 2017. Posted in Lifestyle.

For any millennial, the thought of giving up social media for any period of time most likely sends a chill down your spine thinking about the big news you could be missing without the ability to constantly scroll. When preparing to go to Beijing this past summer, I worried about two things: my...

Self-deprecation on social media: for expression or for likes?

Written on March 10, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Where’s the line between celebrating imperfection and using it for approval? In an article focusing on a demographic of young and educated people, The Globe and Mail’s Eric Andrew-Gee explores a current cultural phenomenon among millennials to find freedom or satisfaction in self-humiliation. He...

Child-rearing isn’t just expensive, it’s individual

Written on March 10, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Average numbers aren’t as helpful as a specific focus — the real data’s in the details. An article in The Toronto Star this week challenged the federal government to undergo detailed research on how much it costs to raise a child in Canada before pledging to end child poverty or helping middle-class...

Be accountable to change

Written on January 17, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Change is in our actions, not in our social media statuses. It’s not enough to share posts and coin a hashtag — social media is a tool for larger political engagement, one that we often take for granted. Whether it’s in the comment sections of a news article or in a Twitter rant, a major trend of...

We don’t belong on teachers’ social media

Written on January 17, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Asking teachers to refrain from posting certain photos on their social media exercises an unfair degree of control over their personal lives, especially those of female teachers. A handout prepared by the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) for teachers with social media guidelines recently...

When campaigning goes awry

Written on November 11, 2016. Posted in Opinions.

The 2016 presidential election has been one of the most exciting in recent history, but the excitement came at a steep price. With the broad use of social media by both campaigns the access to information has never been easier. Increasingly, campaigns are less reliant on the traditional news media...

When it's no longer just clowning around

Written on October 25, 2016. Posted in Opinions.

Amid the purported “creepy clown epidemic” that’s terrified North America this year, Canadian Tire has discontinued clown-themed décor and costumes. Beginning in August, social media posts began showing individuals dressed up as clowns in the United States. Some committed mildly mischievous acts and...

Universities can see your social media

Written on September 9, 2016. Posted in Opinions.

The University is probably watching you. Or more specifically, the administration at Queen’s are probably scouring Facebook and Twitter for your frosh plans, parties, and personal life details. As social media inches towards more visibility and less privacy, educational institutions, legal institutions,...

Every word is important, even the hurtful ones

Written on June 6, 2016. Posted in Opinions.

Initially, I was pretty reluctant to write this article. Whenever something is published that has an aura of controversy around it, the writer is bound to face backlash. Yet, the importance of publishing controversial ideas is necessary for that very reason: it creates a dialogue on the issue and...

A guide to a strategic social media game

Written on January 29, 2016. Posted in Lifestyle.

The initial vision of the Internet was to build a community of anonymity: a place where you could reinvent yourself. For the most part, this vision collapsed with the advent of social media. As people became fixated on constructing profile pages on Myspace and Facebook, visibility became the new...

Tag: Social media

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