BuzzFeed News: Twitter Let Dozens Of Tweets Doxing Interfaith Couples In India Stay Up For Months. “For nearly two months, tweets by far-right Hindu nationalists in India doxing dozens of young interfaith couples — usually Muslim men marrying Hindu women — circulated on Twitter…. On [September 21], as outrage mounted in India, Twitter finally took down some of the largest threads, even though people had been reporting them for weeks.”
human relationships
WRAL: Salisbury couple of 50 years died of COVID-19 holding hands, son says
WRAL: Salisbury couple of 50 years died of COVID-19 holding hands, son says. “A North Carolina husband and wife of 48 years died holding hands after a battle with COVID-19. Their son, Shane Peoples, said his mom and dad, 67-year-old Johnny Lee Peoples and 65-year-old Cathy Darlene Peoples, died last week.”
Charlotte Observer: SC couple married 40 years died of COVID-19 on same day, leaving 14-year-old daughter
Charlotte Observer: SC couple married 40 years died of COVID-19 on same day, leaving 14-year-old daughter. “David and Lora McManus of Pageland were married 40 years. Their deaths were announced on Tuesday by government officials in Union County, N.C., where Lora McManus, 59, worked in the Public Works customer service office for more than 20 years. David McManus, 64, was a pulp wood logger and trucker, according to his obituary.”
The Next Web: How to enjoy movies, games and more with friends online while social distancing
The Next Web: How to enjoy movies, games and more with friends online while social distancing. “…while it’s still not wise to go to movies, concerts, or game nights with friends, there are still ways you can enjoy movies, music, and games with them. Here are some of the ways to enjoy these activities with friends online while maintaining a safe distance.”
Arizona State University: Strategies for surviving and thriving as a ‘COVID-19 couple’
Arizona State University: Strategies for surviving and thriving as a ‘COVID-19 couple’. “For many of us, stay-at-home orders over the past several months have meant that we are sleeping, eating and working in the same place, potentially with the same people, all the time. Many couples may be facing a ‘make or break’ time for their romantic relationship — and as a result, they are searching for tools to manage increased stress, anxiety and uncertainty. That’s where Ashley K. Randall’s research comes in.”
New York Times: We’re All Socially Awkward Now
New York Times: We’re All Socially Awkward Now. “As the school year begins amid a pandemic, many are concerned about the negative impact that virtual or socially distanced learning may have on children’s developing social skills. But what about grown-ups? It seems adults deprived of consistent and varied peer contact can get just as clumsy at social interactions as inexperienced kids.”
ScienceBlog: COVID-19 Is Evaporating Casual Connections And Why That’s Bad
ScienceBlog: COVID-19 Is Evaporating Casual Connections And Why That’s Bad. “It’s the conversations with a local barista, a bus driver, a casual work acquaintance, or a person in line at the store that make up what the experts call ‘weak ties’: individuals we don’t know well, if at all, but who nevertheless contribute to our happiness and sense of belonging. These encounters have largely gone missing with the advent of stay-at-home orders and lockdowns issued in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, and that loss could be taking a significant toll on our emotional health and professional productivity.”
Deccan Herald: Online ‘museum’ for queer relationships
Deccan Herald: Online ‘museum’ for queer relationships. “An e-zine that seeks to create a safe space for desi queers has collaborated with Tinder to put together what it calls the Museum of Queer Swipe Stories. Started in April, the museum is a curated archival project that collects the many moods, experiences, and complexities of queer relationships. It features people sharing details of their dates, relationships and heartbreaks.”
Phys .org: People are using artificial intelligence to help sort out their divorce. Would you?
Phys .org: People are using artificial intelligence to help sort out their divorce. Would you?. “According to Amica’s website, it ‘considers legal principles and applies them to your circumstances’. In other words, the software draws on mass data (collected and embedded by its designers) from similar past cases to make suggestions to users. Amica demonstrates AI’s potential in solving legal problems in family disputes. Interestingly, it’s not the only tool of this kind in the legal field. There are a range of AI-powered family legal services used in Australia, including Penda and Adieu.”
New York Times: The New Rules of Dating
New York Times: The New Rules of Dating. “How should you navigate a date when you’re not sure a kiss goodbye, let alone an in-person rendezvous, is on the table? Certain dating apps are trying to ease the process. Bumble now lets its users add a badge to their profiles that signifies what kind of dates they’re comfortable with: virtual, socially distanced or socially distanced with a mask. And on Lex, which caters to the queer community, users often preface their personal ads with their Covid-19 or antibody test results, said Kell Rakowski, the app’s founder. Still, meeting up in person — and any physical contact, be it a touch on the arm or sex — requires some pretty candid conversations.”
‘Love is essential’: Some EU countries relax rules for separated cross-border couples (The World)
The World: ‘Love is essential’: Some EU countries relax rules for separated cross-border couples. “Closed borders during the coronavirus pandemic have taken long-distance relationships to a whole new level. Now, some countries are providing sweet relief for cross-border couples.”
Washington Post: Governments urge singles to find a ‘cuddle buddy’ or ‘support bubble’ during pandemic
Washington Post: Governments urge singles to find a ‘cuddle buddy’ or ‘support bubble’ during pandemic. “Dating before the coronavirus pandemic, two people on a first encounter might discuss where they see their future going or whether they are seeing other people. Dating during the outbreak has demanded a different dealbreaker: What are their social distancing practices? Governments, which often already champion monogamy through tax structures and other policies, are similarly concerned about promoting the integrity of couples because of a shared interest: containing the spread of the virus.”
MIT Technology Review: Social bubbles may be the best way for societies to emerge from lockdown
MIT Technology Review: Social bubbles may be the best way for societies to emerge from lockdown. “Holing up with groups of friends or neighbors or other families during lockdown has given many people, especially those stuck home alone, a way to relieve isolation without spreading covid-19. These groups are known as bubbles, and new computer simulations described in Nature today show they may really work.”
Online romance scams: A modern form of fraud (EurekAlert)
EurekAlert: Online romance scams: A modern form of fraud. “Over the last 20 years, the rapid development of digital communication technology has given rise to new forms of social interaction on social media. Digital communication technologies can overcome physical, social and psychological barriers in building romantic relationships. Around 1400, dating sites/chats have been created over the last decade in North America alone. Solely in the UK, 23% of Internet users have met someone online with whom they had a romantic relationship for a certain period and that even 6% of married couples met through the web.”
Insider: Couples who aren’t quarantining together should wear face masks during sex to prevent coronavirus spread, according to a Harvard study
Insider: Couples who aren’t quarantining together should wear face masks during sex to prevent coronavirus spread, according to a Harvard study. “A new study from researchers at Harvard University in the US has found that having sex could spread coronavirus, and recommends that couples who are not quarantining together should take preventative measures in the bedroom — including wearing face masks. These preventative measures also include showering before and after sex, avoiding kissing, and ‘cleaning of the physical space with soap or alcohol wipes.'”
