Washington Post: ‘Since Parkland’: A remarkable project by teen journalists about kids killed by guns in America. “…as the project’s new website explains, more than 200 teen journalists across the country last summer began researching and writing the life stories of young Americans — from newborns to 18-year-olds — who were killed during a year in this country. Their stories start on Feb. 14, 2018, the day a gunman walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and killed 17 people, 14 of them students. Those young people were not the only ones to die in America from guns that day.”
teenagers
Mashable: Facebook ends its teen meme hub, LOL, amid a reshuffle of its youth team
Mashable: Facebook ends its teen meme hub, LOL, amid a reshuffle of its youth team. “In January, Facebook was reportedly working on something named LOL, a bid to win over younger users with “a special feed of funny videos and GIF-like clips,” which sat within the main Facebook app. The experimentation, which was done with a small number of users, didn’t last very long: Recode reports the LOL project is dead before it even launched.” This has a very “how do you do, fellow kids” feeling to it.
Refinery29: Self-Harm & Suicide Content Is Still Alarmingly Easy To Find on Social Media
Refinery 29: Self-Harm & Suicide Content Is Still Alarmingly Easy To Find on Social Media. “While other harmful topics appear to have been blocked completely on Instagram, searching for ‘self harm’ still brings up handles which contain the words. Some accounts are private, others are not. Within a minute of browsing through these accounts, you can find alternative self-harm hashtags in image captions that are currently in use, which are often amalgams of similar words and phrases.”
Scottish Daily Record: ‘Lawless’ social media giants ‘will be forced to remove harmful content’ after tragic teen suicide
Scottish Daily Record: ‘Lawless’ social media giants ‘will be forced to remove harmful content’ after tragic teen suicide. “Social media networks could be forced to remove harmful content or risk breaking the law under plans being drawn up by the Government. If the proposals go ahead, Facebook and apps such as Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter will be forced to take down illegal content and protect vulnerable users.”
Voice of America: Social Media Giants Blamed for British Teenage Suicides
Voice of America: Social Media Giants Blamed for British Teenage Suicides. “In the past eight years, the suicide rate among British teenagers has nearly doubled. Last year around 200 schoolchildren killed themselves. Tech giants do not bear all of the responsibility for the deaths, their critics say, but they are abetting them by not doing enough to help stop them. Amid growing public uproar, the British government has said next month, it will unveil groundbreaking legislation designed to enforce a legal duty of care on such firms.”
The Week: Social media firms face ban over suicide images
The Week: Social media firms face ban over suicide images. “Matt Hancock has written to social media bosses at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Google and Apple warning them to ‘purge’ material promoting self-harm and suicide to ensure they do not breach the policies of internet providers.”
TechCrunch: Facebook is secretly building LOL, a cringey teen meme hub
TechCrunch: Facebook is secretly building LOL, a cringey teen meme hub. “How do you do, fellow kids? After Facebook Watch, Lasso and IGTV failed to become hits with teens, the company has been quietly developing another youthful video product. Multiple sources confirm that Facebook has spent months building LOL, a special feed of funny videos and GIF-like clips.” I think I just rolled my eyes so hard they got stuck.
