internets

A wide range of Animal Crossing characters, including human villagers and animal neighbors, on an island surrounded by beach and a boat.

Playing through It: 9 Video Games for Anxious People (That Aren’t “Animal Crossing”)

by Rachel Charlene Lewis

March 27, 2020 at 3:20pm

I reached out to the people of Twitter to gauge the video games anxious people are playing. Read more »

Gwyneth Paltrow, a thin white woman, wears a mask to the farmers market.

Celebrity Pandemic Posts Have Us Wondering—Do We Need Famous People?

by Rachel Charlene Lewis

March 26, 2020 at 3:20pm

Celebrities are really leaning into saccharine nonsense. Read more »

a white person with blond hair lays across a bed on their stomach with their head turned toward the camera

Fake It Off: Reddit’s r/Illnessfakers Community and the Politics of Disbelief

by Anna Hamilton

March 23, 2020 at 10:18am

The continued tracking of alleged over-the-top chronically ill influencers is part of an established cultural history of believing that chronically ill people, particularly women, are exaggerating or faking their illnesses for profit. Read more »

A statue holds a crown over its head; the text "the work ethic of Shakespeare" is overlaid.

Very Online: All the Ways the Internet Is Pushing Hustle Culture during the Quarantine

by Rachel Charlene Lewis

March 20, 2020 at 12:01pm

Apparently, doing nothing is not allowed—even during an international pandemic. Read more »

a woman of color with dark hair looks down at her phone, the Hollywood sign behind her

The Inescapability of Social Media’s Sexual Violence Discourse

by Gabrielle Alexa Noel

March 11, 2020 at 10:33am

How can I navigate a media cycle that can cause flashbacks, panic attacks, and anxiety if I’m receiving push notifications about rape with no trigger warnings? Read more »

A pile of money with the text "eat the rich."

Very Online: Michael Bloomberg’s Campaign Tried to Make Capitalism “Cool”

by Rachel Charlene Lewis

March 6, 2020 at 12:57pm

Bloomberg set a dangerous precedent, creating yet another space where the wealthy can skirt social-media restrictions—and do so in a way that makes users who are Very Online cringe. Read more »

Janet Mock, a transgender Hawaiian woman with curly, brown hair, smiles

#GirlsLikeUs: Trans Feminist Advocacy and Community Building

by Sarah J. Jackson

March 3, 2020 at 8:03am

Black trans women and their political frameworks have become the face not only of trans issues but of LGBT issues as a whole—a representation few could have imagined even a decade ago. Read more »

Controversial political commentator Kaitlin Bennett interviews college students about Thanksgiving and other social/political topics at Rutgers University on November 22, 2019.

Very Online: Kaitlin Bennett Is the Latest Conservative White Woman to Build a Career on Outrage

by Rachel Charlene Lewis

February 25, 2020 at 4:46pm

Kaitlin Bennett has built a career via the digitization of white women’s tears. Read more »

a police officer stands in shadow in front a projector with a tweet from Donald Trump about Marie Yovanovitch

A Moderate Proposal: Twitter’s Donald Trump Problem Is a Feature, Not a Bug

by s.e. smith

February 18, 2020 at 11:28am

Moderation is an institutional problem, not a personal one. Read more »

abstract image of a reddish gradient sphere on a light brown background

Moderating Mental Health: The Dangers of Social Media’s Report Button

by s.e. smith

February 18, 2020 at 9:00am

Developing protocols for content that discusses suicide requires a much more nuanced process than social-media platforms are equipped for. Read more »

Best of Bitch

A Look at How Media Writes Women of Color

by Victoria Law

November 17, 2014 at 5:07pm

Nearly every Saturday morning, feminists of color hold Twitter discussions taking a deeper look at issues, such as gender violence. It’s the... Read more »