tech

Very Online: The Terrifying Scale of the Online Gossip Economy

Photo-illustration: Three figures looking at phones against bright static background
by Jenna Mahale
December 17, 2021 at 11:21am
Our human instinct to discuss—and judge—others is increasingly warped by social platforms.
an illustration of a child laying in front of a computer with a red light overlaying their body

Who’s Spying On Your Kids? Everyone.

by Heidi Boghosian
July 19, 2021 at 1:18pm
 TikTok, just like McDonald’s, is a flagrant collector of kids’ data. Read more »
an illustration shows a woman climbing up a digital ladder with another woman looking up at her

No Way Up: Kathy Wang’s “Impostor Syndrome” Is a Tech World Satire

by Adwoa Afful
May 27, 2021 at 2:40pm
The book externalizes the ethical issues confronting tech. Read more »
a brown woman sits in a chair, feet in sneakers propped up

Our Internet, Ourselves: 7 Extremely Online Books for the Twitter-Weary

by Jenna Mahale
April 28, 2021 at 10:32am
These seven books explain our dysfunctional relationship with the internet. Read more »
Cara Delevingne arrives at a fashion show. She is white with long blond hair in a high ponytail. She wears black and heavy eyeliner.

Celeb Buzz: Sex Toy Brands Are Increasingly Bringing on Famous Faces

by Gabrielle Kassel
December 22, 2020 at 11:39am
Sexual shame can’t be stopped by the power of a pretty, popular, and palatable celebrity. Read more »
Tranae Moran, a thin Black person with a faded hair cut, is captured in a facial surveillance camera that includes personal information

Undetectable: “Coded Bias” Challenges the Racism of Facial-Recognition Software

by Bedatri D. Choudhury
November 24, 2020 at 10:00am
Artificial intelligence is a danger to our civil rights when it replicates historical qualities of any real-life bias. Read more »
A close-up of a woman in a lace top, her face obscured.

“The Hierarchies” Imagines a World Where Sex Robots Have Human Impulses

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
August 24, 2020 at 10:01am
It’s a shocking and eye-opening debut, one that has me looking at my coffee maker a little differently. Read more »
an Asian child peers through the end of a wooden bed

Bird’s Eye: Surveillance Culture Comes for Nannies

by Elena S.
July 6, 2020 at 11:03am
Unlike suspicion and mistrust, trust is not easily built. Once built, it may experience ruptures and need frequent repairs. Read more »
photo of an Asian woman checking her smartphone

Need an Abortion? There’s an App for That

by Steph Herold
January 22, 2020 at 10:43am
Now there’s an even more intimate way to access abortion information that can be truthful and reliable or wildly misleading—an app on your smartphone. Read more »
a genderqueer person with green hair looks at their phone

Sticky Fingers: What Have We Learned from a Decade of Sexting?

by Noa Azulai
December 11, 2019 at 1:39pm
Regardless of the progression of sexting as a practice, the way women are exploited online has yet to change. Read more »
(L-R) Lindsay Ellis, Hbomberguy, Contrapoints, and PhilosophyTube

The Unbearable Whiteness of Leftist YouTube

by Marina Watanabe
December 5, 2019 at 6:31pm
Years before the rise of so-called LeftTube, men on the site were endlessly abusing, harassing, and threatening women of color. Read more »

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