28 Dec 2017

Best features of 2017: the online world

6:46 am on 30 December 2017

Selfies, trolling, tech addiction and trust in the digital age.

Man on phone

Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Selfie Nation

The struggle to keep up with all those perfect lives that hijack social media feeds is leaving us self-obsessed and unhappy with rates of anxiety and depression skyrocketing, says writer Will Storr.

cliche selfie

Photo: Public domain

Tech addiction: clicking for kicks

A new book claims almost half of us have some kind of behavioural addiction involving screens or the internet, and that has worrying implications for us as social beings.

Tech use (Pexels.com Public Domain)

Tech use (Pexels.com Public Domain) Photo: (Pexels.com Public Domain)

Zoe Quinn: 'Why are we calling death threats ‘trolling’?'

In 2014, game developer Zoe Quinn became the target of one of the most vicious online harassment campaigns in history – GamerGate – after her ex-boyfriend posted a hateful blog entry. Now she helps others on the receiving end of online abuse.

Zoe Quinn

Zoe Quinn Photo: supplied

Trust in the digital age

This new era of trust could mean a more inclusive and accountable society – if we get it right, says Rachel Botsman, author of Who Can You Trust? How Technology Brought Us Together and Why It Might Drive Us Apart.

No caption

Photo: supplied

Mindful tech vs the compulsive check

Working on a less addictive relationship with our devices sounds like a good idea, but where to start? The more conscious you are of what drives the impulse, the more you'll see that you have the 'space for choice' in these moments, says David Levy.

Keeping kids safe online​

Any IT retailer will help you buy parental control software, but the best firewalls are family values and a strong sense of self-worth, says cybersecurity expert John Parsons.

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Photo: andreypopov/123RF

What lies behind our compulsive behaviour?

It's too easy to indulge in compulsive behaviour as we seek reprieve from the anxiety-inducing world around us, science writer Sharon Begley says.

candy crush

Photo: Public domain

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