 IANS Photo New Delhi, (IANSlife) Building a friendship is no less than forming any kind of relationship. While many meet soulmates through friends, there are also people out there who struggle to find genuine friends. Especially in the world of social media, in many instances we come across the 'friends for benefits' kind of relationship. Not everyone that comes into our life has good intentions, but hey! it is also how we turn the table. This Friendship Day, let’s find out how your favourite personalities from the internet are dealing on maintaining authentic friendships in the social media world. Palak Rathi, Gen Z Finance Content Creator, "Do you know what’s the best thing about social media? Accessibility. Accessibility to literally anyone and everyone. It’s up to us how we use that accessibility - to just network or to actually build meaningful relationships beyond networking. Don’t connect with people only when you need a favour or there’s some work to be discussed but rather keep talking to them once in a while, check on them, appreciate them, celebrate their small victories by maybe reacting to a story or sending them a sweet message or calling them up to congratulate them. While staying connected online is great, whenever and wherever possible - try to meet them in person. Make efforts. Look and build real friendships. And most importantly - stay genuine and don’t try to be someone who you’re not. Because only then you’ll be able to find people who you can really connect with on a deeper level rather than just likes and comments on the surface level. Talk about your interests, your likings, your struggles (trauma bonding is a thing, haha), your goals - just be yourself and you’ll be surprised to see how it will lead to the start of some extremely meaningful conversations and lifelong friendships. Engage with people whose interests align with you or should I say whose “vibe” matches with you. That will help you make friends and not just connections." Adete Dahiya, Gen Z Lifestyle Content Creator, "Whenever we talk about the impact of social media, romantic relationships often take precedence over anything else. But its impact on friendships and other interpersonal relationships is even more profound. Social media has made it so easy to stay in touch with friends and make new ones online - you can just like their photos on Instagram or react with an emoji to their stories, or just drop a short comment on their latest post and you’re done. But the flip side is that it has made it much harder to maintain meaningful connections and bonds. A few things you can do to counteract this is to schedule regular call times with your friends. It is essential to check in, speak to them face to face and get a deeper understanding of what is happening in each others’ lives. If you live in the same city, make it a priority to meet weekly. The key is not to become lazy because of social media but to use it to deepen your connection." Reshi Magada, Gen Z Finance Content Creator, "Maintaining meaningful friendships as a Gen Z individual navigating the social media environment needs a balance of virtual relationships and in-person connections. To begin, I value honest communication by being open about my views, feelings, and experiences. Sharing both highs and lows helps friends understand each other better. Second, I try to engage in real conversations that go beyond likes and comments. I send individual notes, check about their well-being, and show real interest in their life. In this way, I display that I value and care for my friends. Third, I maintain digital boundaries. To keep my friendships from being superficial, I restrict my screen time and prevent idle scrolling. Instead, I invest in face-to-face interactions and meaningful time spent together, which strengthens the bond. Finally, keep in mind that social media is a highlight reel, and comparison may stunt true friendships. I create a healthy climate for genuine friendships to grow by appreciating my friends' wins without feeling envious. Through these methods, I am able to form and retain genuine friendships in the ever-changing social media world." Caslynn Qusay Naha, Gen Z Finance Content Creator, "Maintaining authentic friendships in the social media world is crucial as we navigate the digital age. It's essential to remember that the principles that apply to real-life friendships can also be applied to our online connections. First and foremost, authenticity is key. Just like in face-to-face interactions, being genuine and true to yourself fosters trust and openness. Share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences honestly, and encourage your friends to do the same. Taking the time to actively communicate and stay connected with your friends is vital. Initiate conversations, respond to messages, and participate in online discussions. By showing interest in their lives and making an effort to stay connected, you demonstrate that you value friendship. Remember, it's not about the number of friends you have, but the quality of the relationships you build. Be present for your friends, celebrate their successes, offer support in their struggles, and be a positive influence in their lives. So, maintaining authentic friendships in the social media world is all about being genuine, avoiding comparison, actively communicating, and valuing the quality of your connections over quantity." |
How parents and teens can reduce the impact of social media on youth well-being (2025-12-04T12:10:00+05:30)
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Christine GrovĂ©, Monash University Knowing how to navigate the online social networking world is crucial for parents and teens. Being educated and talking about online experiences can help reduce any negative impacts on youth mental health and well-being. The Australian Psychology Society (APS) recently released a national survey looking at the impact of technology and social media on the well-being of Australians. Around 1,000 adults over the age of 18 and 150 young people aged 14-17 years took part. The survey found more than three in four young people (78.8%) and more than half of all adults (54%) were highly involved with their mobile phones. Young people are reportedly using social media for an average of 3.3 hours each day, on five or more days of the week. The vast majority of adults and teenagers reported their screens and social media accounts were a positive part of their lives. Many use social media channels to connect with family, friends and to entertain themselves. Too much social media use can effect self-esteemDespite social media playing a positive role for most, the survey found the high use of social media and technology can have a negative impact on youth self-esteem. Two in three young people feel pressure to look good and nearly a third of youth have been bullied online. Nearly half (42%) of frequent users look at social media in bed before sleeping. The survey also found 15% of teenagers reported being approached by strangers on a daily basis through their online world. Around 60% of parents never monitor their teen’s social media account and are wrestling their own issues about how much is too much screen time. Most are unsure of how to provide good guidance of appropriate social media use with their teens. Engage with your teen’s online worldParents and teens need to be informed about engaging with the online world. Parents can ask their teen to show them how they use social media and what it is. Try to navigate the social world together, rather than acting as a supervisor. Ask your teen to help you understand how they use the internet so you can make good decisions about social media use together. Here are a few tips to connect with your teen’s online world:
Difficult conversations about social mediaAn important step in navigating the risks of social networking is to have ongoing conversations about social media use with your teens. If you’re already engaged in your teen’s online world, it will be easier to have difficult conversations about some of the risks and ways to manage them. Many people believe internet browsing is anonymous. Educate your teen about their digital reputation. Whenever your teen visits a website, shares content, posts something on a blog or uploads information, they’re adding to their digital footprint. This information can be gathered under their real name and possibly accessed by future employers or marketing departments. This can happen without you or your teen knowing. Protecting your personal information and knowing it’s not truly anonymous are important conversations to have together. Cyberbullying can occur if online users try to intimidate, exclude or humiliate others online through abusive texts or emails, hurtful messages, images or videos, or online gossip and chat. Let your teen know to try not to retaliate or respond, and to speak to a trusted adult right away. Aim to block the bully and report the behaviour to the social media platform. Create a family media plan to help manage social media use with options to create different guidelines for each teen. In the plan, promote healthy technology use habits with your teen. This includes not using technology too close to bed time. Research showsusing technology at night can have a negative impact on sleep quality. Try to not to use technology for around 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. Consider using devices in the living spaces in the house rather than in the bedroom when it’s time to go to sleep. Here’s some more information on how to talk to your teens about their internet use, and thriving in an online age. Christine GrovĂ©, Educational Psychologist and Lecturer, Monash University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
New online tool to transform how high blood pressure is treated (2025-11-04T11:11:00+05:30)
 IANS PhotoNew Delhi, (IANS): A global team of researchers from India, Australia, the US, and the UK has developed a novel online-based tool which can transform how hypertension is managed, allowing doctors to choose a treatment for each patient based on the degree to which they need to lower their blood pressure. The 'blood pressure treatment efficacy calculator' is built on data from nearly 500 randomised clinical trials in over 100,000 people. It allows doctors to see how different medications are likely to lower blood pressure. “We cannot overlook the importance of controlling high blood pressure effectively and efficiently. Achieving optimal control requires a clear understanding of the efficacy of antihypertensive drugs at different doses and in various combinations. Without clarity on what we want to achieve and how to achieve it, we will not meet our targets. Guidelines define the target blood pressure, while our online tool helps identify which antihypertensive drugs are best suited to reach that target,” said Dr. Mohammad Abdul Salam, from The George Institute for Global Health, Hyderabad. A single antihypertensive medication -- still the most common way treatment is started -- typically lowers systolic BP by just 8-9 mmHg, while most patients need reductions of 15-30 mmHg to reach ideal targets. Nelson Wang, cardiologist and Research Fellow at the Institute, noted that while the traditional way of doing this is by measuring blood pressure directly for each patient and adjusting treatment accordingly, BP readings are far too variable, or ‘noisy’, for it to be reliable. The new tool, described in research published in The Lancet, helps overcome this challenge by calculating the average treatment effect seen across hundreds of trials. It also categorises treatments as low, moderate, and high intensity, based on how much they lower blood pressure (BP) -- an approach already routinely used in cholesterol-lowering treatment. High blood pressure is one of the world’s biggest health challenges, affecting as many as 1.3 billion people and leading to around ten million deaths each year.Often called a silent killer as it does not cause any symptoms on its own, it can remain hidden until it leads to a heart attack, stroke, or kidney disease. Fewer than one in five people with hypertension have it under control. New online tool to transform how high blood pressure is treated | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com |
Details on how Australia’s social media ban for under-16s will work are finally becoming clear (2025-09-23T10:53:00+05:30)
Lisa M. Given, RMIT UniversityThe Australian government today released regulatory guidance on the social media minimum age law, which comes into effect on December 10. The law will restrict individuals under 16 from holding accounts on many social media platforms. Reasonable steps for tech companiesThis guidance follows a self-assessment guide for technology companies recently released by the eSafety Commission. Companies can use this to determine whether their services will be age-restricted. That guidance included details on the types of platforms to be excluded from the age restrictions, such as those whose “sole or primary purpose” is professional networking, to support education or health, or to enable playing of online games. Today’s guidance is aimed at services likely to be age-restricted, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. It sets out what the government considers “reasonable steps” technology companies must take to “ensure they have appropriate measures in place” to comply with the legislation. Removing underage usersSocial media platforms will be expected to “detect and deactivate or remove” accounts from existing underage users. The government advice says this should be done “with care and clear communication”, which suggests account-holders will be notified. However, it remains unclear whether companies will delete a user’s content. Nor is it clear whether an underage person’s account could be reactivated once they turn 16. Preservation options may demonstrate a level of “care” expected by the legislation. This may be important for young people concerned about losing their creative content and social media history. Tech companies will also need to “prevent re-registration or circumvention by underage users whose accounts have been deactivated or removed”. This suggests companies may need to put measures in place to counter attempts to use virtual private networks (VPNs), for example, which allow users to hide their country of residence. They may also need strategies to check whether underage users are accessing accounts due to errors made by age-assurance technologies. How age assurance may workFor users over 16 who are erroneously restricted from accessing accounts, technology companies must “provide accessible review mechanisms”. Companies are also expected to take a “layered approach” to age assurance to minimise error rates and “friction” for users. They must also give users choice on how age will be assured, as they “cannot use government ID as the sole method”. This may allay some data-privacy concerns. However, the number of users who need to provide some form of personal information to assure their age will be significant. The government guidance makes clear companies must ensure they are “avoiding reliance on self-declaration alone” (that is, simply asking users their age). Companies must also be “continuously monitoring and improving systems” to demonstrate they are effective in limiting underage account access. Will the legislation achieve its goal?The guidance provides clarity on many practical questions about how the legislation will be implemented. It also demonstrates that Australians under 16 are not being banned, completely, from accessing social media content. Under-16s will still be able to view social media content online without logging into an account. This means things such as watching YouTube on a web browser. Young people may still access content through accounts held by older people. Think of when adult accounts remain logged in on shared devices. Parents and other caregivers will need to ensure they understand the new rules and continue to guide young people accessing content online. The eSafety Commissioner will also provide further resources to support people to understand the new laws. What won’t be requiredImportantly, the government “is not asking platforms to verify the age of all users”. The guidance explains such a blanket verification approach “may be considered unreasonable, especially if existing data can infer age reliably”. Some young people may keep their accounts, such as in cases where facial scanning technology estimates them to be over 16. The government “does not expect platforms to keep personal information from individual age checks” or retain “user-level data”. Rather, companies will be expected to keep records that “focus on systems and processes”. This suggests individual cases of young people accessing accounts may not mean companies have failed to comply with legislation. However, the eSafety Commissioner said in a press conference today that companies will be expected to “make discoverable and responsible reporting tools available”. Where some young people’s accounts are missed, the government will “talk to the companies about the need to retune their [age assurance] technologies”. What happens next?Technology companies are likely to start implementing restrictions using data they already have for account holders, to ensure compliance from December 10. If a person signed up to Facebook in 2004, when the platform launched, for example, that could demonstrate the account holder is over 16 without additional checks. However, the government is not prescribing specific approaches or technologies companies must use. Each service will need to determine its own strategy. This means Australians could face differing expectations for age assurance from each platform. What the government has made clear is there will be no delay in the start date for compliance. Communications Minister Anika Wells said there is “no excuse for non-compliance”. The next steps are now in the social media companies’ hands. Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
How To Keep Your Teenager Children Safe On Social Media? (2025-06-23T11:21:00+05:30)
 By Bharat Gatha, Social media, while being a tool for connection and learning, has its own risks, especially for our young ones. Let’s understand what these risks are and how we, as parents or caregivers, can help keep our teenagers safe. Social media can be a double-edged sword for teenagers. On one hand, it offers a platform for expression and social interaction. On the other, it exposes them to risks like cyberbullying, trolling, and exposure to inappropriate content. These negative experiences can severely impact a teenager’s mental health, leading to issues like anxiety and depression. The recent tragic case of Pranshu, a 16-year-old from Ujjain, highlights the devastating impact of such cyberbullying. It’s a stark reminder of the importance of our role in guiding and protecting our children in the digital world. How To Keep Our Teens Safe On These Platforms? Now, how we can help keep our teens safe on these platforms. The first step is understanding and monitoring their social media usage. This doesn’t mean invading their privacy, but rather being aware of what platforms they’re using and how they’re interacting with others online. Regular conversations about their social media experiences are crucial. It creates a safe space where they can share their online encounters without fear of judgment. Additionally, sharing our own social media habits with our children is important. This not only sets a good example but also opens up discussions about responsible online behavior. We should discuss the importance of not oversharing, especially personal or sensitive content, as once something is posted online, it’s out of our control and can lead to unwanted attention or cyberbullying. Furthermore, we should encourage our teens to take breaks from social media. This helps them understand that life exists beyond the digital screen and there’s much to enjoy and experience in the real world. It’s also a good practice for mental health. How To Monitor Teenagers’ Social Media Usage? Lastly, let’s discuss how we can effectively monitor our teenagers’ social media usage. It’s about balance. While we need to respect their privacy, we also have to ensure they’re safe. Employ strategies like setting time limits for social media use, having open discussions about the content they’re viewing, and being available to guide them through any negative experiences they may encounter. As parents or caregivers, we play a pivotal role in ensuring our teenagers navigate social media safely. Let’s use our understanding and open communication to help them enjoy the benefits of these platforms while protecting them from their potential harms. Remember, it’s about guidance, not control. How To Keep Your Teenager Children Safe On Social Media? |
How to preserve our privacy in an AI-enabled world of smart fridges and fitbits? Here are my simple fixes (2025-04-04T12:22:00+05:30)
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The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the total entropy of a system – the amount of disorder – only ever increases. In other words, the amount of order only ever decreases. Privacy is similar to entropy. Privacy is only ever decreasing. Privacy is not something you can take back. I cannot take back from you the knowledge that I sing Abba songs badly in the shower. Just as you can’t take back from me the fact that I found out about how you vote. There are different forms of privacy. There’s our digital online privacy, all the information about our lives in cyberspace. You might think our digital privacy is already lost. We have given too much of it to companies like Meta and Google. Then there’s our analogue offline privacy, all the information about our lives in the physical world. Is there hope that we’ll keep hold of our analogue privacy? Toasters, locks and watchesThe problem is that we are connecting ourselves, our homes and our workplaces to lots of internet-enabled devices: smartwatches, smart lightbulbs, toasters, fridges, weighing scales, running machines, doorbells and front door locks. And all these devices are interconnected, carefully recording everything we do. Our location. Our heartbeat. Our blood pressure. Our weight. The smile or frown on our face. Our food intake. Our visits to the toilet. Our workouts. These devices will monitor us 24/7, and companies like Google and Amazon will collate all this information. Why do you think Google bought both Nest and Fitbit recently? And why do you think Amazon acquired two smart home companies, Ring and Blink Home, and built their own smartwatch? They’re in an arms race to know us better. The benefits to the companies our obvious. The more they know about us, the more they can target us with adverts and products. There’s one of Amazon’s famous “flywheels” in this. Many of the products they will sell us will collect more data on us. And that data will help target us to make more purchases. The benefits to us are also obvious. All this health data can help make us live healthier. And our longer lives will be easier, as lights switch on when we enter a room, and thermostats move automatically to our preferred temperature. The better these companies know us, the better their recommendations will be. They’ll recommend only movies we want to watch, songs we want to listen to and products we want to buy. But there are also many potential pitfalls. What if your health insurance premiums increase every time you miss a gym class? Or your fridge orders too much comfort food? Or your employer sacks you because your smartwatch reveals you took too many toilet breaks? With our digital selves, we can pretend to be someone that we are not. We can lie about our preferences. We can connect anonymously with VPNs and fake email accounts. But it is much harder to lie about your analogue self. We have little control over how fast our heart beats or how widely the pupils of our eyes dilate. We’ve already seen political parties manipulate how we vote based on our digital footprint. What more could they do if they really understood how we responded physically to their messages? Imagine a political party that could access everyone’s heartbeat and blood pressure. Even George Orwell didn’t go that far. Worse still, we are giving this analogue data to private companies that are not very good at sharing their profits with us. When you send your saliva off to 23AndMe for genetic testing, you are giving them access to the core of who you are, your DNA. If 23AndMe happens to use your DNA to develop a cure for a rare genetic disease that you possess, you will probably have to pay for that cure. The 23AndMe terms and conditions make this very clear:
A private futureHow, then, might we put safeguards in place to preserve our privacy in an AI-enabled world? I have a couple of simple fixes. Some are regulatory and could be implemented today. Others are technological and are something for the future, when we have AI that is smarter and more capable of defending our privacy. The technology companies all have long terms of service and privacy policies. If you have lots of spare time, you can read them. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University calculated that the average internet user would have to spend 76 work days each year just to read all the things that they have agreed to online. But what then? If you don’t like what you read, what choices do you have? All you can do today, it seems, is log off and not use their service. You can’t demand greater privacy than the technology companies are willing to provide. If you don’t like Gmail reading your emails, you can’t use Gmail. Worse than that, you’d better not email anyone with a Gmail account, as Google will read any emails that go through the Gmail system. So here’s a simple alternative. Under my plan, all digital services must provide four changeable levels of privacy. Level 1: They keep no information about you beyond your username, email and password. Level 2: They keep information on you to provide you with a better service, but they do not share this information with anyone. Level 3: They keep information on you that they may share with sister companies. Level 4: They consider the information that they collect on you as public. You can change the level of privacy with one click from the settings page. And any changes are retrospective, so if you select Level 1 privacy, the company must delete all information they currently have on you, beyond your username, email and password. In addition, there’s a requirement that all data beyond Level 1 privacy is deleted after three years unless you opt in explicitly for it to be kept. Think of this as a digital right to be forgotten. I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. My many youthful transgressions have, thankfully, been lost in the mists of time. They will not haunt me when I apply for a new job or run for political office. I fear, however, for young people today, whose every post on social media is archived and waiting to be printed off by some prospective employer or political opponent. This is one reason why we need a digital right to be forgotten. More friction may help. Ironically, the internet was invented to remove frictions – in particular, to make it easier to share data and communicate more quickly and effortlessly. I’m starting to think, however, that this lack of friction is the cause of many problems. Our physical highways have speed and other restrictions. Perhaps the internet highway needs a few more limitations too? One such problem is described in a famous cartoon: “On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog.” If we introduced instead a friction by insisting on identity checks, then certain issues around anonymity and trust might go away. Similarly, resharing restrictions on social media might help prevent the distribution of fake news. And profanity filters might help prevent posting content that inflames. On the other side, other parts of the internet might benefit from fewer frictions. Why is it that Facebook can get away with behaving badly with our data? One of the problems here is there’s no real alternative. If you’ve had enough of Facebook’s bad behaviour and log off – as I did some years back – then it is you who will suffer most. You can’t take all your data, your social network, your posts, your photos to some rival social media service. There is no real competition. Facebook is a walled garden, holding onto your data and setting the rules. We need to open that data up and thereby permit true competition. For far too long the tech industry has been given too many freedoms. Monopolies are starting to form. Bad behaviours are becoming the norm. Many internet businesses are poorly aligned with the public good. Any new digital regulation is probably best implemented at the level of nation-states or close-knit trading blocks. In the current climate of nationalism, bodies such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization are unlikely to reach useful consensus. The common values shared by members of such large transnational bodies are too weak to offer much protection to the consumer. The European Union has led the way in regulating the tech sector. The General Data Protection Regulation, and the upcoming Digital Service Act and Digital Market Act are good examples of Europe’s leadership in this space. National laws set precedentsA few nation-states have also started to pick up their game. The United Kingdom introduced a Google tax in 2015 to try to make tech companies pay a fair share of tax. And shortly after the terrible shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, the Australian government introduced legislation to fine companies up to 10% of their annual revenue if they fail to take down abhorrent violent material quickly enough. Unsurprisingly, fining tech companies a significant fraction of their global annual revenue appears to get their attention. It is easy to dismiss laws in Australia as somewhat irrelevant to multinational companies like Google. If they’re too irritating, they can just pull out of the Australian market. Google’s accountants will hardly notice the blip in their worldwide revenue. But national laws often set precedents that get applied elsewhere. Australia followed up with its own Google tax just six months after the UK. California introduced its own version of the GDPR, the California Consumer Privacy Act, just a month after the regulation came into effect in Europe. Such knock-on effects are probably the real reason that Google has argued so vocally against Australia’s new Media Bargaining Code. They greatly fear the precedent it will set. That leaves me with a technological fix. At some point in the future, all our devices will contain AI agents helping to connect us that can also protect our privacy. AI will move from the centre to the edge, away from the cloud and onto our devices. These AI agents will monitor the data entering and leaving our devices. They will do their best to ensure that data about us that we don’t want shared isn’t. We are perhaps at the technological low point today. To do anything interesting, we need to send data up into the cloud, to tap into the vast computational resources that can be found there. Siri, for instance, doesn’t run on your iPhone but on Apple’s vast servers. And once your data leaves your possession, you might as well consider it public. But we can look forward to a future where AI is small enough and smart enough to run on your device itself, and your data never has to be sent anywhere. This is the sort of AI-enabled future where technology and regulation will not simply help preserve our privacy, but even enhance it. This is an edited extract from Machines Behaving Badly, published by La Trobe University Press on May 3rd 2022. Toby Walsh, Professor of AI at UNSW, Research Group Leader, UNSW Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
Protecting our digital heritage in the age of cyber threats (2025-02-05T12:48:00+05:30)
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One of the key functions of the government is to collect and archive national records. This includes everything from property records and registers of births, deaths and taxes, to Parliamentary proceedings, and even the ABC’s digital library of Australian news and entertainment. A new report released today from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) considers the important role these records play as the collective digital identity of our nation. The report’s author, Anne Lyons, explains how an attack on these records could disrupt the day-to-day functioning of society, and why we need to do more to protect them. Why are these records important?Given that we live in the digital era, our digital identity records have been transformed into electronic data and are stored virtually in cloud servers. These servers act as the memory centre of the nation, preserving Australia’s unaltered history. We can trust these records are accurate, confidential and not interfered with. All this digital information may be referred to as “digital identity assets”. These assets are worth protecting, because they are important for the functioning of government, and are a legacy for future generations. Collectively, they embody who and what Australia is as a nation, its journey, and its time and place in history. What could happen if they were hacked?The impact of any theft, manipulation, destruction or deletion of digital identity assets could be catastrophic. The courts would not be able to function without the relevant digital records. Manipulated property title deeds could create legal challenges. Passports and visas may not be able to be verified and issued. And historic records could be tampered with or forged. In the worst-case scenario, such an attack could interfere with the proper functioning of government, and shatter public trust and confidence in government institutions. Lyons paints a picture of what it would look like if property records were hacked:
What are we doing to prevent attacks?Three pieces of legislation have been passed since 2017 to protect the nation against crimes committed over the internet targeting telecommunications, water, electricity and gas equipment. These are the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act, the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Act and the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Act. But cyber attacks are not only targeted at our nation’s critical infrastructure. Servers that host digital identity assets are also at risk. Nation states and individual hackers could gain access to databases using our email communications to gain access. Despite this risk, our lawmakers have failed to exert the same vigour in crafting laws that protect digital identity assets as they have exerted in efforts to decrypt the WhatsApp messages of criminal targets. There is no clear and specific cybersecurity governance framework in the law books geared towards detecting and preventing attacks against these assets. How to protect our digital heritage1. Assess cyber vulnerabilities alongside social onesGovernments need to improve their holistic situational awareness to counter threats. That means assessing cyber vulnerabilities in conjunction with societal ones. Online disinformation campaigns and malicious cyber activities are all referred to as hybrid threats. Hybrid threats – which could make use of digital identity assets – are challenging to detect and to make sense of due to their dynamic nature. Understanding the complex nature of a hybrid threat is referred to as cyber situational awareness. Outside of the cyber environment, situational awareness may refer to an awareness of cultural, ethnic and religious tensions in society that could be vulnerable to online exploitation. For example, in the 1980s the Soviet government used the HIV epidemic to sow social division in the United States. Under operation INFEKTION, Russia spread stories that the American government created the virus and spread it among its population. In cases like this, it’s feasible that digital health records could be hacked and altered to serve as fake evidence. In this way, societal vulnerabilities can become one part of a mixed bag of threats. Our ability to effectively resist and recover from malicious hybrid activities depends on our capacity to detect, analyse and understand the nature of the threat, in near real time. Metadata can be used for this purpose to show who accessed a server and from what location. To improve cyber situational awareness, access logs should be retained and the computer emergency response team must collect metadata from government departments themselves, and analyse the data in near real time. This is a growing trend in the cybersecurity sector and public bodies must gear up. 2. Store copies of historical records offlineWe also need to simulate how digital identity assets can be used against us and be prepared to counter the propaganda. Schools and universities can store multiple offline historic records, which can be used to verify accuracy when conflicting stories arise. Using National Archives as a central repository for digital identity assets is a single point of failure. Redundancy work-arounds must be created. 3. Engage the private sectorThis is a job too big and too important to be left to government alone. Historical societies and charitable organisations may need to store hard and soft copies of the same records all over the country. Relevant laws must mandate, cybersecurity situational awareness for telecommunications companies, ISPs, computer emergency response teams, law enforcement and security agencies, but in clear and responsible fashion. We must take a proactive approach that mandates the roll out of appropriate advance counter measures. A legal mandate that is largely based on past incidents may not be an effective strategy to prevent dynamic hybrid threats. This is how we will tell hackers to back off our national heritage. Stanley Shanapinda, Research Fellow, La Trobe University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
In China, social media apps are changing how people buy and read books – selling more than physical bookshops do (2025-01-24T11:07:00+05:30)
While the Australian book market was down 3% last year, genre fiction – popular on BookTok – was among the rare categories that grew. Since 2020, BookTok has been increasingly influential in how people (especially young people) read. Books popular on BookTok were among the top ten bestselling Australian titles of 2024. Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel It Ends With Us (also a 2024 film) was fourth, with Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) and Rebecca Yarros’ Iron Flame (2023) the next highest-selling novels, in sixth and seventh place. In China, one of the world’s largest book markets and most digitised nations, social media is influencing what and how people read in new and evolving ways – through two super apps. Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is the nation’s third most popular app, at 900 million monthly active users. Its version of BookTok is even more influential than its Western counterpart. Douyin integrates online sales directly into its platform, allowing publishers to pay for promotions and influencers to earn commissions on the books they sell. WeChat, China’s most popular app, at over 1.3 billion monthly active users, is integrating ebooks and social reading into the platform. This not only effectively encourages public reading, but boosts app usage and strengthens WeChat’s central role in Chinese people’s digital life. Douyin: buying books in the appPublishers are still grappling with how to navigate the reader-led dynamic of “social reading”. Traditionally, book sales are partly driven by publishers promoting their books to audiences. But BookTok is more organic, largely relying on readers sharing and recommending books to one another. While some influencers are sponsored by publishers, the average person on BookTok isn’t being paid. In China, though, there are more commercial opportunities for book creators and influencers to earn income on social media. Book discussions on Douyin share similarities with BookTok – such as short video formats and enthusiastic communities. But they go much further, by embedding the ability to buy books online. On Douyin, popular book-related videos don’t just generate interest: they include links for viewers to instantly buy featured books. It only takes a couple of taps to add books to users’ carts. Online creators can earn a commission in the process. Douyin’s algorithm, which promotes engaging content regardless of follower count, has empowered many creators – and even ordinary readers – to share their reading experiences, while gaining visibility and sometimes income. In fact, influencers with follower counts between 10,000 and three million contributed to over 70% of total book sales on Douyin.
Douyin’s livestreaming e-commerce is also deeply changing how Chinese people buy books. Popular influencers host hours-long live sessions to sell various products while interacting with audiences in real-time – books being one of the most popular categories. The book-themed livestreaming that seamlessly blends reading, social entertainment and online shopping, becomes highly engaging to readers. Influencer endorsements and exclusive discounts make these events effective in driving book sales. For example, Chi Zijian’s literary novel The Last Quarter of the Moon, which explores the life of an Evenki woman and the cultural transformation of her Indigenous, nomadic community in 20th-century China, had been promoted by influencer Dong Yuhui in his livestreaming shows and short video content since 2022. The book saw sales skyrocket from 600,000 copies over two decades to more than five million in recent a couple of years. Dong Yuhui, one of the most popular influencers on Douyin, was previously an English teacher but rose to fame as a livestreaming host. He is now affiliated with an e-commerce company. Influencers like him operate more like an online bookstore, negotiating big discount from publishers rather than relying solely on advertising fees or commissions. Douyin has changed how books are sold in China. In 2023, short video platforms occupied 26.6% of the book market share. Physical bookstores accounted for just 12%. BookTok in countries like Australia, the US and UK often focuses on young adult and genre fiction. But books sold on Douyin span a much wider range, including children’s books, educational titles, self-help and literary books. WeChat is reimagining social readingWeChat is a “super sticky app” that has been dubbed the “Swiss army knife” of social media for its versatility. It’s a communication and messaging platform, but also has dedicated functions that allow users to do things like paying bills and shopping online. WeChat has also entered the field of digital reading. WeRead (also known as WeChat Reading) was launched in 2015, with the slogan “making reading no longer lonely”. It leverages WeChat’s existing networks of trust and intimacy to foster a distinctive approach to social reading. With over 200 million active users, WeRead encourages reading as a communal activity. WeRead employs a gamified approach to create incentives for engagement. Users earn points and unlock free ebooks by completing tasks such as sharing highlights, posting comments, gifting books and participating in individual or group reading challenges. This strategy practically allows many readers to access site-wide ebooks for free, albeit only for limited periods, which may last just days or weeks. An annual unlimited reading subscription costs about A$40.
Popular ebooks on WeRead highlight the platform’s unique focus on networking through people they know. Acclaimed novels such as Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, and To Live by Yu Hua are among the top bestsellers, along with topical titles or classic literature. These are the kinds of books readers might proudly share with their boss, colleagues, or family to reflect their tastes and values. While WeRead offers free ebooks to many users, it does so without relying on advertising. Instead, it operates with subsidies from Tencent, the company that owns WeChat. In return, WeRead brings significant value to its parent company by driving app usage, gathering user data, and strengthening WeChat’s dominance in China’s digital landscape. This model shows digital reading can generate economic benefits beyond direct ebook sales or advertising.
The future of booksDouyin’s BookTok and WeChat’s WeRead are transforming reading books into a deeply social, interactive experience. Douyin’s discounts and WeRead’s free ebooks also makes books more accessible. They effectively promote reading among wider audiences. For publishers, these platforms offer new opportunities to market books and connect with readers. A growing number of Chinese publishers are creating their own accounts on Douyin to promote and sell books, leveraging social reading dynamics to achieve sales levels previously unattainable through traditional channels. However, concerns remain over the growing power and influence of tech giants. Critics worry Douyin’s focus on discounts and influencer-driven trends may undermine the value of books, potentially threatening the long-term sustainability of the publishing industry. Not only might readers be encouraged to buy books they are not genuinely interested in, but they may also expect books should always be cheap or free. Some users have concerns about privacy. Some users even sued WeRead for infringing their personal information, prompting Tencent to adjust its data collection processes. Despite these concerns, the deep integration of social networking, online sales and digital reading in China points towards a book world that is led by readers and centred on social media platforms. Could “social reading”, as shaped by China, become a wider trend? These innovations undoubtedly stem from China’s unique conditions: the domination of super apps and its vibrant mobile reading culture. But they provide a vision of what the future of reading may look like: deeply connected with social networking and digital life. And a book business that is increasingly linked to social media – even becoming an integral part of its ecosystems. Xiang Ren, Lecturer in Media and Communication, University of Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
How can you stay safe from cyber attacks? Here are 2 simple checklists from experts (2025-01-23T11:44:00+05:30)
“Cyber security” may sound like a far-off worry for big corporations or telcos, but that’s far from the case. Cyber security simply means the practice of safeguarding your sensitive data from unauthorised access, theft and damage. If you have any online accounts at all, you should know how best to protect them. That’s also true if you have a small or medium business. Nearly half of all cyber attacks target small businesses with 1,000 or fewer employees, resulting in an average cost of A$46,600 for small businesses and $62,800 for medium-sized businesses in Australia. Even if you don’t own a business, your personal savings are vulnerable, too. Last year, individuals affected by cyber crime reported an average loss of $30,700, up 17% from the previous year. So what can you do to protect yourself? We interviewed 18 financial, legal and cyber security professionals in Australia and developed practical checklists for individuals and small-to-medium businesses. Here’s what they recommend. Cyber security checklist for individuals1. Use strong, unique passwords Strong passwords are a cornerstone of cyber security. You’ve likely heard this a lot, but it bears repeating: set up a unique password for each of your online banking and email accounts, using a combination of letters, numbers and special characters. 2. Enable multi-factor authentication Add an extra layer of security to all your important accounts by enabling two-factor or multi-factor authentication wherever possible (you can easily find this in app settings). This means that after entering your password, you also need to enter a verification code sent to your phone, for example. 3. Be cautious with email attachments and links Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown or unsolicited emails or text messages. Verify the sender and stay vigilant. 4. Limit what personal info you share online Cyber criminals often use publicly available information for social engineering attacks where they pretend to be someone you know, your employer, or even a business you’ve interacted with. Be mindful of any information you share on social media and other platforms. 5. Avoid public wifi for sensitive transactions When accessing sensitive information (like banking sites), avoid using public wifi or hotspots. It’s best to use your mobile data connection or, if you know how to set one up, use a virtual private network, or VPN. 6. Exercise caution when using artificial intelligence (AI) tools Before uploading sensitive or confidential information to AI tools such as ChatGPT or Claude, think of the potential risks. Avoid using untrusted or unsecured platforms, check their policies to understand how your data might be shared, and be mindful of the types of information you share with these tools. 7. Use encryption for sensitive information Encrypt personal files and sensitive communications to protect them from unauthorised access. For example, you can set a password for your document in Microsoft Word by selecting “Encrypt with Password” under the “Info” tab in the “File” menu. This ensures only people with the password can open or modify the file. 8. Stay informed about cyber security threats Keep up with cyber security news and trends to know what types of attacks are becoming common. You can do this by subscribing to news articles on scams or checking websites like Scamwatch. Cyber security checklist for small and medium businessesMuch of the advice for individuals also applies to business owners. But there are other things you should keep in mind when it’s not just your personal data that’s at stake. 1. Evaluate how long to keep information Determine how long to retain information and data and assess if it’s valuable for the organisation. For example, an accounting firm may retain client tax records for five years, but delete older records no longer relevant to current business. 2. Remove unnecessary information and data Remove information that no longer serves a purpose to reduce the risk of exposure during a breach. For example, retail businesses should periodically delete outdated customer email lists. 3. Keep software and systems up to date Keep all systems, applications and devices updated. Software may contain vulnerabilities that cyber criminals can exploit, and updates are a way to patch these up and keep your systems secure. 4. Keep an eye on who can access what Limit access to information based on roles within the organisation. For example, at an accounting firm, only the relevant employees should have access to the financial records of its clients, and they should be protected with multi-factor authentication. 5. Have reliable data backup procedures Regularly back up essential data to a secure location. Having reliable backups allows for recovery in the event of data loss or ransomware attacks. 6. Conduct regular security audits Regularly audit systems and networks to identify vulnerabilities. For example, an accounting firm that stores sensitive client data like financial records should conduct quarterly security audits to ensure the data stays safe and nobody has gained illicit access. 7. Train employees on cyber security best practices Employees play a significant role in cyber security. Regular training can help them recognise phishing emails, suspicious links and other tactics used by cyber criminals. 8. Create an incident response plan Develop a response plan for cyber security incidents that outlines the steps to take in case of a cyber incident or breach. If something happens, having a plan in place will help you react quickly and efficiently. 9. Consider investing in cyber security insurance Cyber insurance can help mitigate the financial fallout from a breach, covering aspects like data restoration, legal fees and public relations efforts. Cyber attacks are constantly evolving, so everyone must stay vigilant about their cyber security – whether it’s simply protecting the logins to your social media accounts, or ensuring the safety of your entire business. Jing Jia, Senior Lecturer, Business School, University of Newcastle and Zhongtian Li, Senior Lecturer, Business School, University of Newcastle This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
Human error is the weakest link in the cyber security chain. Here are 3 ways to fix it (2025-01-16T11:55:00+05:30)
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Despite huge advances in cyber security, one weakness continues to overshadow all others: human error. Research has consistently shown human error is responsible for an overwhelming majority of successful cyber attacks. A recent report puts the figure at 68%. No matter how advanced our technological defences become, the human element is likely to remain the weakest link in the cyber security chain. This weakness affects everyone using digital devices, yet traditional cyber education and awareness programs – and even new, forward-looking laws – fail to adequately address it. So, how can we deal with human-centric cyber security related challenges? Understanding human errorThere are two types of human error in the context of cyber security. The first is skills-based errors. These occur when people are doing routine things – especially when their attention is diverted. For example, you might forget to back up desktop data from your computer. You know you should do it and know how to do it (because you have done it before). But because you need to get home early, forgot when you did it last or had lots of emails to respond to, you don’t. This may make you more exposed to a hacker’s demands in the event of a cyber attack, as there are no alternatives to retrieve the original data. The second type is knowledge-based errors. These occur when someone with less experience makes cyber security mistakes because they lack important knowledge or don’t follow specific rules. For example, you might click on a link in an email from an unknown contact, even if you don’t know what will happen. This could lead to you being hacked and losing your money and data, as the link might contain dangerous malware. Traditional approaches fall short
Organisations and governments have invested heavily in cyber security education programs to address human error. However, these programs have had mixed results at best. This is partly because many programs take a technology-centric, one-size-fits-all approach. They often focus on specific technical aspects, such as improving password hygiene or implementing multi-factor authentication. Yet, they don’t address the underlying psychological and behavioural issues that influence people’s actions. The reality is that changing human behaviour is far more complex than simply providing information or mandating certain practices. This is especially true in the context of cyber security. Public health campaigns such as the “Slip, Slop, Slap” sun safety initiative in Australia and New Zealand illustrate what works. Since this campaign started four decades ago, melanoma cases in both countries have fallen significantly. Behavioural change requires ongoing investment into promoting awareness. The same principle applies to cyber security education. Just because people know best practices doesn’t mean they will consistently apply them – especially when faced with competing priorities or time pressures. New laws fall shortThe Australian government’s proposed cyber security law focuses on several key areas, including:
These measures are crucial. However, like traditional cyber security education programs, they primarily address technical and procedural aspects of cyber security. The United States is taking a different approach. Its Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Strategic Plan includes “human-centred cybersecurity” as its first and most important priority. The plan says
3 rules for human-centric cyber securitySo, how can we adequately address the issue of human error in cyber security? Here are three key strategies based on the latest research.
Ultimately, creating a truly secure digital environment requires a holistic approach. It needs to combine robust technology, sound policies, and, most importantly, ensuring people are well-educated and security conscious. If we can better understand what’s behind human error, we can design more effective training programs and security practices that work with, rather than against, human nature. Jongkil Jay Jeong, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Computing and Information System, The University of Melbourne This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
