Why industry-standard labels for AI in music could change how we listen (2025-11-13T11:32:00+05:30)

Gordon A. Gow, University of Alberta and Brian Fauteux, University of Alberta Earlier this year, a band called The Velvet Sundown racked up hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify with retro-pop tracks, generating a million monthly listeners on Spotify. But the band wasn’t real. Every song, image, and even its back story, had been generated by someone using generative AI. For some, it was a clever experiment. For others, it revealed a troubling lack of transparency in music creation, even though the band’s Spotify descriptor was later updated to acknowledge it is composed with AI. In September 2025, Spotify announced it is “helping develop and will support the new industry standard for AI disclosures in music credits developed through DDEX.” DDEX is a not-for-profit membership organization focused on the creation of digital music value chain standards. The company also says it’s focusing work on improved enforcement of impersonation violations and a new spam-filtering system, and that updates are “the latest in a series of changes we’re making to support a more trustworthy music ecosystem for artists, for rights-holders and for listeners.” As AI becomes more embedded in music creation, the challenge is balancing its legitimate creative use with the ethical and economic pressures it introduces. Disclosure is essential not just for accountability, but to give listeners transparent and user-friendly choices in the artists they support. A patchwork of policies The music industry’s response to AI has so far been a mix of ad hoc enforcement as platforms grapple with how to manage emerging uses and expectations of AI in music. Apple Music took aim at impersonation when it pulled the viral track “Heart on My Sleeve” featuring AI-cloned vocals of Drake and The Weeknd. The removal was prompted by a copyright complaint reflecting concerns over misuse of artists’ likeness and voice. CBC News covers AI-generated band The Velvet Sundown. The indie-facing song promotion platform SubmitHub has introduced measures to combate AI-generated spam. Artists must declare if AI played “a major role” in a track. The platform also has an “AI Song Checker” so playlist curators can scan files to detect AI use. Spotify’s announcement adds another dimension to these efforts. By focusing on disclosure, it recognizes that artists use AI in many different ways across music creation and production. Rather than banning these practices, it opens the door to an AI labelling system that makes them more transparent. Labelling creative content Content labelling has long been used to help audiences make informed choices about their media consumption. Movies, TV and music come with parental advisories, for example. Digital music files also include embedded information tags called metadata, which include details like genre, tempo and contributing artists that platforms use to categorize songs, calculate royalty payments and to suggest new songs to listeners. Canada has relied on labelling for decades to strengthen its domestic music industry. The MAPL system requires radio stations to play a minimum percentage of Canadian music, using a set of criteria to determine whether a song qualifies as Canadian content based on music, artist, production and lyrics. As more algorithmically generated AI music appears on streaming platforms, an AI disclosure label would give listeners a way to discover music that matches their preferences, whether they’re curious about AI collaboration or drawn to more traditional human-crafted approaches. What could AI music labels address? A disclosure standard will make AI music labelling possible. The next step is cultural: deciding how much information should be shared with listeners, and in what form. According to Spotify, artists and rights-holders will be asked to specify where and how AI contributed to a track. For example, whether it was used for vocals, instrumentation or post-production work such as mixing or mastering. For artists, these details better reflect how AI tools fit into a long tradition of creative use of new technologies. After all, the synthesizer, drum machines and samplers — even the electric guitar — were all once controversial. But AI disclosure shouldn’t give streaming platforms a free pass to flood catalogues with algorithmically generated content. The point should also be to provide information to listeners to help them make more informed choices about what kind of music they want to support. Information about AI use should be easy to see and quickly find. But on Spotify’s Velvet Sundown profile, for example, this is dubious: listeners have to dig down to actually read the band’s descriptor. AI and creative tensions in music AI in music raises pressing issues, including around labour and compensation, industry power dynamics, as well as licensing and rights. One study commissioned by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers has said that Gen AI outputs could put 24 per cent of music creators’ revenues at risk by 2028, at a time when many musician careers are already vulnerable to high costs of living and an unpredictable and unstable streaming music economy. The most popular AI music platforms are controlled by major tech companies. Will AI further concentrate creative power, or are there tools that might cut production costs and become widely used by independent artists? Will artists be compensated if their labels are involved in deals for artists’ music to train AI platforms? The cultural perception around musicians having their music train AI platforms or in using AI tools in music production is also a site of creative tension. Enabling listener choice Turning a disclosure standard into something visible — such as an intuitive label or icon that allows users to go deeper to show how AI was used — would let listeners see at a glance how human and algorithmic contributions combine in a track. Embedded in the digital song file, it could also help fans and arts organizations discover and support music based on the kind of creativity behind it. Ultimately, it’s about giving listeners a choice. A clear, well-designed labelling system could help audiences understand the many ways AI now shapes music, from subtle production tools to fully synthetic vocals. Need for transparency As influence of AI in music creation continues to expand, listeners deserve to know how the sounds they love are made — and artists deserve the chance to explain it. Easy-to-understand AI music labels would turn disclosure into something beyond compliance: it might also invite listeners to think more deeply about the creative process behind the music they love. Gordon A. Gow, Director, Media & Technology Studies, University of Alberta and Brian Fauteux, Associate Professor Popular Music and Media Studies, University of Alberta This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Grandparenting tells us much about our history. It’s important to preserve these stories (2025-11-03T13:00:00+05:30)

Liz Allen, Australian National University; Alexandra Dellios, Australian National University; Emily Gallagher, Australian National University; Francesco Ricatti, Australian National University; Nathalie Nguyen, Monash University, and Tanya Evans, Macquarie University Grandparents can play a fundamental role in families, yet they have often been overlooked in Australian history. Grandparents and grand friends make significant contributions to helping share the load of caring for children. Important cultural exchanges and friendships can develop with intergenerational relationships. Languages, cooking and history are often imparted from grand friends. Grand friends are also increasingly being seen as part of the solution to housing affordability. Our preliminary data show that generations of Australians have benefited from grandparenting far beyond its economic value. Reflecting on the contributions of grandparenting to the nation might even offer new ways to engage with current debates around immigration. Modern grandparenting Grandparenthood as a specific role for the parents of parents is a relatively modern concept, linked to the changing value of children in society since the 18th century. The 20th century saw significant transformations in age structures and kinship networks in countries like Australia. Lower fertility rates, falling child mortality, and longer life expectancy were all major contributors. It was also a period when children acquired greater emotional and social value. No-fault divorce, which came into effect in Australia in 1975, allowed grandparents to apply for a parenting order to spend time with their grandchildren. This in turn led to new public conversations about the rights of grandparents. In more recent times, there has been a rise in grandparenting self-help books and a wave of grandparent-themed memoirs and anthologies. With an ageing population comes greater potential for grandparenting. Grandparents help fill shortcomings of the welfare system through childcare and financial support. Inequalities emerge where grandparents are unable to provide support because of resources, conflict and distance. Much of the demographic conversations about an ageing population neglect to consider the riches that come with grandparent and grand-friend relationships. There are reported health and social benefits to those providing such support. Running alongside the stories of grandparenting is a rich tapestry of migration histories. Nearly half the Australian population has a parent born overseas, and 41% of people aged 65 and over were born overseas. Their histories help understand Australia’s national identity and nation building in the postwar era. Social media abounds with heartwarming stories of modern grandparenting and grand-friend relationships that help maintain and strengthen cultural links. The Yiayia preparing homecooked meals for her young neighbours. A nonna and her granddaughter taking social media by storm through simply sharing the everyday. The comedy group of old school friends using their intergenerational cultural roots to connect. These relationships and stories reflect broader social and cultural connections. Many of us have stories of how grandparents shaped our lives directly through our own interactions or indirectly through our parents. Good and bad. Generations of grandparenting In April 2025 we asked 2,000 adults in Australia about their experiences of and attitudes toward grandparenting. Around three-quarters of the grandparents we interviewed told us they had provided care for their grandchildren at some stage. Most of these grandparents provide help at least once a month (65%) and are generally (70%) aged 65 and over. Both parents and grandparents report strong contentment in the level of help provided (84% and 80%, respectively). Many also believe this is support that shouldn’t be paid for by parents or the government. For the first time, we know three generations of grandparenting details. Almost six in ten (58%) adults said they had been cared for by their grandparents when they were growing up. Parents similarly (56%) now rely on the help of grandparenting to raise their children. When asked about how participants’ parents had been grandparented, just under half (46%) couldn’t respond. Most had never had conversations about grandparenting with their own parents. Time means we may lose the opportunity to have these vital conversations of historical grandparenting and how it has changed over time. While most of the people we spoke with (73%) said grandparents were an important source of help with childcare, slightly more (77%) believed grandparents were vital to imparting and learning culture. Grandparents help build and maintain vital connections from the past and help lay the path for the future, especially through culture. Keeping our stories alive We’re embarking on writing the first history of grandparenting in Australia. As a multidisciplinary team with a strong commitment to inclusive and collaborative research, we’re working to create a living history of grandparenting in Australia since the second world war. As part of the project, we’ll be conducting interviews with people of Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, English and other backgrounds to find out more about the histories of grandparenting in Australia. We’re also building a guide to conducting oral histories with grandparents. You can receive updates on the project by registering at grandparentsaustralia.net While we recognise grandparenting can be a source of love and care, it can equally be associated with sadness, inequality and trauma. One grandchild, whose parents were refugees from Vietnam, remembered that when there was Grandparents’ Day at school, I remember feeling quite jealous of the other kids […] because of the Vietnam War and the migration story, for me, growing up, grandparents were distant. We loved them, they loved us, but they were just far away. Without important conversations about grandparenting we may lose the opportunity to preserve and understand the stories of family, caregiving and culture that are part of our national and transnational history. Liz Allen, Demographer, POLIS Centre for Social Policy Research, Australian National University; Alexandra Dellios, Lecturer in Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University; Emily Gallagher, Historian and Research Editor, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; Francesco Ricatti, Associate Professor, Italian Studies, Australian National University; Nathalie Nguyen, Professor of history, Monash University, and Tanya Evans, Professor in History, Macquarie University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

California Launches Free Behavioral Health Apps for Children, Young Adults, and Families (2025-10-17T10:45:00+05:30)

Photo by Annie Spratt California’s Department of Health Care Services launched two free behavioral health digital services for all families with kids, teens, and young adults up to age 25. The partnerships have been years in the making, as the state announced in 2021 the opportunity to collaborate on a new initiative to combat the youth mental health crisis. They selected two platforms, Brightline for young kids and Kooth‘s Soluna for young adults and teens to be the cornerstone of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI). The tools are free for all California families, regardless of income or health insurance. “About two-thirds of California kids with depression do not receive treatment. This platform will help meet the need by expanding access to critical behavioral health supports,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency. “Our young people will have an accessible option to get the help they need.” Between 2019 and 2021, about one-third of California adolescents experienced serious psychological distress, with a 20 percent increase in adolescent suicides. Meanwhile, the mental health provider shortage is causing longer wait times for appointments to community-based mental health providers. Availability is particularly limited among the uninsured and people with low incomes. “The Behavioral Health Virtual Services Platform will give access to services early on, reducing the likelihood of escalation to more serious conditions,” said Ghaly. BrightLife Kids Both web and app-based applications will offer coaching services in English and Spanish, as well as telephone-based coaching in all Medi-Cal threshold languages. The platforms include: Free Coaching: Live one-on-one coaching sessions with a trained and qualified behavioral health wellness coach delivered through in-app chat or video appointments. Telephone coaching will also be available. Educational Content: Age-tailored educational articles, videos, podcasts, and stories. Assessments and Tools: Stress-management tools and clinically validated assessments to understand and monitor behavioral health over time. Care Navigation Services: A searchable directory and live care navigation support to connect users to their local behavioral health resources, including connecting users with their health plan, school-based services, or community-based organizations that can provide clinical care options and care coordination services. Peer Communities: Moderated forums let kids connect with other youth or caregivers, posing questions or sharing their own experiences to help others with the same situation. Crisis and Safety Protocols: Crisis and emergency safety resources for platform users experiencing a mental health crisis or who require immediate assistance. Both apps have strict privacy and confidentiality requirements and must adhere to all applicable state laws and regulations pertaining to privacy and security. Each app will also follow robust safety and risk escalation protocols. Trained behavioral health professionals will monitor app usage to identify potential risks, and licensed behavioral health professionals will be on standby to intervene, if clinically appropriate. Where to find the apps. BrightLife Kids is available for download on IOS devices in the Apple App Store. The app for Android devices will be available in the summer, but it’s also accessible from all devices—or by computer—at CalHOPE.org. The Soluna app for older youth is available for both IOS and Android devices in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. California Launches Free Behavioral Health Apps for Children, Young Adults, and Families See a preview of what to expect in the videos below, starting with the younger kids… Check out the app for older kids…

Sci-fi Selfie: Social Media Giant Creates Selfie Camera That Flies Around Your Head (2025-08-06T14:01:00+05:30)

Snapchat A social media giant has created a selfie camera—and it can fly around your head and follow you around. Snapchat, which has millions more active daily users than Twitter, has unveiled Pixy, a miniature drone they’ve dubbed “your friendly flying camera.” The $230 device can take-off from your hand and follow any of four preset flight paths, including floating, orbiting, and following wherever you lead. During the launch on Thursday April 28 the American company said they first created Snapchat as a new way to use your camera for self-expression and communication. “Today, we’re bringing it to new heights with a flying camera called Pixy.” Described as “a pocket-sized, free-flying sidekick”, the firm says Pixy can find its way back to your hand, landing gently at the end of the flight. Though they designed Pixy to be a companion to Snapchat, it can be used with “any other platform”, although videos from flights are wirelessly transferred and saved into Snapchat Memories. From there, you can use Snapchat’s editing tools, ‘Lenses, and Sounds’ to customize what you capture. Pixy by Snapchat The knob on top of the tiny ‘quadcopter’ lets you select what type of photo or video you want. The mini-drone relies on computer vision and object recognition technology to identify people’s faces and bodies, which allows it to follow or “orbit” or land back in the palm of your hand. “With a few taps, you can automatically crop into portrait and apply quick Smart Edits, like Hyperspeed, Bounce, Orbit 3D and Jump Cut.” Currently Pixy is only available for purchase (on Pixy.com) in the U.S. and France.WATCH the Pixy in action… Sci-fi Selfie: Social Media Giant Creates Selfie Camera That Flies Around Your Head

Perplexity CEO Urges Gen Z to Master AI Instead of Social Media Scrolling (2025-07-24T11:30:00+05:30)

The CEO of Perplexity has given valuable wisdom to the youth in the modern era of digitalization. Aravind Srinivas, the founder of Perplexity, one of the most popular AI-based search companies, sees no use in spending time and hours scrolling through Instagram and other social media feeds. Rather, the CEO of the Perplexity company proposes that young individuals should focus on acquiring knowledge on how to utilize artificial intelligence tools constructively. This statement by Perplexity CEO can be timely due to the changes in AI technology, which alter the ways we live and work. Srinivas even cautions that failure of the individuals to acquire these new skills may not get them good jobs in the future. The essence of his advice is straightforward but strong: quit spending your day trying to find the most interesting story in social media and learn AI. Why the Perplexity CEO Thinks AI Skills Matter More Than Social Media The CEO of Perplexity has enumerated his perspective in a recent interview with Matthew Berman. Srinivas is sure that individuals who will learn how to use AI tools will have a significant upper hand when searching and securing a job. According to him, this change is inevitable and cannot be avoided. The chief executive of Perplexity noted that the AI technology is swift. Every three to six months, major changes occur, and this implies that people should be learning throughout the year. This contrasts with scrolling social media, since the latter does not involve the development of practical skills of interest to the employer. Responding to a question by a participant, Srinivas said it is not an easy task to keep up with AI changes. He added that man had always been slow in responding to the major technological changes. But, the CEO of Perplexity pointed out that now is not the same since AI will influence virtually every kind of occupation. The statement of the Perplexity CEO is simple: “those who are not taught AI skills will find themselves left behind in their career path. At the same time when other students browse Instagram posts, intelligent youth must train themselves on ChatGPT, educate themselves on AI writing tools, or learn about the possibility of AI to aid them in their education and jobs.” How AI Will Transform Jobs According to Perplexity CEO The CEO of Perplexity has provided certain instances of how the workplace will be transformed by AI. Srinivas elucidated right before our eyes in an appearance on The Verge podcast, The Decoder, how AI-based techs such as Comet would be taking the place of a plethora of traditional workplace roles. As an example, the CEO of Perplexity explained that AI would only need one simple command to perform an entire week of work of a recruiter. The AI would be able to identify the potential job applicants, send them messages, monitor the response of the people, update the sheets, schedule meetings, and even develop meeting reports. This is done automatically without the assistance of human beings.This is what happened to Perplexity CEO, which explains the significance of AI skills. If such activities can be done by AI, then employees must know how to collaborate with the machine but not compete with it. The current generation that learns how to use the tools today will be the one that tells AI to do their bidding tomorrow.The Perplexity CEO further stated that these AI features can be seen in the Comet browser, which currently can be used by the paid subscribers of Perplexity. This will be accessible to free users in the future, but there might be special capabilities that might require a subscription. Perplexity CEO Urges Gen Z to Master AI Instead of Social Media Scrolling

Young Woman Returns Family Photos Lost in Hurricane Helene Using Social Media to Find Owners (2025-06-27T12:57:00+05:30)

. A photo found after hurricane cleanup – credit: Photos from Helene A North Carolinian is reuniting families with precious photographs blown away in the storm, offering them critical links to their pasts as they rebuild their homes and lives. Taylor Schenker, who lives in Canton near hard-hit Asheville, was searching through debris along the Swannanoa River hoping to recover some things from her friend’s house which was completely destroyed. As they sifted through mud and torn-up vegetation, Schenker was continually finding photographs that had survived the elements thanks to the waterproof glossy paper. “It was [a photo of] a middle school basketball team. It was a photo of a beloved dog. I found a wedding photo of a bride hugging somebody,” Schenker told CBS News. “You take photos because you have a moment you want to remember and so, they did all seem just special.” That night, she imagined the loved ones behind the shutter and in front of it having those memories taken away from them forever, and the thought affected her deeply. She decided to use Instagram to help reunite families with their missing photographs. Photos from Helene is a tearful page, as over two dozen photos have been returned. Often commenters recognize themselves or a loved one. Schenker has found about 100 photos herself, but she’s also gathered many more from local search and rescue teams. “Being able to have that moment where you hand something so special to somebody and then also just give them a hug—because they’ve lost likely their entire home in this situation—it’s such a privilege to have an insight into this moment in their lives through these photographs and be able to give them back to them,” she said.Schenker says she will sometimes mail the photos to families if they’ve left the area, but if there’s an opportunity for a hand-delivery, she prefers that. Young Woman Returns Family Photos Lost in Hurricane Helene Using Social Media to Find Owners

English Couple Quit Their Jobs to Travel Four Years Around the World in a Van Becoming Social Media Stars (2025-06-26T11:10:00+05:30)

Chris and Marianne’s camper van – credit, SWNS . A couple who quit their jobs and sold all their belongings to travel in a campervan has completed an epic four-year adventure around the world. Along with avoiding their work at Britain’s National Health Service just months before pandemic controls started, they amassed a huge following on social media through their YouTube channel Tread The Globe. Chris and Marianne’s campervan in front of Mount Fuji – credit, SWNS Chris and Marianne Fisher set off on their journey in January 2020 in a 20-year-old Fiat Ducato campervan called “Trudy” with 40,000 miles which they bought for about $21,000 two years earlier. The pair said they realized they needed ‘to live for now,’ so they sold everything inside their 6-bedroom property in Telford, England, and rented it out to help pay for their journey. In total, the couple in their mid-50s traveled 67,000 miles and visited 29 countries logging 28 million YouTube views and 180,000 subscribers. “I think when you’re sitting at a desk looking out of the window and there’s a brick wall, whether it’s a weekend away or… a whole craziness like we’ve done, I would encourage anyone to just go out,” said Marianne. “If you’ve got something that’s stopping you, a fear, message me and I will put you straight.” “It’s been phenomenal. Different places, different cultures—everybody’s given us a warm welcome around the world.” After leaving Telford, Chris and Marianne crossed Europe before arriving in Turkey just in time for COVID-19 lockdowns. The pair settled on becoming Turkish residents for 18 months before making the decision to ship the van to South Carolina and drive across the United States. Arriving in San Francisco, the couple headed to Vancouver at the start of a loop around Alaska. They swam in the Arctic Ocean after driving 1,000 miles along a dirt road called the Dempster Highway which leads to the most northerly road point of Canada. The pair then crossed back into the US, and drove part of Route 66 into California then down into Mexico. After a few months of exploring, the pair shipped the campervan from LA to Japan. They stayed for 3 months in the Land of the Rising Sun, then jumped on a car ferry to South Korea but got something like ‘traveler’s block,’ that left them unable to decide where to go next. Chris and Marianne at the Grand Canyon – credit, SWNS   Refused a visa for China, Chris and Marianne toured Malaysia and Thailand before visiting India and Pakistan. Originally they planned to ship the campervan to Saudi Arabia via Karachi, but were told that the country doesn’t allow right-hand drive vehicles. Instead, the pair went to South Africa to tour a new continent. They headed north through Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Botswana before finally taking one last ferry home from Durban after four and a half years of traveling and living in their van. “We had the mad idea to see if we could wild camp in Las Vegas and see a show, and we managed to stick in a hotel car park and then went to a show and Cirque du Soleil,” said Chris, picking out some brief highlights in a conversation with British media company SWNS. “We drove past Mount Fuji. Passed the Taj Mahal in India, and the nature of seeing elephants walk in front of your van in Kruger National Park and having leopards and lions walking around was fantastic.” In early September, more than 100 people lined the streets of Telford when they arrived back in their van. The couple said they were ‘overwhelmed’ with the support they had received and are already planning their next adventure. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Couple Converts 40-Foot School Bus into Gorgeous Home for Working and Travel–LOOK INSIDE “I really feel if we do nothing else in our life, we’ve done something fantastic,” said Marianne. “We’re so happy to be home and see such a warm welcome on a rainy day—and so sad that this adventure’s over, but there’s going to be more.” Chris and Marianne on safari in their van – credit, SWNS When the couple purchased their van, it had approximately 40,000 miles on the odometer. But, now after their trip around the world, the pair say Trudy has racked up more than 137,000 miles, not including 24,000 at sea. “We’ve always loved travel and planned when we retired one day that we would go and spend our retirement traveling,” Chris added “You get to that point in life where you realize you’re not going to live forever.” Through their Tread The Globe channel, the couple documented their trip online and soon built up a legion of followers and fans as they tried to live on £27 a day.“There’s a real impact and it feels really nice that we’re giving positivity because we’re just about showing the world is a beautiful place.” English Couple Quit Their Jobs to Travel Four Years Around the World in a Van Becoming Social Media Stars

Why am I online? Research shows it’s often about managing emotions (2025-06-14T12:25:00+05:30)

Wally Smith, The University of Melbourne and Greg Wadley, The University of Melbourne Most of us go online multiple times a day. About half of 18–29 year olds surveyed in a 2021 Pew Research Study said they are “almost constantly” connected. How are we to make sense of this significant digital dimension of modern life? Many questions have rightly been asked about its broader consequences for society and the economy. But there remains a simpler question about what motivates people across a range of ages, occupations and cultures to be so absorbed in digital connection. And we can turn this question on ourselves: why am I online? What are we doing when we go online? As the American sociologist Erving Goffman pointed out, asking “What is it that’s going on here?” about human behaviour can yield answers framed at different levels. These range from our superficial motives to a deeper understanding of what we are “really” doing. Sometimes we might be content to explain our online behaviour in purely practical terms, like checking traffic routes or paying a bill. Other times we might struggle to articulate our reasons for going or remaining online. Why are we continually looking at our phones or computers, when we could be getting on with physical tasks, or exercising, or meditating, or engaging more fully with the people who are physically around us? The ever-present need to manage our emotions As researchers of human-computer interaction, we are exploring answers in terms of the ever-present need to manage our emotions. Psychologists refer to this activity as emotion regulation. Theories of the nature and function of emotions are complex and contested. However, it is safe to say they are expressions of felt needs and motivations that arise in us through some fusion of physiology and culture. During a typical day, we often feel a need to alter our emotional state. We may wish to feel more serious about a competitive task or more sad at a funeral. Perhaps we would like to be less sad about events of the past, less angry when meeting an errant family member, or more angry about something we know in our heart is wrong. Digital emotion regulation is becoming increasingly common in our everyday lives. One way to understand our frequent immersions into online experience is to see them as acts within a broader scheme of managing such daily emotional demands. Indeed, in earlier research we found up to half of all smartphone use may be for the purpose of emotional regulation. Digital technologies are becoming key tools of emotion regulation Over the pandemic lockdowns of 2020–21 in Melbourne, Australia, we investigated how digital technologies are becoming key tools of emotion regulation. We were surprised to find that people readily talked of their technology use in these emotion-managing terms. Occasionally, this involved specially designed apps, for mindfulness and so on. But more often people relied on mundane tools, such as using social media alongside Zoom to combat feelings of boredom or isolation, browsing for “retail therapy”, playing phone games to de-stress, and searching online to alleviate anxiety about world events. To some extent, these uses of digital technology can be seen as re-packaging traditional methods of emotion management, such as listening to music, strengthening social connections, or enjoying the company of adorable animals. Indeed, people in our study used digital technologies to enact familiar strategies, such as immersion in selected situations, seeking distractions, and reappraising what a situation means. However, we also found indications that digital tools are changing the intensity and nature of how we regulate emotions. They provide emotional resources that are nearly always available, and virtual situations can be accessed, juxtaposed and navigated more deftly than their physical counterparts. Some participants in our study described how they built what we called “emotional toolkits”. These are collections of digital resources ready to be deployed when needed, each for a particular emotional effect. A new kind of digital emotional intelligence None of this is to say emotion regulation is automatically and always a good thing. It can be a means of avoiding important and meaningful endeavours and it can itself become dysfunctional. In our study of a small sample of Melburnians, we found that although digital applications appeared to be generally effective in this role, they are volatile and can lead to unpredictable emotional outcomes. A search for energising music or reassuring social contact, for example, can produce random or unwanted results. A new kind of digital emotional intelligence might be needed to effectively navigate digital emotional landscapes. An historic shift in everyday life Returning to the question: what am I doing online? Emotion regulation may well be the part of the answer. You may be online for valid instrumental reasons. But equally, you are likely to be enacting your own strategies of emotion regulation through digital means. It is part of an historic shift playing out in how people negotiate the demands of everyday life. Wally Smith, Professor, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne and Greg Wadley, Senior Lecturer, Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Social media design is key to protecting kids online (2025-06-14T11:04:00+05:30)

Abdulmalik Alluhidan, Vanderbilt University Social media is a complex environment that presents both opportunities and threats for adolescents, with self-expression and emotional support on the one hand and body-shaming, cyberbullying and addictive behaviors on the other. This complexity underscores the challenge to regulating teen social media use, but it also points to another avenue for protecting young people online: how social media platforms are designed. The growing debate around teen social media use has intensified, with recent bipartisan policy efforts in the U.S., such as the Kids Online Safety Act, seeking to protect young people from digital harms. These efforts reflect legitimate concerns. However, broad restrictions on social media could also limit benefits for teens, throwing the baby out with the bath water. I am a researcher who studies online safety and digital well-being. My recent work with colleagues in computer scientist Pamela Wisniewski’s Socio-Technical Interaction Research Lab underscores a critical point: social media is neither inherently harmful nor entirely beneficial. It is a tool shaped by its design, how teens use it, and the context of their experiences. In other words, social media’s impact is shaped by its affordances – how platforms are designed and what they enable users to do or constrain them from doing. Some features foster connection while others amplify harms. As society moves toward practical solutions for online safety, it is important to use evidence-based research on how these features shape teens’ social media experiences and how they could be redesigned to be age appropriate for young people. It’s also important to incorporate teens’ perspectives to pinpoint what policies and design choices should be made to protect young people using social media. My colleagues and I analyzed over 2,000 posts from teens ages 15-17 on an online peer-support platform. Teens openly discussed their experiences with popular social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok. Their voices highlight a potential path forward: focusing on safety by design – an approach that improves platform features to amplify benefits and mitigate harms. This approach respects young people’s agency while prioritizing their digital well-being. What teens say about social media While social media’s worst outcomes such as cyberbullying or mental health crises are often in the spotlight, our research shows that teens’ experiences are far more nuanced. Instead, platforms enable diverse outcomes depending on their features and design. Teens commonly described negative experiences involving social drama, cyberbullying and privacy violations. For example, Instagram was a focal point for body-shaming and self-esteem issues, driven by its emphasis on curated visual content. Facebook triggered complaints about privacy violations, such as parents sharing private information without teens’ consent. Snapchat, meanwhile, exposed teens to risky interactions due to its ephemeral messaging, which fosters intimate but potentially unsafe connections. Research – and teens themselves – indicates that social media has negative and positive effects on young people. At the same time, teens expressed that social media provides a space for support, inspiration and self-expression, particularly when offline spaces feel isolating. Teens used social media to cope with stress or seek out uplifting content. Platforms such as Snapchat and WhatsApp were key spaces for seeking connection, enabling teens to build relationships and find emotional support. Snapchat, in particular, was the go-to platform for fostering close personal connections, while YouTube empowered teens to promote their creativity and identity by sharing videos. Many praised Instagram and Snapchat for providing inspiration, distraction or emotional relief during stressful times. Teens also used social media to seek information, turning to YouTube and Twitter to learn new things, verify information or troubleshoot technical problems. These findings underscore a critical insight: Platform design matters. Features such as algorithms, privacy controls and content-sharing mechanisms directly shape how teens experience social media. These findings further question the perception of social media as a purely negative force. Instead, teens’ experiences highlight its dual nature: a space for both risk and opportunity. Key to safer social media The concept of affordances – design and features – helps explain why teens’ experiences differ across platforms and provides a path toward safer design. For example, Instagram’s affordances such as image sharing and algorithmic content promotion amplify social comparison, leading to body-shaming and self-esteem issues. Snapchat’s affordances, such as ephemeral messaging and visibility of “best friends,” encourage personal connections but can foster risky interactions. Meanwhile, YouTube’s affordances, such as easy content creation and discovery, promote self-expression but can contribute to time-management struggles due to its endless scroll design. By understanding these platform-specific designs and features, it is possible to mitigate risks without losing the benefits. For example, Facebook could allow for appropriate levels of parental oversight of teen accounts while preserving privacy. Instagram could reduce algorithmic promotion of harmful content. And Snapchat could improve safety features. This safety by design approach moves beyond restricting access to focus on improving the platforms themselves. By thoughtfully redesigning social media features, tech companies can empower teens to use these tools safely and meaningfully. Policymakers can focus on holding social media companies responsible for their platforms’ impact, while simultaneously promoting the digital rights of teens to benefit from social media use. Call for safety by design It’s important for policymakers to recognize that social media’s risks and rewards coexist. Instead of viewing social media as a monolith, however, policymakers can target the features of social media platforms most likely to cause harm. For example, they could require platform companies to conduct safety audits or disclose algorithmic risks. These steps could encourage safer design without limiting access. By addressing platform affordances and adopting safety by design, it is possible to create digital spaces that protect teens from harm while preserving the connection, creativity and support that social media enables. The tools to build a future where teens can thrive are already available; they just need to be designed better. Pamela Wisniewski contributed to the writing of this article. Abdulmalik Alluhidan, Ph.D. student in Computer Science, Vanderbilt University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Giant Floating Balloons Will Bring Internet Access to 20,000 Square Miles in Remote Kenya (2025-06-01T11:22:00+05:30)

Photo by the Loon Project The tech company’s Loon Project will be using large airborne balloons that are in constant motion to broadcast mobile internet at download speeds of up to 18.9 mbps to benefit parts of the developing world in the same way that a cell tower broadcasts cell signals. With roughly 72% of the East African nation’s 1.2 billion people living without internet, the project aims to close that gap with 4G LTE connectivity. This is the first deployment of Google’s Loon balloons in Africa, after having already been deployed to provide mobile data to the entire island nation of Sri Lanka, as well as Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. “In light of the spread of COVID-19, Telkom and Loon are working as fast as we can to realize service deployment,” stated Loon Inc’s Chief Executive Officer, Alistair Westgarth. “This will also enable us support the Kenyan Government’s efforts to manage the current crisis in the short-term, and to establish sustainable operations to serve communities in Kenya in the long-term.” The initiative, which is being facilitated in partnership with Telkom Kenya, will launch into the stratosphere about 35 separate balloons to service the areas of Iten, Eldoret, Baringo, Nakuru, Kakamega, Kisumu, Kisii, Bomet, Kericho, and Narok—a total of 19,300 square miles (50,000 square kilometers). “This is an exciting milestone for internet service provision in Africa and the world, more so that the service will pioneer in Kenya,” said Telkom Kenya’s Chief Executive Officer, Mugo Kibati in a statement. The balloons will launch on their journey from locations in the United States and navigate to Kenya using wind currents. As Loon gains more experience flying in Kenya, and dispatches more balloons to the service region, it is expected that service consistency will increase, which Google and Telkom caution could be spotty during weather events such as storms.The Loon balloons are solar-powered so as to reduce carbon emissions and increase potential hours of operation, during which Kenyans can expect coverage from about 6:00AM to 9:00PM. Giant Floating Balloons Will Bring Internet Access to 20,000 Square Miles in Remote Kenya

Work or play? The rise of online ‘kidfluencers’ is raising complex legal and ethical questions (2025-01-27T12:05:00+05:30)

Irmine Keta Rotimi, Auckland University of Technology Videos of children opening boxes of toys and playing with them have become a feature of online marketing – making stars out of children as young as two. Twelve-year-old influencer Ryan Kaji, for example, earns US$30 million a year on YouTube leading one of the most popular children’s channels. His empire was built on toy unboxing. An influencer (child or adult) with more than one million followers can earn upwards of $20,000 for one sponsored post, while a person with under 100,000 followers on a social media platform may still earn as much as $4,000 for each sponsored post. But the rise of kidfluencers around the globe raises questions about the blurred lines between play and labour, independence and control, privacy, profit and online success. Our research examines these questions. By analysing existing research to clearly identify the challenges faced by child toy unboxers, we can guide future researchers and governments to best support children who are living parts of their lives online. YouTube as a career goal A 2023 global survey of children aged between eight and 12 found they were three times more likely to aspire to be a YouTuber (29%) than an astronaut (11%). Advertisers have taken note. Social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube collectively earned nearly $11 billion in advertising revenue in 2022 from United States-based users younger than 18. Toy unboxing has emerged as particularly popular, generating massive revenue and global audiences. These types of videos involved children who unbox, play and review toys. Unboxing videos became popular in the 2010s, with content creators unpacking products such as tech gadgets and fashion items. Toy unboxing is now one of the highest-earning genres on YouTube. Unboxing videos have become popular on video platforms such as YouTube. Work, play or somewhere in between At first glance, unboxing videos seem to follow a simple entertainer-audience relationship. The kidfluencers emotionally engage with young viewers, who are then inspired to create their own toy wish lists. But behind the fun is a world of complexity often not obvious for young viewers (and sometimes older viewers too). These children are hired by companies – and managed by their parents – to promote toys and other products in an job-like arrangement. This has raised concerns about child exploitation, privacy risks and unethical work practices. But current child labour laws in New Zealand and elsewhere do not see child influencers as a type of “child worker”. And it is difficult to do so. While kidfluencers seem to be genuinely playing with the sponsored toy, their content is managed by contracts with advertisers, and expectations set by their parents. Therefore it can’t fully be labelled as “play”. At the same time, calling these practices purely “labour” ignores the real excitement children feel when creating sponsored content. In 2020, the French government labelled kidfluencers a “grey zone” – where the child is not officially working, but nevertheless spends a significant amount of time making videos, or derives a significant level of income from them. Protecting children Another complexity is that some social media platforms require users to be over 13, yet some kidfluencers are toddlers, with parents creating and managing their accounts, including producing and posting their children’s online content. While parents play a big role in managing their child’s online presence, the child drives the toy sales, creating tension between parental control and a child’s independence. And behind this all is the issue of money. A child’s involvement – and success – is driven by the wants and needs of advertisers. This raises questions about how much of a say the child really has in terms of creating content. Privacy and online safety are two key issues facing the kidfluencer industry. The more content a child toy unboxer posts online, the more popular and profitable they can become. But at the same time, popularity brings very real risks. Young female unboxers – and female kidfluencers in general – have been targeted by online predators. To stay safe, some kidfluencers use fake names and don’t share their location. But these strategies are not perfect. Current (and proposed) policies rarely balance protecting child stars with supporting their success in sponsored content. In recent years, however, France and individual states in the US have created laws to protect the kidfluencers’ earnings. All governments should follow suit and create policies that recognise the challenges of the kidfluencer industry, and which support and protect the children involved. Irmine Keta Rotimi, Doctoral Candidate, Marketing and International Business department, Auckland University of Technology This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.