Tag - social-media

 
 

SOCIAL MEDIA

A group of high schoolers promoting self-liberation from social media and technology meets in New York in December 2022. Young people around the world are switching their smartphones for “dumbphones.”
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2024
How switching from a smart to a flip phone saved me
To stop the endless doomscrolling, some people are turning the clock back and switching to "dumbphones."
Mamiko Tanaka (right), wife of Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, arrives at Incheon International Airport on Friday ahead of the 2024 MLB Seoul Series baseball games.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 18, 2024
A mystery no more: What we know about Ohtani’s wife
No one in the sports world is receiving as much attention right now as baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani — that is, besides his wife, Mamiko Tanaka.
U.S. lawmakers last week overwhelmingly backed a bill to ban TikTok unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divested itself within six months.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 18, 2024
Monsters, asteroids, vampires: AI conspiracies flood TikTok
YouTube tutorials show users how to create "viral conspiracy theory videos" and profit off TikTok's Creativity Program.
Mary Ann Eduarte at her home in Montalban, Rizal, the Philippines.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Cancer patients in the Philippines falling for alternative 'cures'
The trend was fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, when health care systems were overwhelmed and many were too scared to visit a hospital.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government holds an event in Tokyo in November to increase people's awareness for fraud and 'dark' part-time jobs. Recruitment ads for such jobs formed some 90% of deletion requests made to internet service providers last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 15, 2024
Nearly 3,000 postings for 'dark' part-time jobs removed from internet in 2023
Recruitment ads for such jobs formed the bulk of deletion requests made to Japanese internet service providers last year.
A total of 404 students, including 125 elementary school pupils, were either criminally investigated or placed in protective custody last year.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Japan school bullying cases leading to police probes hit 10-year high
Of the 292 cases, assault was the most common with 102, followed by 60 involving bodily harm and 46 involving suspected sex crimes.
TikTok creators gather before a news conference to voice their opposition to a pending crackdown legislation on TikTok in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Mar 15, 2024
TikTok bill sets up fight over free speech protections of U.S. Constitution
Opponents could argue it infringes free speech by preventing users from expressing themselves and businesses from using the app to promote their products.
The number of elementary school children who became victims of crimes through social media totaled a record 139 last year in Japan, National Police Agency data showed Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Child victims of social media-related crimes on the rise in Japan
The number of victims has grown fivefold in the past decade.
YouTuber and former Upper House member GaaSyy after his release on bail in September
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
YouTuber GaaSyy given suspended prison term for defaming celebrities
GaaSyy's acts seriously threatened the victims, the presiding judge said, causing them “enormous financial damage” through online hate.
Several U.S. lawmakers along with TikTok creators hold a news conference to voice their opposition to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in Washington on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 2024
America’s TikTok addiction isn’t just China’s fault
If you’ve spent time on the platform, you will know how addictive TikTok is. With 170 million users, at least one in three Americans have accessed it.
A TikTok advertisement at a Metro station in Arlington, Virginia
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2024
TikTok divestment bill moves ahead in U.S. as key Republican wavers
The legislation would block app stores and service providers from offering TikTok unless its Chinese parent ByteDance sells it within six months.
The National Police Agency conducted its first survey on social media-linked investment frauds and romance scams as the amount of damage from such cases surged last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2024
Damage from investment and romance scams in Japan hits ¥45.5 billion
The figure was higher than ¥44.12 billion stolen in remittance and other special fraud cases, according to police data.
Shohei Ohtani's announcement not only broke hearts but also broke the internet, with terms related to his marriage dominating the trending terms on social media.
JAPAN / Society / First person
Mar 1, 2024
Ohtani is taken. It’s enough to make you cry.
It’s official, and it's over: Shohei Ohtani has left the future husband market and, in the blink of an eye, leveled a field of fairy-tale dreams.
Chris Marchese (center), Director of NetChoice Litigation Center, speaks to the press outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Monday. In a case that could determine the future of social media in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked today to decide whether a pair of state laws that limit content moderation are constitutional.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court torn over legal bid to restrict social media moderation
Republican-backed laws in Florida and Texas are being challenged by tech industry trade groups whose members include Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap.
The European Union plans to investigate TikTok, the video-sharing app owned by China's ByteDance, regarding its possible negative impacts on young people.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024
EU launches probe into TikTok over alleged failure to protect children
Brussels is concerned the video-sharing app may not be doing enough to address negative impacts on young people including from algorithmically fed content.
Fans of virtual YouTuber Selen Tatsuki and VTubers in general took to social media to express their outrage over major agency Nijisanji terminating Tatsuki’s contract.
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Feb 16, 2024
High-profile shakeups prompt scrutiny of virtual YouTuber industry
As VTubers enter a new era defined by prestige, Selen Tatsuki and Mikeneko's recent dramas demonstrate how complicated getting famous can be.
The Osaka District Court handed a prison term to a man who appeared in a viral video engaging in unsanitary behavior at a Yoshinoya beef bowl diner.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 15, 2024
Man given prison term after food prank at beef bowl diner in Osaka
Ryu Shimazu was found guilty of obstructing business operations and causing property damage.
Flags fly at Union Station in Washington on June 27. With the U.S. presidential election approaching, caution is being urged over the widespread proliferation of propaganda.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 13, 2024
The battle to tackle U.S. election propaganda heats up
The race is set to become more and more intense amid increased political polarization and pluralistic values.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, attends a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2024
Zuckerberg’s apology isn’t enough to stop children being harmed
META's CEO apologized to the families of children abused via social media, but real regulation is needed for such harm to be avoided in the first place.
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2024
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Bound together by shared neglect and marginalization, the group have formed a distinct, social media-linked youth subculture on the streets of Shinjuku.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world