HCRHS Media Lit

"The grand bargain of the digital age, in which consumers have traded their data for free services, is coming apart. And it may be too late to regain control of the personal data that's been bought, sold and leaked all over the web for the past three decades.  Why it matters: If information is power, our lackadaisical approach to safeguarding details about our lives has made a handful of companies more powerful than we ever expected, and it's made consumers more vulnerable than ever. Here's what it's come to: Autonomous vehicles collect images of everyone they pass on the street. Dozens of companies mine and sell location data from smartphone apps. App developers give personal details to major online platforms. Smart-home devices and digital assistants track your daily habits and have microphones. Genetic testing services share data with app developers and drug companies. Half of the country was impacted by the Equifax financial data breach."

"I know, it sounds like I might be about to join the cacophony of grand claims around immersive media technologies, such as those relating to behaviour change, empathy development, and bias reduction. Meanwhile, a commonly heard concern is that digital media technologies distract us, take us out of the "here and now"- affixing our attention to a mobile phone perhaps, or isolating us behind a head mounted display. Notwithstanding these fraught debates, it seems clear that one of the affordances of immersive media, and VR in particular, is the creation of a sense of presence, of "being there." So why take a user out of the "here and now" and attempt to situate her somewhere else?"

"hey also see opportunities for women to have an equal place on the page and on the screen, and for the Captain Marvel character to grow as an icon of female representation and empowerment. "What Captain Marvel needed to be when she debuted in the 1960s is very different than what she needs to be in 2019, when she's anchoring a major film," said Kelly Thompson, the current author of the Captain Marvel comic book series. "The film has her poised to be more important to more people than ever, and comics gets to be the proving ground for the character.""

"We've offered blogging advice before and felt the topic was worth a revisit. That's why we asked you, our community of talented writers, to share your best blogging tips with us. Thanks for all the excellent recommendations you shared with us over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Here are some of our favorites:"

"For Gansky, the decision to tackle media literacy as part of an education in the culture industry at large-with attention paid to journalism as well as film, advertising, video games, and other kinds of storytelling-is about restoring a sense of political agency lost in the hyperpolarized world in which Ross kids live. His most effective message to the class is "You guys are living in a sort of media narrative that's been designed for you," he tells me. "And they kind of perk up across the board, whether we're people who read news or who play Fortnite. That's when you start to see, across nationalities, folks begin to go, 'I can interrogate that. My video game is actually worth analyzing the same way that a news article is.' ""

"Whether it is the Covington controversy or the abortion debate, it's critical to remember that people are not the sum of their worst moments in life."

"The platform's youngest stars owe their fame to their parents' intense work behind the scenes."

"Googling yourself has become a rite of passage."

"Warning! Please read, this is real," she tweeted. "There is a thing called 'Momo' that's instructing kids to kill themselves," the attached screenshot of a Facebook post reads. "INFORM EVERYONE YOU CAN." Maximoff's plea has been retweeted more than 22,000 times, and the screenshot, featuring the creepy face of "Momo," has spread like wildfire across the internet. Local news hopped on the story Wednesday, amplifying it to millions of terrified parents. Kim Kardashian even posted a warning about the so-called Momo challenge to her 129 million Instagram followers. To any concerned parents reading this: Do not worry. The "Momo challenge" is a recurring viral hoax that has been perpetuated by local news stations and scared parents around the world. This entire cycle of shock, terror, and outrage about Momo even took place before, less than a year ago: Last summer, local news outlets across the country reported that the Momo challenge was spreading among teens via WhatsApp. Previously, rumors about the challenge spread throughout Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries."

"Whatever the post may be, could you figure out if it was legit, and explain how you got there? For the last eight weeks, MediaWise's teen fact-checkers have done exactly that. Eighteen students across the country have helped fact-check the internet by creating videos that focus on how you can debunk misinformation online. "

"Diversity and inclusion were the big winners at the 91st Annual Academy Awards. In the years since the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, launched by April Reign in 2015, the Academy has added more than 1,500 new voters-an increase of almost 30%. And the improvements in representation among nominees and winners were evident from the start of the ceremony. Even though there were no women nominated for Best Director, and none of the Best Picture nominees was directed by a woman (despite many critically acclaimed potential nominees) there was still much to celebrate at this years' Oscars."

"I've been a heavy phone user for my entire adult life. But sometime last year, I crossed the invisible line into problem territory. My symptoms were all the typical ones: I found myself incapable of reading books, watching full-length movies or having long uninterrupted conversations. Social media made me angry and anxious, and even the digital spaces I once found soothing (group texts, podcasts, YouTube k-holes) weren't helping. I tried various tricks to curb my usage, like deleting Twitter every weekend, turning my screen grayscale and installing app-blockers. But I always relapsed. Eventually, in late December, I decided that enough was enough. I called Catherine Price, a science journalist and the author of "How to Break Up With Your Phone," a 30-day guide to eliminating bad phone habits. And I begged her for help."

"If you're not already logging and quantifying your moods, don't worry. Apple declared self-care apps the top app trend of 2018, and they've been growing in number by the month. There are thousands available to guide you along your happiness journey. And while it's hard to come out against a pro-snacking, nap-positive app genre, the boom in self-care and digital wellness shouldn't automatically be a cause for celebration. It's a reason for pause  - and maybe even cause for concern, given the questionable quality of some of them. "

"The Chinese authorities turned to a Massachusetts company and a prominent Yale researcher as they built an enormous system of surveillance and control."

" Nestlé, Epic Games and other major brands said on Wednesday that they had stopped buying advertisements on YouTube after their ads appeared on children's videos where pedophiles had infiltrated the comment sections. The companies acted after a YouTube user posted a video this week to point out this behavior. For the most part, the videos targeted by pedophiles did not violate YouTube's rules and were innocent enough - young girls doing gymnastics, playing Twister or stretching - but the videos became overrun with suggestive remarks directed at the children."

"The study also showed that students who didn't use electronic devices but attended lectures where their use was allowed also performed worse on tests."