How to Fix Online Intimacy
We need better ways to control how vulnerable we make ourselves online, treating our virtual selves more like our physical ones rather than less.
The World Wide Web
How Ambient Intimacy Became So Overwhelming
Social media allows us to connect with people on a level we wouldn’t otherwise have access to—but we may have gone too far.
The Platform Is the Product
YouTube, Uber, Google, Amazon—they all have at least one thing in common: You, the consumer, are up for sale. They’re just building the means of reaching as many of you as possible.
The Rise of the Viral Subway Fight Video
Subway cars happen to be an ideal setting for capturing footage of fights, but all of the popular clips don't mean below-ground violence is actually rising.
Facebook's Real Names Policy Threatens Free Expression
A transgender activist, an Egyptian blogger, and a porn star explain the crucial identities connected to names they weren't born with.
The Medium Is the Message, 50 Years Later
Five decades on, what can Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media tell us about today?
Does Not Checking Facebook Make You a Bad Friend?
An etiquette expert, a social scientist, and an old pal of mine ponder the ever-shifting rules of friendship.
Online Harassment of Women Isn't Just a Gamer Problem
By blaming specific subcultures, we ignore a much larger and more troubling social pathology.
Can Twitter Provide an Escape From All Its Noise?
Twitter has created its own buzzing, digital agora, but when users want to speak amongst themselves, they tend to leave for another platform. It's a social network that helps you find people to talk to—but barely lets you do any talking.
Old Privacy Laws Need a Serious Update
An 80-year-old ruling that has become a pillar of privacy law in the United States doesn’t hold up in the Internet age.
Why My Neighbors Still Use Dial-Up Internet
It's not because they want to. It's because they have no other choice.
Just Kill All of the Comments Already
Even if they're not vile and psychologically damaging, most of them aren't worth your time. And we already have a better system in place.
Does Internet Addiction Excuse the Death of an Infant?
In Love Child, documentary filmmaker Valerie Veatch explores how virtual worlds encourage us to erase the boundary between digital and real, no matter the consequences.
Do Fonts Actually Matter?
On Android's ever-changing quest to find a working typeface for all of its devices.
Can Memes Exist Outside of the Internet?
A number of advertisers have tried to pull Internet Culture off the Web and put it onto your television screen.
Writing About Writing About Taylor Swift's Writing
Everyone's writing about Taylor Swift writing for the Wall Street Journal.
Can We Really Detect Sarcasm With a Machine?
What was once the domain of literary critics has now become the world of the Secret Service.
Why the Digital World Is Not as Democratic as We Think
We often judge the Internet based on the relatively few stories of success—where democratization seems to operate—rather than the millions of failures. Viral is the exception, big broadcasts—and lonely voices whistling in the digital hurricane—are the norm.
The Internet Is Improving the Way We Communicate
Panic about the rise of social media is largely overhyped and misplaced.
Welcome to the New, Monetized Internet
If you think of the Internet as a public good, then think again. Internet service providers are finding new ways to monetize their customers, and all signs point to bigger bills for everyone.
Twitter, Modified
If the beloved platform falls short of our public discourse, can we imagine a more public alternative?
No, the Internet Is Not Killing Religion in America
The decline in religiosity in the U.S. is accompanied by a rise in Internet access. But the factors determining faith are far more complicated than a Wi-Fi connection.