Parents fear YouTubers are bringing ‘brain rot’ to Netflix. But are kids wising up to ‘slop’?
As streamers poach viral creators to appeal to children, digital whack-a-mole has become a new kind of family challengeExasperated dad Simon Hooper shakes his fist at the camera in a viral video. “We managed to get rid of YouTube in our household six…
‘There is no secret agenda’: Nara Smith on home-making absolutely everything, raising four kids at 25 – and why she’s definitely not a tradwife
The model, actor and influencer is known for making her own frozen yoghurt, bubblegum or even toothpaste while dressed in immaculate haute couture. But she insists she is not who the internet thinks she isNara Smith is not a tradwife, she wants you…
Recruitment boss accused of being behind ‘doxxing’ campaign against RNLI and anti-racism activists
Tom Watson, of Worcester, alleged to be behind Big Time Charlie X account that created so-called TraitorbaseThe owner of a recruitment firm has been accused of being at the centre of a so-called “doxxing” campaign against the Royal National Lifeboat…
Who owns ‘brain rot’?: inside the international legal drama over a beloved meme
Copyright law in the US only applies to human-made creations, but AI characters like Tung Tung Tung Sahur are challenging thatOne of the most beloved characters in an absurdist genre of online video content has become the center of an international legal…
Influencer degrees may be worth liking. Mickey Mouse qualifications have value | Letters
Bill Gabbett recalls teaching media, communications and cultural studies, while Michael Fuller studied under the influence I enjoyed Emma Brockes’ piece (Would I want my child to study for a social media influencer degree? No, but it’s the way of the…
Colonialism for clicks? The influencers targeting uncontacted tribes – podcast
Features writer Elle Hunt and indigenous activist María José Andrade Cerda on the growing phenomenon of influencers around the world trying to reach uncontacted tribesThe Sentinelese, living on North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal, are one of the…
Are my gen X peers the influencers the world has been waiting for? | Emma Beddington
Their careers are peaking, they’re rich in money and time – and young people think they’re cool. But maybe it’s not as simple as that‘Stop sleeping on gen X.” I heard this on TikTok recently. I misinterpreted it, with a guilty start, as: “Stop sleeping,…
Disinformation is just one symptom of the authorities’ failure to regulate social media | Letter
Responding to an editorial on Russian threats, Aneet Morar says companies that profit from spreading harmful content need to face real consequencesYour editorial (The Guardian view on Russian disinformation: a foreign threat that relies on UK complicity,…
Amazon’s Ring wants to replace local WhatsApp groups. It’s a recipe for curtain-twitching disaster | Imogen West-Knights
Do we really want a slick digital message board overseen by Amazon? It’s the neighbourhood nonsense we treasureRing, the Amazon subsidiary of camera-enabled doorbells fame, wants to be an even bigger part of your neighbourhood. Next month in the UK, it…
We’re in a crisis of loneliness – but is buying friends on an app likely to help solve it? | Elle Hunt
Shortcuts work against the rewards of friendship: authentic relationships can surely only be forged when you’re not expecting a return on your moneyWhat price would you put on friendship? In these hyper-capitalistic times, where nothing is beyond being…