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November 11, 2024
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Social Media & Mental Health
With the presidential election just days away, political news is dominating headlines — but there’s plenty happening beyond the campaign trail that parents might want to keep an eye on.
This week’s top stories include a new social video app, dangerous stunts made popular by social media, and the surprising rise of meme-inspired Halloween costumes. Here’s a quick look at what’s happening and why it matters.
Fatal Social Media Stunt: Subway Surfing
Despite heightened safety efforts, subway surfing continues to claim young lives in New York City.
A new video captures teens risking their lives atop subway cars near Queens’ 111th Street station, where just days earlier the same stunt killed a 13-year-old and left her friend critically injured.
Fueled by social media, this year’s subway surfing fatalities have surged, sparking renewed calls for prevention and awareness from city officials.
Heart-stopping video captures NYC subway surfing, as tragic trend claims another teen victim: ‘They do it every day’ | New York Post
Loops: A TikTok Alternative
Loops, a new app for sharing short, looping videos, has launched signups as it prepares to join the fediverse — the decentralized social network space that includes Mastodon and Pixelfed.
Loops emphasizes user privacy, promising not to sell data, use content for AI training, or claim ownership over uploads.
Funded through community donations rather than investors, Loops is aimed at users 13 and up and plans to offer features like remote following, moderation tools, and a trust-score system.
The fediverse is getting its own TikTok competitor called Loops | Tech Crunch
FX’s “Social Studies” Uncovers Reality of Teens and Social Media
FX’s docuseries Social Studies dives into the unsettling impact of social media on today’s teens, following adolescents as they navigate a world where online pressures amplify issues like body image, sexuality, and mental health.
Through intimate footage of the teens’ lives and unfettered access to their screens, the series paints a raw portrait of how platforms like TikTok and Snapchat shape youth perspectives and behaviors.
Director Lauren Greenfield urges parents to confront these realities, advocating for a collective response that includes parental awareness and calls for regulatory change to address social media’s influence on young users.
Teens and TikTok doc “Social Studies’ is a parent’s nightmare. But we can learn. | USA Today
Meme Culture Has Taken Over Halloween Costumes
Halloween costumes are increasingly influenced by internet memes rather than traditional characters, reshaping the holiday’s in-person dynamics.
Viral personalities like “Raygun,” the Olympic breakdancer, now rank among the top costumes, pushing out familiar figures like movie characters.
While the shift adds a layer of online relevance, it also distances people from the communal spirit of Halloween, turning costumes into references that often need explanation and threatening Halloween’s role as a rare offline celebration.
The Chronically Online Have Stolen Halloween | The Atlantic
Lawsuits Filed Over ‘Infinite Money’ ATM Scam
JPMorgan Chase is suing customers who exploited a technical glitch that allowed users to withdraw large sums from ATMs by depositing fake checks, a scam that spread across social media this summer.
The bank has filed four suits in Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami, emphasizing a crackdown on fraud to uphold trust in the banking system.
JPMorgan Chase is suing customers over ‘infinite money glitch’ ATM scam | NPR
New X Users Are Shown Political Posts
A Wall Street Journal analysis found that new users on X are frequently shown political posts in their feeds — even those who initially selected nonpolitical topics like crafts or sports as their interests.
Pro-Trump content appeared about twice as often as pro-Kamala Harris posts, despite Elon Musk’s claims that X’s algorithm is neutral.
As Election Day approaches, X’s algorithm may heavily influence public opinion by amplifying select political views.
X Algorithm Feeds Users Political Content — Whether They Want It or Not | The Wall Street Journal
AI Deepfake Abuse Among Teens
Recent surveys reveal that AI-generated deepfakes are becoming a troubling trend in high schools, with nonconsensual intimate images often targeting female students.
While schools mostly rely on punishment, experts argue more preventative measures and victim support are urgently needed.
Parents, often unaware of the issue, are encouraged to talk with their children about the serious consequences of AI misuse and push schools to adopt robust policies to tackle this growing challenge.
Illicit, sexually explicit deepfakes are becoming a problem in schools | Marketplace Tech
Other Headlines
- Wonder Dynamics now lets you go straight from multi-camera video to fully animated 3D scene | Tech Crunch
- Former OpenAI Researcher Says the Company Broke Copyright Law | The New York Times
Did we miss anything?
Let us know in the comments below.
Author Jackie Baucom
Jackie is a Gabb staff writer. She is the mother of four children and is passionate about keeping kids safe, happy, loved, and thriving. She has a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Utah.
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