Activities of those aged 0 to three often involve sensory exploration and embodied cognition, researchers find Although it has been argued that under-threes should not have any screen time at all, research has found that digital tech can offer “rich opportunities” for young children’s development. A two-year study, Toddlers, Tech and Talk, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and led by researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), working with Lancaster, Queen’s Belfast, Strathclyde and Swansea universities, looked at children’s interactions with everything from Amazon Alexa to Ring doorbells, in diverse communities across the UK, to find out how tech was influencing 0- to three-year-olds’ early talk and literacy. Continue reading...

Lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm exposed teenagers to videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders Seven French families have filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of exposing their adolescent children to harmful content that led to two of them taking their own lives at 15, their lawyer said. The lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm exposed the seven teenagers to videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, lawyer Laure Boutron-Marmion told broadcaster Franceinfo on Monday. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Online services that promise to find people romantic matches have been likened to gambling products designed to keep customers hooked “Designed to be deleted” is the tagline of one of the UK’s most popular dating apps. Hinge promises that it is “the dating app for people who want to get off dating apps” – the place to find lasting love. But critics say modern dating is in crisis. They claim that dating apps, which have been downloaded hundreds of millions of times worldwide, are “exploitative” and are designed not to be deleted but to be addictive, to retain users in order to create revenue. Continue reading...

Posts lauding anything from running in the rain to tiredness and a comfy bed are springing up on Instagram and TikTok “What a privilege it is to run in the rain. What a privilege it is to have a house I need to clean.” Social media is usually criticised for being a toxic space, but an emerging trend is pushing back against negativity with gratitude. Posts entitled “What a privilege” feature everything from images of cosy beds (What a privilege it is to be exhausted after a long day) to videos of travelling (What a privilege it is to carry a heavy bag) to kitchen hobs (What a privilege it is to think about what to make for dinner everyday) have sprung up on Instagram and TikTok. Continue reading...

A fascinating fortnightly show explores the darker side of the scare industry. Plus: five of the creepiest podcasts • Don’t get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Happy season of pumpkin-based food waste! Or, if you prefer, Halloween. Like all humans since the dawn of time, the extra hours of darkness that autumn brings will no doubt have many ask: “Where are the creepy podcasts at?” You’re in luck. We’ve got a run-down of the finest spooky listens, from horror podcasts to paranormal shows crowdsourcing blood-curdling experiences for a seasonal special. There’s a look at a new series that plunges into a suburban Halloween experience, which went from fun haunted house to such a traumatic experience we had to write a whole feature on it. Plus, they’re joined by an advice show hosted by two terrifyingly evil types: Harry Clark and Paul Gordon from The Traitors. Be warned: follow their tips at your peril. Alexi Duggins Deputy TV editor Continue reading...

The platform’s billionaire owner has seen its value plunge as advertisers run shy, revenues drop and user numbers fall Two years ago, there was some trepidation among advertisers, anti-hate-speech groups and staff about Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Those concerns have been borne out: advertisers have sharply reduced spending on the platform, Musk has sued nonprofits over their coverage of a rise in controversial content and about eight out of 10 employees have been sacked. Continue reading...

The megalomaniacs who control X and Facebook are only able to pollute the public sphere and undermine democracy because of our deference to money There are two kinds of aphrodisiac. The first is power. A good example was provided by the late Henry Kissinger, who could hardly be described as toothsome yet was doted upon by a host of glamorous women. The other powerful aphrodisiac is immense wealth. This has all kinds of effects. It makes people (even journalists who should know better) deferential, presumably because they subscribe to the delusion that if someone is rich then they must be clever. But its effects on the rich person are more profound: it cuts them off from reality. When they travel, writes Jack Self in an absorbing essay: “The car takes them to the aerodrome, where the plane takes them to another aerodrome, where a car takes them to the destination (with perhaps a helicopter inserted somewhere). Every journey is bookended by identical Mercedes Vito Tourers (gloss black, tinted windows). Every flight is within the cosy confines of a Cessna Citation (or a King Air or Embraer)… The ultra-rich never wait in line at a carousel or a customs table or a passport control. There are no accidental encounters. No unwelcome, unapproved or unsanitary humans enter their sight – no souls that could espouse a foreign view. The ultra-rich do not see anything they do not want to see.” Continue reading...

DJ AG has built a huge audience by inviting performers such as Skepta to join him in London and elsewhere DJ AG knew he was on to something after Daddy Freddy’s performance. The DJ, real name Ashley Gordon, has garnered more than 385,000 followers by doing something incredibly simple: playing music outside and allowing people to perform alongside him while he livestreams the results. Continue reading...

The comedian bridges the gap between truth and fiction in Up in Smoke. Plus: five of the best podcasts with shocking twists • Don’t get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Have you been glued to Wondery’s latest true crime pod, Kill List? Tech journalist Carl Miller discovered a list of names on the dark web, which he learned was a murder-for-hire site. It turned out to be a money-making scam, but the people who paid up were deadly serious about getting rid of their targets – “Tell me the execution time in advance – I can’t be there,” was just one instruction found. In the podcast, Miller tracks down people on the hitlist and tries to get the authorities to take the risks to their lives seriously. Continue reading...

ByteDance dismissed person in August it says ‘maliciously interfered’ with training of artificial intelligence models The owner of TikTok has sacked an intern for allegedly sabotaging an internal artificial intelligence project. ByteDance said it had dismissed the person in August after they “maliciously interfered” with the training of artificial intelligence (AI) models used in a research project. Continue reading...