Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #478

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Instagram's Latest Update Will Force You To Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
Cyberbullying is one of those wicked prob- lems which have baffled legislators, par- ents and people who know noth- ing about the internet but have opinions they like to express regard- less.
How can we restrict bullying while not acci-
dentally blocking legitimate speech? How can an algo- rithm tell a joke from a threat? Is it better just to burn down the internet and return to the sea? No-one seems to know, beyond that Something Simply Must Be Done.
And now
Instagram – aka The Legacy Social Media Platform Young People Actually Still Use – are taking active steps to make things less fraught in a move which deserves wide- spread and sus- tained applause: one using A1, and one in the hands of users.
First up, there will shortly be a new
option: restrict.
It’s a softer alternative for young people who are worried that blocking, unfriending or reporting bullies is a great way to make things escalate IRL.
Messages from restricted people
will be moved to Message Requests, meaning that people can more easily ignore them, and they don’t see whether you have read their message or interacted with their post, or be alerted when you’re on the platform. Also, you’ll be able to delete com-
ments and mes- sages without having to read them.
And that’s great, but there’s also the A1 pow- ered Comment Warning, which gives people a chance to reflect on whether the thing they’re about to post is actually worth posting – and hopefully you haven’t attempt- ed a flamewar yet because it’s already been rolled out.
These are small changes with potentially huge positive effects, and seems like something Facebook (who own Insta) should be adding to their platform asap.
Twitter, obvious- ly, doesn’t need it since it’s already a text- book example of genteel good manners.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine