social media round up
Social Media Round Up – Social Seniors And Twitter Updates
Ofcom’s Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes report revealed that almost half of 65 to 74 year olds have a social media account. 41 per cent of over-75s have a social media presence too. Nine out of every ten of these accounts is on Facebook, with just six per cent using WhatsApp and only one per cent on Instagram. While younger people are online for over 30 hours a week, these silver surfers spend less than 15 hours a week online. The report revealed a lack of confidence among older users of social networks, particularly when it comes to privacy, and many found it difficult to recognise targeted advertising or to differentiate between sponsored and genuine search results. Of the 56 per cent of over-75s who are not online, 86 per cent said that had no plans to do so in the future. In the last few months mental health has dominated the news headlines and the impact of social media on our mental wellbeing has been at the top of the agenda. It comes as no surprise that a survey by Nuffield Council on Bioethics has found that the pressure of social media is making many people turn to cosmetic surgery to achieve the perfect look. According to the survey, social media causes an increased focus on body image and pressure to achieve the perceived perfection of social media influencers and celebrities even though their images may well have been airbrushed or altered – this is particularly the case in posts aimed at women. The survey also showed that young people are also becoming a target for the unregulated British cosmetic industry with plastic surgery games and advertisements. It calls for plastic surgery to be regulated in the same way that tattoos and sunbeds are to protect young people. We think it’s time to head back to basics, lose the air brushing and have celebrities embrace their ‘real’ image. YouTube has altered its classifications after protesters complained about YouTube videos being classified as restricted for being LGBTQ-themed. Videos discussing topics like dating had been hidden on the site in order to filter out “more mature content” to protect younger users. However this has now been rectified and “12 million additional videos” including thousands featuring LGBTQ topics are now accessible to view. CEO Susan Wojcicki announced the update and added “Having spoken to LGBTQ creators and YouTube employees, I understand how important it is that teens and students be able to view it”. Wojcicki then apologised for the issue and highlighted that she “wants to reaffirm our commitment that YouTube is a place where all voices can be heard”. This week Twitter released a blog post detailing a series of changes to the iOS app that aim to make it ‘lighter, faster and easier to use’ according to Grace Kim, the VP of User Research and Design. The most notable changes include circular profile images and more intuitive icons, the main goal being to make the app more user-friendly to new members of the online service. However, some regular Twitter users are underwhelmed, one tweeting, “nothing done about dangerous bot-infestation”. This refers to the discovery that up to 15 per cent of accounts could be bots. The change also means that reply, retweet and like counts now update live as you view the tweet instead of requiring a refresh, and this has inspired a trend: watching Donald Trump’s retweets increase in real time. Viewers watch in morbid fascination as the number of people supporting his controversial tweets steadily rises with the live count highlighting the fact that there is actually a person behind every retweet.SOCIAL SENIORS MORE CONNECTED THAN EVER_
SOCIAL PRESSURE FOR PERFECTION_
YOUTUBE CHANGES ITS RESTRICTIONS ON LGBTQ TOPICS AFTER CRITICISM_
TWITTER UPGRADE ON IOS_
