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Back to school means back to the spotlight for Big Tech

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Back to school could mean back to the hot seat for Big Tech.

Social media platforms TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat spent last school year embroiled in alawsuitaccusing them of disrupting learning, contributing to a mental health crisis among youth and leaving teachers to manage the fallout.

When students return to class this September, experts say the clash between tech and textbooks will be reignited — and perhaps even ratcheted up — as schools and parents reckon with the impacts social media is having on education.

“Back to school is happening at a different time this year than was true two years ago, three years ago, four years ago,” said Richard Lachman, a digital media professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.

“It absolutely seems like as a society, we’re having more conversations about the harms of social media, but the companies themselves are in a position where they’re not necessarily doing more.”

Brett Caraway, a professor of media economics at the University of Toronto, said the situation the education system finds itself in this year is a consequence of the proliferation of mobile devices that began in 2007 with the advent of the iPhone. It has been exacerbated by camera capabilities, apps and social networks.

“I fully expect that this issue is going to persist because smartphone penetration among adolescents has not tapered off,” he said.

Just shy of 40 per cent of Canadian children between the ages of two and six used a mobile phone in April 2022, Statista data shows. That figure rose to 50 per cent for kids between seven and 11 years old and was even higher for those between 12 and 17 — at 87 per cent.

That same year, 42 per cent of those between the ages of 15 and 24 reported to Statistics Canada that they were spending 20 hours or more per week using the internet for “general purposes,” which includes using social media, browsing the web, online shopping and reading the news.

Much of those 20 hours are dedicated to the endless scroll of buzzy videos, posts and photos that come from the smattering of social media networks that have become household names in recent years.

Caraway recently heard from a family friend about a 14-year-old who averages six hours per day on TikTok. He found it “mindboggling.”

“I don’t understand how anybody has six hours a day to be on a smartphone like that, but this is what the platforms are designed to do,” he said.

“They make money by demonstrating to potential advertisers that they have high levels of user engagement … The platform is designed to literally capture the attention of the user and hold it for as long as possible.”

That can spell trouble for teachers just trying to get through a lesson or students needing to study but constantly being drawn in by the allure of social media.

Studies have linked more time on social media to lower self-esteem and academic performance as well as more exposure to hateful, violent and mature content.

A 2018 study by the World Health Organization concluded 6.85 per cent of students were classified as having problematic social media use, which is considered to be when behavioural and psychological symptoms of addiction to social media manifest. Some 33.14 per cent of students were at moderate risk for problematic social media use and another 60 per cent faced low risk, the study found.

Four Ontario school boards decided to take the matter to court last March, suing TikTok, Snap and Instagram and Facebook-owner Meta for $4.5 billion. The suit accused them of negligently designing their products for compulsive use and rewiring the way children think, behave and learn.

By August, the group taking action against the tech giants had grown to 12 boards and two private schools seeking more than $8 billion, lawsuit organizers School Boards for Change said.

The allegations in the lawsuits have not been proven in court.

“Our children are literally falling apart and we have to spend extra resources in order to keep up with our obligation, which is to provide education,” Caraway said. “So this lawsuit is an attempt to make someone pay for this.”

Asked about the lawsuit and suggestions that the social media companies aren’t doing enough to protect kids online, Snapchat spokesperson Tonya Johnson said her company’s app was designed to be different from other platforms because it tries not to put pressure on users to be perfect or popular.

“We care deeply about the mental health of young people, and while we will always have more work to do, we feel good about the role Snapchat plays in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence,” she said in an email.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment. TikTok declined to share a statement.

However, at a July safety session TikTok hosted for media, it described several actions it has taken to protect young users. They include family pairing, which allows parents to link their accounts directly with their teens’ and ensure their kids’ TikTok settings are agreed upon as a family, and one-hour screen time limits for users under 18 that can only be bypassed with a code.

Because students remain distracted despite the features, some provinces, including Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Alberta, will ban cellphones from classes this year.

But many say it’s not a panacea. Even if students can’t use phones in class, they are sneaking the use of them into “every nook and cranny” in their schedule, Caraway said.

They power them up as soon as they awake, check them between classes and then head back to them at home until bedtime.

Some teachers bristle at the idea of them being kept out of class, too.

“Banning phones and banning technology for me has never been the answer because you’re banning the discussion then in the classroom,” said Joanna Johnson, the Ontario educator behind the popular @unlearn16 account, at the TikTok safety session.

Lachman doesn’t like the “abstinence” approach provinces with bans have taken, but says the real issue is that social media companies have a “business model … to make us desire to be on as long as possible.”

“If you really cared to make something less addictive … are you going to give young people a different interface? Are you going to give them a completely different algorithm?” he questioned.

“Are you going to give them something that is designed to be less appealing, less one click, less infinite scroll?”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2024.

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Bitcoin is at the doorstep of $100,000 as post-election rally rolls on

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NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin topped $98,000 for the first time Thursday, extending a streak of record after record highs since the U.S. presidential election. The cryptocurrency has rocketed more than 40% in just two weeks.

Now, bitcoin is at the doorstep of $100,000, just two years after dropping below $17,000 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. The recent, dramatic rally arrives as industry players expect the incoming Trump administration to bring a more “crypto-friendly” approach toward regulating the digital currency.

Bitcoin traded as high as $98,349 early Thursday, according to CoinDesk, and was slightly below that level at 1:25 p.m. ET.

As with everything in the volatile cryptoverse, the future is impossible to know. And while some are bullish, other experts continue to warn of investment risks.

Here’s what you need to know.

Back up. What is cryptocurrency again?

Cryptocurrency has been around for a while now. But, chances are, you’ve heard about it more and more over the last few years.

In basic terms, cryptocurrency is digital money. This kind of currency is designed to work through an online network without a central authority — meaning it’s typically not backed by any government or banking institution — and transactions get recorded with technology called a blockchain.

Bitcoin is the largest and oldest cryptocurrency, although other assets like ethereum, tether and dogecoin have also gained popularity over the years. Some investors see cryptocurrency as a “digital alternative” to traditional money — but it can be very volatile, with its price reliant on larger market conditions.

Why is bitcoin soaring?

A lot of the recent action has to do with the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Crypto industry players have welcomed Trump’s victory, in hopes that he would be able to push through legislative and regulatory changes that they’ve long lobbied for — which, generally speaking, aim for an increased sense of legitimacy without too much red tape.

Trump, who was once a crypto skeptic, recently pledged to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he courted fans at a bitcoin conference in July. He also launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.

How of this will actually pan out — and whether or not Trump will successfully act quickly on these promises — has yet to be seen.

“This is not necessarily a short-term story, it’s likely a much longer-term story,” Citi macro strategist David Glass told The Associated Press last week. “And there is the question of how quickly can U.S. crypto policy make a serious impact on (wider adoption).”

Adam Morgan McCarthy, a research analyst at Kaiko, thinks the industry is craving “just some sort of clarity.” Much of the approach to regulating crypto in the past has been “enforcement based,” he notes, which has been helpful in weeding out some bad actors — but legislation might fill in other key gaps.

Gary Gensler, who as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission under President Joe Biden has led a U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry, penalized a number of crypto companies for violating securities laws. Gensler announced Thursday that he would step down as SEC chair on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.

Despite crypto’s recent excitement around Trump, McCarthy said that 2024 has already been a “hugely consequential year for regulation in the U.S.” — pointing to January’s approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, for example, which mark a new way to invest in the asset.

Spot ETFs have been the dominant driver of bitcoin for some time now — but, like much of the crypto’s recent momentum, saw record inflows postelection. According to Kaiko, bitcoin ETFs recorded $6 billion in trade volume for the week of the election alone.

In April, bitcoin also saw its fourth “halving” — a preprogrammed event that impacts production by cutting the reward for mining, or the creation of new bitcoin, in half. In theory, if demand remains strong, some analysts say this “supply shock” can also help propel the price long term. Others note it may be too early to tell.

What are the risks?

History shows you can lose money in crypto as quickly as you’ve made it. Long-term price behavior relies on larger market conditions. Trading continues at all hours, every day.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, bitcoin stood at just over $5,000. Its price climbed to nearly $69,000 by November 2021, during high demand for technology assets, but later crashed during an aggressive series of Federal Reserve rate hikes. And in late 2022 collapse of FTX significantly undermined confidence in crypto overall, with bitcoin falling below $17,000.

Investors began returning in large numbers as inflation started to cool — and gains skyrocketed on the anticipation and then early success of spot ETFs. But experts still stress caution, especially for small-pocketed investors. And lighter regulation from the coming Trump administration could mean less guardrails.

While its been a big month for crypto — and particularly bitcoin, which McCarthy notes has set record highs for ten of the last 21 days — there’s always risk for “correction,” or seeing prices fluctuate back down some. Some assets may also have more restrictions than others.

“I would say, keep it simple. And don’t take on more risk than you can afford to,” McCarthy said — adding that there isn’t a “magic eight ball” to know for certain what comes next.

What about the climate impact?

Assets like bitcoin are produced through a process called “mining,” which consumes a lot of energy. Operations relying on pollutive sources have drawn particular concern over the years.

Recent research published by the United Nations University and Earth’s Future journal found that the carbon footprint of 2020-2021 bitcoin mining across 76 nations was equivalent to the emissions from burning 84 billion pounds of coal or running 190 natural gas-fired power plants. Coal satisfied the bulk of bitcoin’s electricity demands (45%), followed by natural gas (21%) and hydropower (16%).

Environmental impacts of bitcoin mining boil largely down to the energy source used. Industry analysts have maintained that clean energy has increased in use in recent years, coinciding with rising calls for climate protections



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Transgender community gathers in remembrance, opposition to Alberta legislation |

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Members of Edmonton’s transgender community and their loved ones gathered to mark the international Transgender Day of Remembrance where they held candles and mourned for transgender people who have recently died from violence or suicide. In Alberta, the gathering was also about opposing proposed legislation in the province. (Nov. 21, 2024)



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Canadian basketball player Chad Posthumus dead at 33 after brain aneurysm

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WINNIPEG – Canadian basketball player Chad Posthumus, a founding member of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, died Wednesday. He was 33.

The CEBL’s Winnipeg Sea Bears said Thursday that Posthumus, the team’s captain, suffered a brain aneurysm during a training session in Winnipeg on Nov. 9.

He then battled complications from a corrective surgery that left him in critical condition in the intensive care unit and did not recover.

Posthumus, a Winnipeg native, played for the CEBL’s Saskatchewan Rattlers, Ottawa BlackJacks, Edmonton Stingers and Brampton Honey Badgers before joining his hometown team.

He also played for teams in Argentina and Japan.

Internationally, the six-foot-11 Posthumus played for the 3×3 national team, representing Canada at the 3×3 AmeriCup in 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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