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Social Reset promotes healthy social media usage – Belleville Intelligencer

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In a world dominated by online algorithms, Social Reset is working to free people from social media and help them develop a healthier relationship with the internet.

Its campaign begins in August. Those participating will team up by pledging to reduce their social media usage for the entire month. One of Social Reset’s founders, Jordan Wiener, hopes this smartphone-less time facilitates meaningful connections with loved ones.

“The idea is that you get more time connecting with each other offline,” he said. “(Social Reset) is really not about, you know, raising money or doing any of this. It’s about putting down your phone, going outside and making memories with your friends and family.”

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Wiener is one of several Queen’s University alumni behind Social Reset; its current 10 volunteers and 14 ambassadors are primarily composed of former and current students. A shared desire to act in the face of complacency unites them.

“(Social Reset) started out of a frustration between the awareness of the social media problem and the action,” Wiener said. “I’d speak to friends for an hour, but I’d follow up with them a month later, and no one had done anything about it.”

He blames the design of social media apps for this dissonance.

“Everyone knows that this is a problem, but it’s something that’s really hard to do something about because these platforms can be so addictive.”

Social Reset is how Wiener and colleagues are fighting for change. In partnering with Jack.org and the Centre for Humane Technology, they’ve created an initiative to help participants re-evaluate their relationship with social media.

Pledging can be done individually or as a group. Social Reset’s website offers different pathways for people pledging alone, with a group of friends, or with family. All pledges will receive a weekly “Adventure Guide” containing ideas for smartphone-free activities.

While Wiener lives happily without any social media, he recognizes how platforms such as Instagram and TikTok can often become creative outlets. He believes that intention is central in developing a healthy relationship with them.

“So instead of compulsively checking your phone and going on and watching things that you don’t know why you’re watching, you (should) say, ‘I’m using social media for this’ and then use it strictly for that purpose,” Wiener explained.

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He warned that without intention, social media ends up using its users.

“(Otherwise) they’ve got you addicted to the algorithm, and they’re profiting off of you for each second that you spend on the platform,” he said.

The Social Reset team has also been teaching purposeful social media usage in classrooms through an educational workshop. It has interactive programming for all ages, but children in grades 7 and 8 have been their primary focus.

“We’re youth presenting this workshop to other youth,” Wiener said. “We explain how social media can be an awesome thing but also challenging. Then we leave the class to come up with their own ‘creative contract’ of rules that they’re going to impose and try for a week.”

These rules chosen by the children can be anything from not using phones before bed to dedicating more screen-free time to family.

“A week after they’ve done that, we come back in with them, and for 45 minutes everyone just kind of shares their experiences,” Wiener said.

Through its August campaign and educational workshops, Social Reset is working hard to improve our relationship with social media.

Those interested in pledging can find more information at thesocialreset.org.

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CTV National News: Social media giants sued – CTV News

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CTV National News: Social media giants sued  CTV News

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India’s media – captured and censored

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Across almost every form of media in India – social, broadcast and print – Narendra Modi and the BJP hold sway.

With India amid a national election campaign, its news media is in sharp focus. Until recently it was believed that the sheer diversity of outlets ensured a range of perspectives, but now, India’s mainstream media has largely been co-opted by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Just how did the media in India get to this point and what does it mean for the upcoming elections?

Featuring:

Ravish Kumar – Former Host, NDTV
Shashi Shekhar Vempati – Former CEO, Prasar Bharati
Pramod Raman – Chief Editor, MediaOne
Amy Kazmin – Former South Asia Bureau Chief, Financial Times
Meena Kotwal – Founder, The Mooknayak

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Social media lawsuit launched by Ontario school boards

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Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against multiple social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.

The school boards, including three in the Greater Toronto Area, have launched lawsuits seeking $4.5 billion in damages against Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta, the owner of both Facebook and Instagram, for creating products that they allege negligently interfere with student learning and have caused “widespread disruption to the education system.”

But at an unrelated news conference in Ottawa on Friday, Ford said that he “disagrees” with the legal action and worries it could take the focus away from “the core values of education.”

“Let’s focus on math, reading and writing. That is what we need to do, put all the resources into the kids,” he said. “What are they spending lawyers fees to go after these massive companies that have endless cash to fight this? Let’s focus on the kids, not this other nonsense that they are looking to fight in court.”

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Four separate but similar statements of claim were filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of JusticSocial media lawsuit launched by Ontario school boards pervasive problems such as distraction, social withdrawal, cyberbullying, a rapid escalation of aggression, and mental health challenges,” Colleen Russell-Rawlins, the director of education with the Toronto District School Board, said in a news release issued Thursday.

“It is imperative that we take steps to ensure the well-being of our youth. We are calling for measures to be implemented to mitigate these harms and prioritize the mental health and academic success of our future generation.”

The school boards are represented by Toronto-based law firm Neinstein LLP and the news release states that school boards “will not be responsible for any costs related to the lawsuit unless a successful outcome is reached.”

These lawsuits come as hundreds of school districts in the United States file similar suits.

“A strong education system is the foundation of our society and our community. Social media products and the changes in behaviour, judgement and attention that they cause pose a threat to that system and to the student population our schools serve,” Duncan Embury, the head of litigation at Neinstein LLP, said in the new release.

“We are proud to support our schools and students in this litigation with the goal of holding social media giants accountable and creating meaningful change.”

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