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LiveAustralian children are being treated like data farms by digital platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, as complex terms-and-conditions make it difficult for kids to understand how their information is being used, experts fear.Professor Elizabeth Handsley, a children’s media expert at University of Western Sydney, says urgent intervention is needed to protect children from a future where companies could use their data for life-changing decisions like university admissions and access to insurance schemes.“This data is going to be floating around for years and decades into these people’s lives,” Professor Handsley told The New Daily.“Someone that’s eight now will be in the world for the next 80 years. What will be the potential uses of data then?”No informed consentA new report by advocacy group Reset Australia has found terms and conditions (T&Cs) offered by large digital platforms are overly complex and impossible for many users to understand – if they read them at all.The analysis of T&C agreements offered by digital platforms found the likes of Google, Facebook, Twitter and Fortnite owner Epic Games are hiding dozens of product documents from users when they sign up.It found the terms and conditions shared would take hours to read in full and required…

A university has withdrawn an offer from a student over a racist Snapchat about England footballers. Nottingham Trent University (NTU) said it does not tolerate racism and has told an incoming first year student that he has lost his place. The voice note from a young man appeared to contain racist comments about England’s football players after they lost in the final round of the Euros 2020 to Italy, according to The Tab students newspaper. In the voice note that was originally sent on the social media platform Snapchat, a young man can be heard saying in reference to the Euros 2020 final, “f---ing dirty n-----s”. An NTU spokesperson said: “We do not tolerate any form of discrimination, including racism. We looked into this matter immediately and as a result have withdrawn an offer to an applicant.” Earlier this week the Prime Minister announced that football fans who racially abuse players on the internet will be banned from attending games for up to 10 years. Boris Johnson said the existing football banning order regime, introduced in 2000, would be expanded to cover online racism. It means social media users who send racist abuse could be banned from games in the…

Shark Week, which debuted in 1988 as a week of programming on the Discovery Channel dedicated to the titular predatory fish, has grown into a cultural beast of its own.At Next Reality, we can think of no better way to commemorate the week than to try out some shark-themed AR Lenses via Snapchat. Searching for "shark" in Lens Explorer returns no shortage of options, but these separate themselves from the pack (or shiver, as that is what a group of sharks is called)...Don't Miss: AR Snapshots: Snapchat Lens Shows Us What Our Fav Live-Action Movies Would Look Like from Pixar Animation Look Cool While Swimming with Virtual SharksShark Week is Discovery Channel's thing, so, of course, it has created its own Lens to commemorate the occasion.The Shark Week Lens uses background segmentation to replace your background with an ocean scene, with an ocean overlay with virtual sharks in the foreground to create the illusion that you're treading water at sea. Images via Snap, Tommy Palladino/Next Reality If you angle your selfie camera just right, you can also make it look like you are sinking into the water and then rising above the waves.To top it all off, the Lens also…

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MTV is bringing back one of its most iconic shows just over 20 years after the seminal series launched on the channel. Cribs first aired on MTV in September 2000, and has run for more than 100 episodes across many formats. The series was a regular crowd pleaser on MTV's main channel for many years, had a reboot and spin-off series' in the 2010s, and then even had a stint as a short-form series on Snapchat and a global format in the UK. The new series will bring Cribs back to MTV on August 11 for a new run of half hour episodes. Cribs was developed by the now-President of Content and Chief Creative Officer of MTV Entertainment Group, Nina L. Diaz, and the new series will see Elena Diaz and Adam Gonzalez executively producing the new series, which Nina Diaz's division will produce. For those who haven't see Cribs, the series takes viewers into the homes of the rich and famous, a bit like going for a house viewing in that neighbor's property you always wanted to poke around in that just went up for sale. While getting a tour of the home, audiences are also treated to a…

An article from July is turning out to be a massive month for sporting events, and with the vaccine roll-out gradually gaining momentum, many of these events also mark a return to some level of normalcy, with live crowds coming back, and the roar of stadiums gaining depth and resonance once again. Of course, that won't be the case at the upcoming Olympics, with fans not able to attend due to host nation Japan's ongoing efforts to control the pandemic. But even so, there is a level of hype rising for the event, and with the NBA Finals in full swing, major UFC bouts, Euro 21, the MLB All-Star Game, and the return of the NFL on the horizon, there's a lot to be excited about if you're a sports fan. And if you're a brand that's looking to reach these fans, it may well be worth considering Snapchat in your planning. As per these new stats, the Snapchat audience is highly engaged in sports, and in sharing discussion around the same.  There are some interesting notes here - you can check out Snapchat's full sports overview here, or take a look at the infographic listing below. Follow Andrew Hutchinson on…

This week in social media news, Snapchat’s new research reveals consumers’ post-COVID retail expectations, Pinterest updates its global ad policies to prohibit weight loss language and imagery, TikTok brings its violative content moderation technology to the US and Canada, YouTube releases its ‘Culture & Trends’ report and more. Snapchat Shares New Insight About Consumers’ Post-COVID Shopping Expectations According to a new retail study for which Snapchat commissioned Foresight Factory, virtual reality will play a large role in brick-and-mortar retail’s recovery, with 33 percent of consumers noting that their mobile phone is the preferred channel when shopping for products and 35 percent saying they’d go out of their way to visit a store if it had interactive virtual services, such as a smart mirror that let them try on clothes or makeup. Why it matters: Forty percent of US consumers state that not being able to see and try out products are the top reasons they disregard online shopping, an issue brands could alleviate, they say, with more persuasive augmented reality (AR) and virtual try-on experiences. The details: Snap’s ‘Future of Shopping’ 2021 market report breaks down global and US shopper expectations in life after the pandemic. The first key takeaway…

Credit: Courtesy Reuters Instutute Instagram has long had a reputation as a place to escape the ‘real’ world, through carefully curated feeds of wholesome thoughts, videos and images. But over the past year Instagram, along with other youth focussed social platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok, has become full of heated debates around politics, race, and other issues of social justice - alongside updates about the coronavirus pandemic. Leading these debates are often not journalists but the celebrities, influencers and creators who dominate social online spaces – from lifestyle bloggers to reality TV personalities.Over the last few years, our Digital News Report has documented the increased reliance of young people on social media when it comes to news. Four in ten (40 per cent) of those aged 18-24 say that social media is their main source of news, averaged across our 46 countries. We have also documented how these groups are spending less time with networks like Facebook and more time with visual networks like Instagram, Snapchat and now TikTok. More than a quarter of 18-24s now say they access news on Instagram each week and around one in ten access news on TikTok, a network previously almost entirely devoid…

Man faces charges for allegedly exposing a confidential informant via Snapchat, Facebook RACINE — A Racine man is facing criminal charges for allegedly exposing, on the social media app Snapchat and on Facebook, a witness who was speaking with a police investigator in an undercover vehicle. Just $1 gives you full access for 3 months to exclusive content from The Journal Times and journaltimes.com.  The videos, allegedly uploaded to Snapchat and Facebook, show a person speaking with a Racine Police investigator, with the narrator describing the witness as a "snitch."Bryan C. Lang, 36, of the 1500 block of South Memorial Drive, has been identified by police as the person who made the video. He has been charged with misdemeanor intimidation of a witness and felony bail jumping. According to a criminal complaint:The police investigator, who was driving an undercover car, was meeting with a witness who was in their own car on July 8.Afterward, law enforcement learned that a Snapchat video had been uploaded. That video allegedly showed a recording of the meeting, in which Lang is allegedly shown narrating the video, calling the person meeting with police a "snitch."Police said the video was uploaded by an account with the username Heizrealz2, which…

I felt a little rush of terror my first day back at the Boardwalk this summer. Would I remember how to do it after more than a year of dormancy? I wasn’t hawking aloe for toasted tourists or deep-frying questionable foods — I was back drawing live caricatures for Cali Caricature in our stand at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. My friend and sometimes co-worker there, the phenomenal comic book and caricature artist Christian “Meesimo” Meesey (who answers to Meesey, Meesimo or just Chris) described live caricature as “the pressure-cooker-gauntlet of drawing.”Unlike a portrait that can take hours or even months to complete, live caricature is a skillful summary of someone’s essence drawn on the fly in a matter of minutes. It’s jazz soloist vs. concert pianist — and it requires immense skill, practice and confidence to do well. Emma Tipping worked as an artist at the Boardwalk before taking over the business.(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz) My boss and the owner of Cali Caricature, Emma Tipping, compared it to live comedy or tattooing: “It’s an interactive experience that the artist, customer and spectators all enjoy and create together.”There’s definitely an element of stage fright every time I draw…