Computers and the Internet

September 29, 2020

How It Feels When Software Watches You Take Tests

An unusual school year has started in earnest, and with it has come the return of digital proctoring programs. This is software that can lock down […]
September 24, 2020

Amazon Unveils Drone That Films Inside Your Home. What Could Go Wrong?

When Amazon’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos, promised in 2013 that drones would soon be flying everywhere delivering packages, a miniature camera whirring through homes and recording […]
September 16, 2020

Facebook Oculus Quest 2 Review: Solid V.R. Headset, but Few Games

A group of five boxers and I recently threw punches to upbeat music while an instructor egged us on. By the end of the 20-minute workout, […]
September 12, 2020

How to Declutter Your Digital Life

Working remotely may have eliminated your commute and allowed you to spend the day in your pajamas, but it also means you’re most likely bombarded with […]
September 7, 2020

Chess (Yes, Chess) Is Now a Streaming Obsession

On a recent afternoon, thousands of noncombatants watched from the sidelines as their general ordered his troops across the battlefield and became locked in a fierce […]
September 4, 2020

Harassment Against Gay and Trans People on TikTok

ImageChris (at left) in a duet responding to James Charles on TikTok.Credit…via @notdonelij Chris smiles widely as a video of Miso Chan, a transgender creator presenting […]
August 12, 2020

We Tested Instagram Reels, the TikTok Clone. What a Dud.

Millions of people have used the social media app TikTok to make and share short, fun, entertaining videos. I, Brian Chen, am not one of them. […]
August 2, 2020

From Minecraft Tricks to Twitter Hack: A Florida Teen’s Troubled Online Path

For Graham Ivan Clark, the online mischief-making started early. By the age of 10, he was playing the video game Minecraft, in part to escape what […]
July 30, 2020

How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Singing, Dancing, Knife Fighting

A few Fridays ago, just before what I had come to think of as “showtime,” I lined my eyes, stepped into my costume, readied a prop […]
July 7, 2020

What Does Simp Mean?

The word “simp” isn’t new. In fact, it’s pretty old. But it has been dragged into fresh popularity. In the same way that older songs can […]