Computers and the Internet

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 […]
July 4, 2020

This Year’s Summer Campground: Our Bedrooms and Living Rooms

Children at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan are doing all the usual this summer. They are taking dance and acting classes, learning to tie knots and […]
June 29, 2020

Ever Further Below the Decks With ‘Below Deck’

PALMA, Majorca — A provocative theory in vogue among physicists and philosophers suggests that we humans are not experiencing, and have not ever experienced, reality. What […]
June 27, 2020

‘PizzaGate’ Conspiracy Theory Thrives Anew in the TikTok Era

WASHINGTON — Four minutes into a video that was posted on Instagram last month, Justin Bieber leaned into the camera and adjusted the front of his […]
June 21, 2020

TikTok Teens Claim They Tanked Trump Rally

ImagePresident Trump taking the stage in Tulsa, Okla. on June 20.Credit…Leah Millis/Reuters President Trump’s campaign promised huge crowds at his rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday, […]
June 18, 2020

Where Black Lives Matter Protesters Stream Live Every Day: Twitch

When Shawn Whiting began documenting the protests over George Floyd’s death late last month, he started by posting photos and videos on Twitter and livestreaming marches […]