INTRODUCTION Social media refers to forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, videos and other content. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has proven to be a useful tool through which teachers and learners can communicate. This enables them to facilitate learning while adhering to the social distancing [...]
Social media is abuzz with the latest Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler”. This documentary follows the lives of three women who were swindled by a con artist, who lured them into a romantic relationship on Tinder. He then extorted large sums of money out of them through emotional blackmail and his famous line “my enemies are after me”, moving the [...]
The recent death of a veteran actor, Patrick Shai set tongues wagging after it was reported that he committed suicide following alleged cyberbullying((Kedibone Modise "Somizi Mhlongo probes if cyberbullying played a part in Patrick Shai’s passing" IOL news 25 January 2022.)) on social media platforms. The cyberbullying allegedly stemmed from the prominent actor’s heated argument with a celebrity. Furthermore, not [...]
What happened with WhatsApp? The case that Max Schrems filed against WhatsApp back in December 2018 has been finalized at last. WhatsApp was recently fined by the Irish Data Protection Commission an amount of 225 million Euros, which is over 3,7 billion Rands. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the equivalent of the Information Regulator in South Africa. The [...]
The changes to the WhatsApp privacy policy and terms sparked a worldwide uproar with many users migrating to other messaging platforms out of data privacy and security concerns. This article addresses the above concerns by explaining the new changes and what social media users need to know before moving on to other platforms. What are the changes? In an effort [...]
Fake news has caused mass panic in these times of global crisis. It not only makes people believe false things, but also makes them less likely to accept or consume accurate information. On 18 March 2020, government gazette no. 43107 issued regulations in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. These regulations deal specifically with the Covid [...]
On Monday, 6 January 2020, this was posted on Facebook: By Tuesday, 7 January 2020, Big Blue responded: It’s incredibly disheartening to think that employees or department heads who could have spotted this, and prevented the shirt from ending up on Big Blues’ shelves, failed to do so. Despite the awareness people are trying to create around the unjust treatment [...]
Last week’s SONA made me think of a young petrol attendant I met in the rural Eastern Cape. He was eloquent, erudite and perfect for a business process outsourcing centre (BPO) type job, like a call centre. After last week’s address, a smart city, or smart village, could well be bringing that BPO job to him. There are legal and [...]
I recently had an interview with Ligwalagwala FM on the dangers of posting nude photographs of children online. Who is considered a child in South Africa? Section 18 of the Children’s Act, 2005 provides that a child is anyone under the age of 18 years old. A child becomes a major / adult upon reaching the age of 18. Posting nude photographs of [...]
What the #@$% did you just say???
What the #@$% did you just say???
Whether you’re a blogger, vlogger, e-newspaper or any other kind of online content creator, it’s likely that you receive a fair amount of comments on the content that you post. This creates meaningful dialogue and allows content consumers to engage and debate opinions. Online comments can be extremely valuable. People are able to provide insight and valuable knowledge on areas [...]