Social media | Westminster World

Feb142022 by Sharv Godhamgaonkar, sub edited by Siddarth BNo Comments

What is Wordle and why is it popular all of a sudden?

Culture, ed-tech, Explainer, Explainers, Explainers, Media, News, Social media, Tech, Technology, Worldnews

Credits: Sharv G Recently, Twitter was flooded with a 5x6 grid of green, white, and yellow squares. The reason behind that is a daily online game called Wordle which has now been sold to The New York Times. What is Wordle? It is a daily game where the user has to guess a five-letter word in six attempts. The letters are spaced out in a grid, and each letter attempted gets marked either in grey, yellow or green. Green letters are part of the final word and in the right place. If they’re yellow, they’re in the final word but in the wrong place and grey letters are not a part of the final word. The game grants users the ability to share their grid after guessing the word correctly. The grid is made of emojis without any letters. Since it’s the same word for everybody, it is engag

Don’t be a dick: Campaign launched on cyber flashing

Breaking News, crime, Explainers, London, Media, Social media

Bumble, one of UK’s biggest dating apps, has started a campaign to make sending unwanted graphic images or nudes a standalone crime. After a successful campaign in the US regarding cyber flashing, Bumble launched the campaign in the UK with support from UN Women UK. They plan on working with politicians, organisations and the public to call on the UK government to make it a criminal offence. WHAT IS CYBERFLASHING? According to the Law Commission's report, Cyber flashing is defined as “the sending of images or video recordings of genitals via social platforms.” In this case the victim is not the one sending the picture but the one receiving it. It has been seen that in most of the cases the victim has no idea who the sender is. A recent tool used for cyber flashing is “Air Drop

Mar82021 by Ruth BoatengNo Comments

What is OnlyFans? What is the impact?

Explainer, Explainers, Social media, youth

Credit: Charles Deluvio OnlyFans is an online social media platform widely used by sex workers, though not limited to them only, to make income. Sex workers charge monthly fees for access to porn images, videos and more. OnlyFans is a subscription content service based in London - with an app that reportedly has 30million users. Though OnlyFans generates a source of income for users, the question posed is, what kind of impact does it have on individuals, particularly young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty five? https://youtu.be/7zDCNdReeww Interviewees: Ade & Jenelle

Social media: Millennial’s path to success

Art, Breaking News, Culture, Education, Explainers, Fashion, Instagram, London, Media, News, shopping, Social media

Social media have become a huge part of the lives of millennials. These platforms all started out mostly as post sharing apps and have become successful marketing tools. As of 2020, one billion users per month access the Instagram app. Millions of business accounts are growing on a daily basis. As well as advertising, sponsored posts and the new shopping feature added a few weeks ago, these are all making the app a dominant marketing tool. These platforms are being used as a form of personal expression, sharing experiences - sometimes with financial gain or to build new businesses which in turn is helping thousands of the young people achieve their goals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGh02dWKbb0 We asked Suarvo, a young Londoner who started a business thanks to social med...

The effect of County Line gangs on vulnerable children

Breaking News, children, crime, crime, International, London, News, Social media, Worldnews, youth

County Line gang activities and recruitment of young children have increased across the UK during the lockdown. What are County Lines? It is a technique to transport drugs from one area to another by using the individual phone lines. The Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs) exploit innocent children and get them to sell and supply drugs. Photo credits by Pixabay There are more than 20 OCGs across the UK trafficking drugs into small towns and villages. They do this by manipulating children as young as 13, especially those with mental health or addiction issues. They are trained and groomed by the drug dealers who use them as drug mules to carry packages of heroin and cocaine on public transport. Philip Seccombe, a Police and Crime Commissioner of Warwickshire tol...

Harry Styles shows gender free fashion on Vogue

Celebrity, Culture, Fashion, Gender, Media, Music, Opinion, Social media, Worldnews

Harry Styles is the first male in 127 years to be on the cover of US Vogue. He also became the first to appear solo and he has done so wearing a stunning Gucci gown. Picture by Tyler Mitchell, December 2020 US Vogue cover. Courtesy of Condé Nast. After conservative commentator Candace Owens in the Us slammed Vogue and Styles for wearing a dress and skirts in the photoshoot, actress Olivia Wilde was one of the many voices together with Zach Braff and Elijah Wood jumping to defend his gender-blurring style. https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1327691891303976961 Retweeting images of the terrific shoot, Owens criticised the magazine, calling Styles’ look and outfit “an outright attack” and asked Vogue to “bring back manly men.” The former One Direction singer has r

Apr142020 by Beth KeeleyNo Comments

Houseparty 101

ed-tech, Education, Explainer, Explainers, Media, Social media, Tech, Technology, Video

Are video calls something you've always stayed clear from? Are you struggling to know which app to use and how to work it? Well here is a technophobe's guide to using the latest viral craze - Houseparty! The interactive video chat application. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GtXxx_GIvI&feature=youtu.be

Apr142020 by Editor2No Comments

TikTok for everyone during coronavirus quarantine: an explainer

Adults, Covid-19, Culture, Entertainment, Explainer, Explainers, Explainers, Music, Social media, Tech, Technology

Have you wondered what your family is doing dancing around the house and singing all the time? Here you have your answer: Coronavirus quarantine is driving a global TikTok boom. The app has been named as a fun family bonding activity as it brings people together in a funny way and allows you to share your quarantine with others. It’s one of the most downloaded apps around the world and already holds users of all ages. Animation by Beatriz Bandeira WHAT IS TIK TOK? TikTok is one of the quickest-growing social media platforms worldwide, with more than 800 million active users. If you want to be more surprised, the TikTok app has been downloaded more than 1.5 billion times on the App Store and Google Play. The app aims to record and publish short videos, which can take from 15 to 6

Apr142020 by Editor2No Comments

How influencers make money on social media? || Explainer video

Celebrity, children, Entertainment, Experience, Explainer, Explainers, Explainers, Instagram, Media, Social media, Technology, trends, Video

You probably already heard about influencers and them earning cash by being active on social media. You perhaps also follow at least one of them. But did you ever wonder how they do it? And if you can be one as well? Then let's look at our explainer video to find out more! https://youtu.be/Dn05IOFAziU

Dec132019 by Martine RyholtNo Comments

Stunt casting: The death of the British actor?

Culture, Entertainment, Instagram, London, Social media, Theatre

Miranda Hart in 'Annie', Joe Sugg and Ashley Roberts in 'Waitress', David Hasselhoff in '9 to 5' and soon Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Sunday in the Park with George'. British theatre is filled to the brim with famous names and celebrity casting, so what does that mean for the profession and the people invested in it? Stunt casting has become a common occurrence in the UK and referees to a practice where the casting of a role is used to generate media attention. Investing in shows based on already successful books and movies and hiring big names to create and star in them has proven a receipe for sucess. The West End earned an estimated 765 million pounds in box office revue last year, but is this way of casting giving unknown actors a fair chance? Casting based on social media presence Earlier