In the aftermath of tragedy, social media has enabled the endless replay of disturbing images and videos. The same platforms where we share mundane moments of our lives also rapidly spread graphic content in the wake of catastrophic events. This instant and pervasive availability of traumatic media in an endlessly scrollable format may have psychological…
Back in 2012, a vigorous debate was unfolding about Apple’s software aesthetics. Critics argued the visual metaphors in iOS – apps resembling real objects like notepads and calculators – were outdated “skeuomorphs” in an increasingly flat, minimalist tech world. Apple defended the designs as intuitive and familiar. However, the public controversy highlighted tensions between innovation…
In today’s social media-saturated world, surgically curating and broadcasting the intimate details of one’s daily life has become a widespread obsession. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have enabled the meteoric rise of “lifestyle blogging” – converting lived experience into consumable digital content. Ordinary people now meticulously stage, frame and filter snapshots of life’s mundane moments…
In today’s social media-saturated world, our online identities have essentially become personal brands – commodities that can be marketed and monetized. With over 2.96 billion monthly active users, Facebook pioneered features that allowed people to pay to promote their posts and events. While this generated backlash initially for “commodifying friendship,” it has now become an…
Even in our hyper-connected world, technology retains an alluring air of mystery. The processes powering our devices remain opaque to most users. And glitches in the matrix, whether images distorted by camera hacks or pixels scattered by signal interference, hint at unseen digital dimensions behind the glass. This technological uncertainty has long sparked spiritual speculation….
Our phones are way more powerful than the tech that sent people to the moon. But we mostly use them for silly things like looking at memes. This gap between what technology can do and how we use it keeps getting bigger. In just a few decades, our devices have gotten amazingly fast, small, and…
When the original iPhone launched in 2007, its software design was hailed as a masterpiece of simplicity and usability. Apple relied heavily on visual metaphors like stitched leather, green felt, and rich wood textures to help users understand how to interact with this novel device. These ornate yet familiar touches, known as skeuomorphism, made the…
Remember Vine? That super short-form video app that was all the rage nearly a decade ago? Well, even if you don’t, you’re probably familiar with the short, endlessly looping clips it pioneered – also known as gifs. See, before Vine came along, gifs were just kind of a niche internet thing. But Vine made the…