‘The very nature of social media algorithms is to adapt’
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
‘Will social media addiction go the way of cigarettes?’
Sarah O’Connor at the Financial Times
It is “easy to see why social media’s critics would hope for a tipping point akin to what happened with smoking,” says Sarah O’Connor. But the “story of smoking’s decline had a sting in the tail: many of society’s poorest stayed hooked. Might the same be true for social media consumption?” Breaking “powerfully addictive habits — or not developing them in the first place — is harder if you have less access to education, supportive peers and health care.”
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‘Republicans want to ban drag. It could land women in jail.’
Dan Kobil at USA Today
Ohio politicians “are attempting to enact a vague and ill-conceived law prohibiting public drag shows and regulating women’s clothing in an unprecedented manner,” says Dan Kobil. Drag shows are “forms of artistic expression that is squarely protected by the U.S. Constitution,” and it is a “basic precept of constitutional law that the government cannot dictate what viewpoints Americans are allowed to express surrounding gender.” It is “not just drag shows that are placed at risk by these politicians.”
‘The China model falters’
National Review senior editorial staff
As “sour as Americans are about the current economy, they should be profoundly grateful they don’t have China’s instead,” say the National Review editors. China “saw explosive growth over the last several decades,” and it “became conventional wisdom in the economics profession that China would overtake the U.S. economy by 2030.” That “dogma is now undone,” and China’s “economic slump appears to be caused by structural forces.”
‘Powerful states are trying to sabotage decarbonization of shipping’
Ralph Regenvanu at Al Jazeera
The “fallout of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz may create the impression that the world cannot function without fossil fuels,” but “nothing could be further from the truth,” says Ralph Regenvanu. Every “single industry can and must decarbonize.” For “global shipping, this process would be relatively easy because technological solutions exist and a single United Nations agency can set legally binding rules for all ships.” But poorer countries “need more action and more ambition in the framework.”
