Every hour of every day, one million social media profiles, deemed so harmful that we should not be influenced by them, are deleted altogether off the face of the internet. This is a sheer tidal wave of what the world’s governments call ‘online harms’, and it is only just beginning.
In my TED Talk, which I delivered at TEDxBristol, and which has gone live today, I take a look at what’s really happening on social media that we need to know about, from the harms that spread online to the responsibility we all have to better understand what’s real and what’s fake.
I look at political interference from trolls, the impact of Fake News, how to kill a bot, and I explore what I learnt back in July 2006 when I first wrote the page on social media on Wikipedia (yep, that was me!).
I believe that through awareness, education, and a more mindful approach to what we do online, the power is in our hands to make social media a force for good in society today. Because while we wait for regulation, fines and legislation to catch up, the future is in our hands.
So this is my TED Talk, do please share, comment and like. I hope you enjoy it.
Drew Benvie 