Technology | The Walrus

Line drawing of a woman catching a baby with iPhones behind her against a mauve background.

Technology

Instagram’s Parent Trap

June 30, 2021June 30, 2021 - by Michelle Cyca

Influencers modelling an idyllic image of motherhood are highly clickable—but pictures never tell the whole story

Technology

The Double Exploitation of Deepfake Porn

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021 - by Maggie MacDonald

Discussions around deepfakes have focused on their political danger. But revenge porn and IP theft are the more pressing threats

A photo of a bearded man wearing a VR headset reclining on a leather couch next to a potted plant.

Technology

Is Buying a Piece of Virtual Art Better for the Environment?

May 18, 2021May 18, 2021 - by J.B. MacKinnon

Online consumption behaves exactly like real-life shopping, devouring more and more resources every year

Collage of Erica's one-eyed dog Belle, superimposed on the Hollywood sign next to cell phones and heart emojis.

June 2021 / Technology

My Quest to Make My Dog Internet Famous

May 17, 2021June 8, 2021 - by Erica Lenti

I loved Belle, my one-eyed puppy. But could I convince everybody else that she was a star?

An officer at the Cameron County Detention Centre watches security footage from the control room, on many screens.

March/April 2021 / Technology

When Border Security Crosses a Line

February 17, 2021March 9, 2021 - by Hilary Beaumont

International crossings are now testing grounds for unregulated surveillance technology

Technology

Everybody Hates Millennials: Gen Z and the TikTok Generation Wars

February 9, 2021June 8, 2021 - by Sejla Rizvic

The video-based platform may not have created generational animosity, but it’s happy to fan the flames

A checkered photo of a ventilator alternating with olive green squares.

COVID-19 / Technology

Hacking COVID-19

October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 - by Jonathan Garfinkel

Amateur inventors and app developers may be key to solving the pandemic’s many problems

Technology

The Rise of Digital Despots

September 23, 2020September 23, 2020 - by Ronald J. Deibert

How Facebook and Twitter became the favourite tools of dictators around the world

Illustration of an internet forum open on a computer desktop. Part of the forum is pulled down in the style of a window blind. Behind it is a red room filled with silhouettes of men talking to one another.

September/October 2020 / Technology

The Making of an Incel

September 2, 2020September 2, 2020 - by Katherine Laidlaw

How misogyny in online forums turns into real-life violence

Illustration of an interconnected network of people, separated by a blazing yellow network that resembles a cable and separates the people into different boxes. The colour scheme is green, orange, and purple––a conceptual illustration of the internet network.

Technology

This Is the Internet We Were Promised

April 29, 2020May 1, 2020 - by Angela Misri

The World Wide Web hasn’t felt this supportive since it was invented. Why did it take a pandemic?