Monthly Archives: April 2021

Aristotle called humans the social animal, and people have recognized for centuries that young people need to be in communities to develop into healthy adults. The ongoing pandemic has caused concern about the effects of isolation on children and teenagers social and psychological growth.

But while young people today may not be able to gather in person as often as theyd like, they arent necessarily isolated. They have long used online communities to explore their identities and conduct their social lives.

Theyre involved in anonymous hip-hop discussion forums, ADHD support groups on Facebook, biology class group chats on Instagram and comments sections under popular YouTube videos. There are many of these online communities, and collectively they cover a wide range of subjects. Theyre also often central to their users lives. However, parents, educators and psychologists frequently argue that these spaces can cause young people distress and even expose them to dangerous ideologies.

With online communities now perhaps more important to young people than ever, the question of what it means to grow up in online communities bears closer scrutiny. As a psychology researcher who studies online communities, I and my colleagues have found that in addition to posing widely publicized risks, online communities can provide young people with social and psychological support thats unavailable to them at home, at school or in their neighborhoods.

Those of us who grew up engaged in online communities know how formative these spaces can be. As a 24-year-old who has used the internet nearly every day since I was 6, I can think of several key moments in my psychosocial development that took place in online communities.

Some of these moments were painful, like my cousin scamming me out of my hard-earned armor in the online role-playing game Runescape when I was 10. Others were joyous, like my first show DJ'ing for an online radio station at 12. And many were strange but fascinating, like going onto the 18+ video chat site Chatroulette with my friends at 13 to interact with strangers across the world.

Ultimately, observing and participating in online communities rich and ever-evolving cultures shaped my interest in pursuing psychological research.

Although the current COVID-19-related constraints kids are facing are new and hopefully temporary, caution about immersing them in online communities is justified. Online communities change the ground rules of human interaction, enabling unprecedented social experiences with unpredictable impacts on malleable minds.

Popular criticisms, such as the 2020 documentary The Social Dilemma, have argued that social networking sites like Instagram warp young users perceptions of reality, causing them psychological distress. A particular concern is that young people compare themselves to a constant stream of peers cherry-picked successes and algorithmically augmented selfies.

Loosened social norms online due to anonymity or physical distance can create conditions for some of the more notorious behaviors in online communities: bullying, fatalistic worldviews and mob mentalities. In addition, online communities can facilitate the spread of misinformation and extremist ideologies, as exemplified by the rise of the alt-right, a loosely connected set of far-right groups and activists, among young users of a few anonymous online forums in the 2010s.

These concerns have some merit, but they may underestimate young peoples resilience and ability to adapt to new social contexts. Online communities can also provide opportunities for young people to build social skills, share genuine interactions and discover and dissect new ideas with peers worldwide.

Currently, evidence does not support the idea that social media use is generally harmful to young peoples well-being. In fact, comparing oneself to others positive social media posts can even enhance well-being by motivating self-improvement. Still, more research is needed to explore how specific kinds of social media use is beneficial or harmful for different young people.

To learn more about how young people find support online, my colleagues and I recently surveyed 334 members of 10 online mental health support forums. We presented our results at the Association for Psychological Science 2020 annual convention. Half of the people we surveyed were under 24 years old, and 82% rated their mental health as terrible or poor.

We learned that these support forums provide users with valuable advice, emotional support, belonging and validation that are not available from their in-person communities. We also observed that each forums attitude and approach to confronting mental health struggles was unique, formed from the bottom up based on users firsthand experiences and insights. Some users also said that these peer support communities can be held back by users who spread pessimistic attitudes or misinformation.

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Many young people experiencing personal struggles turn to online communities to seek support. Some reach out to text-message group chats of close friends to vent and ask for advice. Others prefer to privately seek help from strangers around the world in anonymous support forums like Reddits r/Anxiety, which often has over 1,000 members online at any given time. Online, young people can avoid the social stigma that often comes with asking for help in person and are not limited by geographical barriers to find peers who share their backgrounds or perspectives.

Online communities play significant roles in many young peoples lives, so they warrant careful consideration. The opportunities and risks they present are distinct from those of real-world communities, and the social challenges young people face online require unique kinds of savvy to navigate effectively. Parents and mentors play an essential role in teaching young people how to be responsible and respectful digital citizens.

Still, just as in real-world communities, young people also need the freedom to pursue their curiosity online independently. As online communities evolve, coming generations of young people will continue to lead the way in redefining the roles that these spaces play in their lives.

See the article here:

Yes, online communities pose risks for young people, but they are also important sources of support - The Conversation US

At a glance.

Locked Shields, a NATO exercise of cyber defenses, this year concentrates on handling a mixed attack, one that combines cyberattack with disinformation campaigns, CyberScoop reports. The exercise was not a purely military one, as it addressed threats to critical infrastructure and saw substantial participation from the financial sector. The exercise scenario was suggested by campaigns operated by Russia, China, and Iran during the current pandemic. CyberScoop quoted Michael Widmann, chief of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) Strategy Branch: This year, the exercise featured several new dilemmas for the strategic decision-making element as well. The cyber domain and information warfare operate hand in hand in the modern environment. Strong strategic communication policies can mitigate the effects of an enemys information warfare campaign.

A story that received widespread attention during the 2020 US Presidential campaign and into the early parts of this year was a claim that Russia had offered bounties on the heads of American servicemembers deployed to Afghanistan. This story has receded from recent rounds of US sanctions and complaints directed against Russian activity. The reports circulated within US intelligence circles with "low-to-moderate confidence," a confidence that can be difficult to distinguish from the noise of rumor, and which normally doesn't find issue in widespread media coverage. As the Dispatch argues, those who circulated the story were disposed to believe it, for reasons both foreign (suspicion of Russia) and domestic (it was a stick to beat the Trump Administration). Military Times points out that senior Defense civilians and military officers expressed skepticism at the time the reports surfaced in the press. In any case, this particular story no longer has legs, and what legs it did have seem to have been lent it by a mixture of self-interest and wishful thinking, probably in most cases no less sincere for being poorly founded.

Facebook announced yesterday that it's taken down two Palestinian groups who'd been using the social network for a politically motivated surveillance campaign. The two actors have been identified as the Preventive Security Service (the PSS) and the Gaza-based threat actor Arid Viper. They seem to have been particularly interested in prospecting (and impersonating) journalists andother gadflies. Some of their content presented itself as solicitation for complaints of human rights violations.

The PSS-associated group used both Windows and Android malware as well as social engineering campaigns to install spyware in targets devices. Arid Viper used bespoke, and hitherto unidentified, iOS surveillanceware. And they, too, relied on social engineering to distribute their malware.

Both operations, unconnected though they are, are more concerned with surveillance and social engineering than with dissemination of disinformation (except insofar as it might serve as social engineering bait). The campaigns appear, however, directed toward influencing the outcome of upcoming elections in the Palestinian Territories, with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas as the principal rivals. It's the first such electoral contest, SecurityWeek observes, in fifteen years.

The Russian threat actor Primitive Bear, also known as Gamaredon, has stepped up cyber operations against Ukraine as tensions rise between Kiev and Moscow. Researchers at Anomali have been tracking Primitive Bear's surge, which they say lasted from January of this year through March at least. The activity, like that Facebook observed in the Palestinian territories, is principally designed to support cyberespionage, but its phishbait is an interesting mix of bogus and genuine documents (mostly written in Ukrainian, but with some composed in Russian) that pertain to policies and activities in the Russian-occupied Crimean territory.

Russia's SVR has opened a Tor portal so patriots can confidentially blow whistles and otherwise report back to Moscow, the Record reports. A minor irony: Tor traces its technical legacy back to the US Naval Research Laboratory.

Here's some evidence that the Russian organs really don't like being referred to as cute bears. The SVR published a dismissive response to US accusations that it was responsible for the SolarWinds compromise, and, well, fine: no intelligence service is going to publicly cop to an operation if they can avoid doing so. That's what plausible deniability is all about.

But what really honks off the SVR is the way the Americans said that the SVR was "also known as Cozy Bear." The SVR finds that unpleasant. They want to remind everyone that the SVR has been known "since 1920" as the Foreign Department of the Cheka, then the 5th Department of the First Directorate of the NKVD, then the First Main Directorate of the KGB, "and now, the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation."

So think about it. You'd rather be remembered for your lineage in the Cheka, the NKVD, and the KGB than by some bear nickname the Yankees gave you. Ah, Huggy Bear, you're still just as adorable as you were back when you were working for Dzerzhinsky, purging wreckers for Stalin...

Excerpt from:

Blended operations. Self-deception? Two inauthentic Palestinian networks downed. Primitive Bear is back, and his sister is still Cozy. - The CyberWire

GREENWICH Hate crimes and related incidents more than doubled in Greenwich from two in 2019 to five in 2020, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League.

The trend is roughly consistent with data statewide, which shows an increase from 65 events in Connecticut in 2019 to 128 in 2020.

Of the five reported incidents in Greenwich last year, three were anti-Semitic: swastikas and anti-Jewish slurs were written in a Jewish teachers classroom; a Zoom meeting was interrupted by intruders making vulgar remarks and sharing pornographic images; and New Order, a neo-Nazi group, distributed materials in town that contained swastikas and said Hitler was right.

Rabbi Mitchell Hurvitz of Temple Sholom in Greenwich said anti-Semitic hate was not a new concern for his temple. But in recent years, Hurvitz said he has seen people spreading hateful ideas become more emboldened, apparently because of national discourse.

I think that unfortunately, the climate within the nation has created an incubator to kind of let people who are at the extremes to do things and express things that arent appropriate, Hurvitz said. I dont know that our town has been immune to the national phenomenon.

He said the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic also could have contributed to increased hostility in general.

I think that in times of challenge, fear takes root, Hurvitz said. And the exacerbation of extremes, demagoguery and words that incite ... all of that is challenging. And then the difficulties that COVID-19 brought and the economic challenges and all that extra turbulence definitely exacerbates the problems. We have to be more proactive.

Hurvitz said hate crimes have been increasingly part of the collective conscience, pointing to the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Va., which featured white supremacist groups and resulted in the death of a counter-protester, and the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 dead in what has been called the deadliest attack on a Jewish community in American history.

The Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol reignited existing fears of increased anti-Semitic hate, Hurvitz said.

Some of the crazies that were marching out with anti-Semitic shirts and slogans put people at greater consternation, he said.

And though the other two Greenwich incidents chronicled by the ADL predated the Capitol siege, they were of a similar tone and tenor. Both involved the alt-right group Patriot Front, which in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election distributed materials bearing slogans such as Reclaim America and America is not for sale.

Hurvitz said he has been impressed with the towns response in the wake of anti-Semitic or related incidents, both from clergy and town leaders. Greenwichs public and private schools have partnered with clergy and the ADL to spearhead educational initiatives on the dangers of anti-Semitism and white supremacy.

One example, Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones said, is the annual Names Day, which she said gives a voice to the targets of bullying and bias; building empathy in the perpetrators; and inspiring and empowering bystanders to become allies against prejudice and bullying.

Discrimination, racism and hateful acts have no place in our schools and in our communities, Jones said. Two components of our mission and vision very directly demonstrate the value we put on educating and preparing our students so that they can: Conduct themselves in an ethical and responsible manner and recognize and respect other cultural contexts and points of view. We build these capabilities in our students in hopes that they will perpetuate the good they see in the world, and recognize and act on what needs to be fixed.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586

Excerpt from:

Greenwich saw five hate crimes in 2020. Learn to be 'allies against prejudice and bullying,' advocates say. - CT Insider

Cartographer Alina (Jessie Mei Li) maps her own fate in Netflix's fantasy series, Shadow and Bone. Netflix hide caption

Cartographer Alina (Jessie Mei Li) maps her own fate in Netflix's fantasy series, Shadow and Bone.

Let's get the cheap joke out of the way right at the top, just so we don't have it hanging over our heads for the entire review:

Do not be misled by its title. Shadow and Bone does not, in this instance, refer to the two things James Bond does in every movie.

Ok, good, that's out of our systems, lets move on.

Shadow and Bone is a new 8-episode fantasy series based on a successful book trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. It's stuffed with characters, locations, plot twists and it must be said very, very familiar fantasy elements including, but not limited to: characters who possess the ability to control various elements (wind, water, fire, sure, but also: machines, and even bodies); a Big Dark Thing (in this case, a monster-haunted wall of shadow known as The Fold) that is Prophesied to be Be Defeated by A Chosen One (a Sun-Summoner, who controls light); the fact that the aforementioned Chosen One is not noble-born, but a Reluctant Commoner Who Must Be Trained by Stern Teachers Until She Accepts And Masters Her Gift, etc., etc., etc.

There are surface differences that set Shadow and Bone apart: Instead of serving up still yet another vaguely medieval alt-Britain, the series takes Tsarist Russia as its jumping-off point, which lends every aspect of its setting names, costumes, architecture, vehicles and weaponry a certain singular appeal; think Dr. Zhivago, if Omar Sharif went around Yuriatin shooting flames from his hands.

Another novelty: The realm in which Shadow and Bone is set is peopled entirely by humans. This means that when the series chooses to address the subject of racial tension, it's not couched in the usual high-fantasy coding (elves hate dwarves, humans hate orcs, etc.). Instead, citizens of the alt-Russia kingdom of Ravka resent and distrust our main character Alina (Jessie Mei Li) because her features reflect her "half-Shu" status. (The Shu, in the series, are the people of Shu Han, an alt-China realm far to the south.) It doesn't matter to them that Alina was born in Ravka, and is indeed serving as a cartographer in its army as the series begins. Their ignorant, reflexive disdain is just another obstacle in her path one that is all too familiarly real, and devoid of any mystical high-fantasy provenance.

But what really distinguishes the series is its smart storytelling choices, which prioritize a crisp, propulsive narrative over the kind of stately, ruminative world-building for world-building's sake that bogs down so many would-be epic fantasy series. The series opens not with an endless scroll of grandiloquent expository text that dumps millennia of this world's history in our laps. Instead, we open on Alina, drawing a map.

Making Alina a military cartographer gives Shadow and Bone a chance to orient ourselves in this world simply by looking over her shoulder as she works we see the Fold, the great roiling sea of shadow that bisects the kingdom of Ravka, and many of the cities we will visit over the course of the series. (You may still want to look up the books' map of this realm online as you watch, as the series neglects to inform us whether a location we're visiting is situated east of the Fold or west of it; knowing this would be useful.)

Yes, there are a few occasions when two or more characters exchange information about this world's history in exactly the way no one ever does in real life, but they pass quickly and efficiently, without bogging things down. This sense of alacrity is aided, weirdly enough, by the need to service the show's many main characters, which include Mal (Archie Renaux), Alina's childhood friend; Kaz (Freddy Carter), a roguish criminal chasing a bounty; Inej (Amita Suman), a knife-wielding spy in Kaz's employ; Jesper (Kit Young) a charming sharpshooter; and General Kirigan (Ben Barnes), a dark, brooding figure who takes Alina under his dark, brooding wing.

That's a lot of folks to track, and when you throw into the mix Nina (Danielle Galligan), a courtesan with something extra, Matthias (Calahan Skogman), a stoic soldier and Baghra (the great Zo Wanamaker), Alina's stern magical taskmaster, you might be tempted to keep a cheat sheet handy.

But you likely won't need to, because Shadow and Bone has been painstakingly constructed to suit its medium, which is binge-viewing. Scenes start and stop precisely when they need to, the moment they have accomplished their narrative task. We weave from one character to the next at the exact moment we find ourselves growing curious what they've been up to since we last saw them. And most importantly, episodes end on cliff-hangers that impel you to start the next episode. (This tendency extends to the series finale, which ends by finally bringing many of its disparate main characters together, sort of, and setting them off a new adventure that will await a Season 2 pickup.)

If Shadow and Bone doesn't provide quite the level of characterizing nuance and challenging chronological complexity of The Witcher and it does not it does go down easier, and seems expressly intended to make long weekend afternoons pass more quickly.

See the rest here:

Review: 'Shadow And Bone' Moves So Fast It's Practically Russian - NPR