Harry
I feel as though the whole argument behind why social media is a good thing and how it should be accepted is slowly becoming irrelevant. Platforms are becoming less about connection and more about attention. Facebook started as a way to let your friends know what you were up to, now we sit in rooms together in silence, zombified and staring at our screens. It’s becoming normal to check your phone when you wake up, when you fall asleep, when you sit down, when you stand up and when you have one single moment of boredom. We’re losing the skills of innovation which is a product of our boredom-driven curiosity, curiosity that social media extinguishes. TikTok is genius because they’ve capitalised on that. Facebook hides it’s more sinister aspects behind It’s artificial “stay connected” ideology. TikTok just says “here’s some content, after this I’ll automatically take you to similar content, just keep using my app”. How are we supposed to stay connected and make long-lasting friendships when the only friends important to us are increasingly located behind a firewall and a screen?
Luka
Most of you reading this have grown up in a world where the internet is just a normal part of reality. There are those around you now, like your lecturers, older siblings, and 25% of your Nexus editorial staff who remember life before the World Wide Web (that was one of the OG names for the internet, by the way). In the 30-odd years since its widespread adoption, the world has changed irrevocably. Whether or not that is a good thing is subject to wide debate and well beyond my capabilities in a 200 word editorial to even tilt at. I have a bit of a crack at it in The Rise of Social Media Activism later in the magazine, but the complexity of anything even approaching comprehensive would have me screaming into the echo chamber. As with all things: caveat emptor.
Donnella
Yay, a subject I can finally relate to, the key topic at the tip of my lecturer’s tongue and the only paper that allows Wikipedia to be a reliable source amongst the many other media platforms. If anyone asks me – I’m all for social media, and yes, no one asked the editors – “what are your thoughts on social media?”. However, talking about a small fraction of the pros and cons is what I’m going to do. It can carry a lot of backlash when the shit hits the fan. Nexus has copped it in the past, and I cringe as the memories notification pops up and those weird asf statuses, reminding me how much of a keyboard warrior I was in the early 2000s and the many controversies and stirs I caused. It’s also how everyone stays in contact. Small businesses can get ahead, creative minds get a chance, all table manners go out the door and eating with your mouth open is acceptable. Social media should have the right to wear a cape; we‘d all be fucked without it, myself included. Lay off on the label bashing aye; it can be your friend if you respect it.
Josh
I’m writing this on Wednesday afternoon, way later than I should be. This morning the Labour Government announced their tax plan which entailed adding a new tax bracket. This new tax bracket is 39% on earnings over $180k. Those who know me know that I lean more right when it comes to the economy and politics in general, however I have a few different thoughts on it. Am I surprised by this? Absolutely not. Is it a step in the right direction for economic recovery? Possibly, but the revenue that will be gathered by it will be miniscule compared to the hole that we are in. $550m per year to be exact. However, in terms of re-electibility for Labour, they would have been stupid to make it any lower. You’d struggle to find a Labour voter who earns over $180k per year, I don’t think they’re going to lose any votes here. While they’re at it, scrap the bottom bracket which only contributes about 3% of all tax, and it’ll be game, set and match at the election (as if it wasn’t already).
