Experts warned ’13 Reasons Why’ could lead to suicides. A new study suggests they were right.

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When the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why debuted in 2017, suicide prevention experts worried that the show’s graphic depiction of suicide might make some vulnerable viewers more prone to increased suicidal thinking and behavior. 

A new study of the suicide rate following the show’s debut suggests those concerns were more than justified. Researchers found that, among adolescents and teens, 195 additional suicides occurred in the nine months after Netflix released the first season of 13 Reasons Why

While the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, couldn’t establish a causal link between the show and the increase, the researchers used approaches that helped them account for various factors that could affect the suicide rate. That included forecasting models to estimate suicide trends, controlling for seasonal variations in the suicide rate, and comparing the suicide and homicide rates, the latter of which is also influenced by social and environmental events.  Read more…

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‘Top End Wedding’ reinvents the rom-com in Australia’s stunning Northern Territory

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You’ve never seen a rom-com like this.

Sure, Top End Wedding treats you to the stereotypical elements of the genre: going home, family drama, car trouble, a right-at-the-gate airport scene, and one hell of a bridesmaids troupe.  

But it’s not set in Love Actually’s London, You’ve Got Mail‘s New York, or My Best Friend’s Wedding‘s Chicago. It’s set in Australia’s Northern Territory.

SEE ALSO: Snobbery about romcoms goes all the way back to the 1930s

Co-written by Larrakia actor Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler, and directed by The Sapphires‘ maestro Wayne Blair, Top End Wedding follows assiduous Sydney lawyer Lauren (Tapsell) whose engagement to Ned (Gwilym Lee) takes them all the way home to the Territory to see her parents.  Read more…

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Instagram is testing several new anti-bullying features

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Instagram is fighting back against online bullying, one comment at a time.

At its annual F8 developer conference on Tuesday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri discussed how the company plans to tackle safety and well-being in the  future. Mosseri outlined a wide array of new features currently being tested on the app — emphasizing that Instagram is putting a strong focus on anti-bullying measures.

One of the more interesting anti-bullying measures that Instagram is experimenting with aims to stop harassment before it even starts.

In some test cases, if the platform notices a user is about to leave a negative comment, the app will “nudge” that user, giving them a warning before they’re able to post.  Read more…

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‘Game of Thrones’ cinematographer says the show being too dark is your own damn fault

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Game of Thrones‘ “The Longest Night” is still buzzing days after its premiere — not only due to its questionable battle strategies and one shocking death, but because many fans were barely able to see the episode.

Season 8, episode 3 was one of the show’s literal darkest episodes, one which had us squinting into the darkness, much like the soldiers at Winterfell and with a similar success rate (R.I.P. Dothraki screamers). Cinematographer Fabian Wagner has a simple, non-technical explanation.

“A lot of the problem is that a lot of people don’t know how to tune their TVs properly,” he told Wired. “A lot of people also unfortunately watch it on small iPads, which in no way can do justice to a show like that anyway.” Read more…

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Unprotected server exposed data on 80 million U.S. households

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A cloud server operated by Microsoft has been leaking the personal data of 80 million U.S. households including people’s full names, physical addresses, and dates of birth.

A pair of Israeli security researchers say they discovered the unprotected database while working on a web mapping project with VPN review site vpnMentor. In addition to names and addresses, the 24GB database also stored coded information on people’s gender, marital status, income levels, and whether they’ve been a homeowner.

Who owns the data on the server isn’t known. However, the mysterious party decided to itemize all the information by household, instead of individuals. Each record was also accompanied by a “member_code” and “score” entry. Read more…

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Mark Zuckerberg’s cringey laugh was a slap in the face of Facebook’s victims

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Most awkward Zuck moments revolve around the CEO’s inability to exhibit human emotion. This one comes with a serving of insult, added to injury.

Mark Zuckerberg opened Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference on Tuesday with a manifesto-ish address about how the future of Facebook is focused on privacy. 

SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg says ‘a private social platform’ is the future at F8

Through encrypting messaging, focusing on ephemerality, and other measures, the company that invented putting your life online says it is fundamentally changing the company to ensure that its users’ private lives, opinions, and interactions stay private. Read more…

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Everything Facebook announced at F8 2019

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Facebook’s F8 2019 keynote address came and went on Tuesday, leaving behind a bundle of upcoming feature updates and products to mess with in the coming months.

The event was lengthy and left us with a lot to talk about, but here’s a quick list of all the big announcements Facebook made at F8 this year.

Another big Facebook redesign

Welcome to the new Facebook.

Welcome to the new Facebook.

Image: Facebook

First and foremost, Facebook’s flagship social network is getting a major redesign. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made it a point to mention that there’s hardly any blue left in the site’s new look; instead it’s almost entirely white. The new version of the mobile app has started rolling out, while the updated desktop site is coming later this year. Read more…

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Facebook wants you to forget about its Clear History feature

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This time, we really should know better. 

Mark Zuckerberg teed up his F8 keynote on Tuesday with a promise that Facebook has, finally, got the message. “The future is private,” he told the crowd gathered at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. Going forward he insisted his company would work hard to build “a privacy-focused social platform.” If only we hadn’t heard it all before. 

Cast your mind back to May 1, 2018. The annual Facebook F8 developer conference was once again in full swing, the Cambridge Analytica scandal showed no sign of abating, and Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan promised that a new tool called Clear History would be built in a “few months.” It’s no spoiler to say that we’re still waiting.   Read more…

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Taylor Swift says fans figured out the name of her album. Here are their best theories.

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Swifties are known for their CIA-level code-cracking skills. It may have just paid off. 

In a new interview with Zach Sang and Dan Zolot of the Zach Sang Show, Taylor Swift takes 10 whole minutes to talk about her latest era in music. With the release of her seventh studio album imminent, Swifties have kicked into high gear with theories, much to Swift’s delight. 

SEE ALSO: Taylor Swift’s video for her new song ‘ME!’ is one very, very colourful duet

“I like to plan things out, I like to plan little fun clues for people,” Swift tells Sang over the phone. The songstress goes on to describe her process for releasing lead singles. “A lot of the time I’ll pick a first single because I like the feeling that it conveys, knowing that there’s a lot more on the album that’s very different from that first single— which is something that I think the fans have picked up on at this point.”  Read more…

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‘Game of Thrones’ power rankings following the Battle of Winterfell

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The Game of Thrones power rankings decide who is most likely to rule Westeros at the end of Season 8.

We’re making these predictions based on what the showrunners are likely to think is the best possible story. You can see the previous rankings here.


Night King, we hardly knew ye. 

For the first time since we began ranking in 2015, there’s no space for ol’ blue eyes. The big boss of the White Walkers could have had it all — he was rarely out of the top 3 in this list — if ruling Westeros was his goal. All he had to do was stay away from the front lines of his unstoppable army. But no, the Night King had to go Three-eyed Raven hunting, and got an icy shiv from Arya for his troubles. Read more…

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