The Top 5: Standing reserve parenting, facial recognition, broken social media
Welcome to the latest edition of the Top 5 articles we’ve read this week. Each week, we read dozens of articles in the hope we find essays and reporting that speak to big ideas, trends, future looks, and incredible human stories. We hope you enjoy our list, and do always let us know if you have a suggestion or a recommendation!
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The Top 5 articles for your week:
“Why Are We Always on Call for Our Kids?” (The Cut - PDF below)
Because this email newsletter from Kathryn Jezer-Morton is thought-provoking for parents: “…I began to wonder if the ‘standing reserve’ approach to parenting, in which we are always on call for our kids’ logistical needs, is a way of compensating for being too distracted to meet their need for actual connection. An unintended consequence of this act of compensation has been the erosion of boundaries that I suddenly feel the need to reinforce.”
“Can You Hide a Child’s Face From A.I.?” (NYT)
Because Kashmir Hill looks at the dilemma of facial recognition: “‘There’s a growing awareness that with A.I., we don’t really have control of all the data that we’re spewing into the social media ecosystem.’”
“‘IDK what to do’: Thousands of teen boys are being extorted in sexting scams” (Washington Post)
Because Chris Moody looks at “what online safety and law enforcement experts call financial sextortion, in which predators befriend victims online under false pretenses, entice them to send incriminating photos and then demand payment under threat that they’ll expose the photos to family and friends. The number of sextortion cases targeting young people ‘has exploded in the past couple of years,’ with teen boys being specific targets, said Lauren Coffren, executive director of the Exploited Children Division at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).”
“This War Shows Just How Broken Social Media Has Become” (The Atlantic)
Because Charlie Warzel steps back and looks at the chaos being sowed on weakened social media platforms: “At the center of these pleas for a Twitter alternative is a feeling that a fundamental promise has been broken. In exchange for our time, our data, and even our well-being, we uploaded our most important conversations onto platforms designed for viral advertising—all under the implicit understanding that social media could provide an unparalleled window to the world.” (n.b. article includes a cuss word)
“Who’s Afraid of a Spatchcocked Chicken?” (Eater)
Because this is a fun little piece from C Pam Zheng on the class meanings behind the meat we eat. (n.b. article includes a cuss word)
ICYMI on Wear We Are
The Morning Five: October 12, 2023
The Morning Five: October 11, 2023