Don’t have cash? No problem. The number of places where you can use cashless transactions has multiplied in recent years, from digital wallets to contactless payments on public transit. For all the convenience of digital currency, however, there are significant downsides to eschewing cash, according to Lana Swartz, an assistant professor of media studies. Swartz …
Continue reading The future of money: Lana Swartz on digital currency and the benefits of cash
Organizations like GoFundMe claim to tap into the power of social networks: those in need of financial assistance post on their social media sites and gather donations from people far beyond their immediate circle of family and friends. Yet according to researchers Nora Kenworthy and Ken Igra, crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe “have been largely unsuccessful …
Social media platforms are another front in 21st century warfare, and people have increasingly turned to them to narrate and share their personal war experiences. From Syria to Ukraine, images and videos circulated on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok have chronicled the human impact of conflict in real time. In this essay, Kyle Chayka analyzes …
Virtual reality, widely used in gaming, is now being adapted for a range of purposes, including medicine, therapy, and sports. But could virtual reality work for higher education? In this essay, Nir Eisikovits, an associate professor of ethics at University of Massachusetts-Boston, explores the ethical and social challenges of virtual reality. He explains what is …
Debates about immigration often focus on its economic costs and benefits. Yet that focus misses the bigger picture, Peter Coy argues. Coy, a writer for The New York Times, suggests that the real resistance to immigration lies much deeper than data about jobs and economic impact. Coy explains that opposition to immigration often stems from …
The environmental and human impact of our global economy is visible in ports, where chemicals, oil, natural gas, and massive containers of goods are moved, shipped, and stored. In this video op-ed, activist Jan Victor Andasan describes how the pollution spewing from these ports, pipelines, refineries, and rail yards contaminates the air of nearby communities, …
In the summer of 2021, three billionaires – Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Jared Isaacson – made history as they blasted off into space on their own privately funded spaceflights. In her essay, astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz analyzes the implications of this new chapter in space exploration. Walkowicz suggests these billionaire-funded launches reflect current inequities here …
Over 44% of Americans work low-wage jobs, which can trap people in a precarious cycle marked by limited job security, stagnant wages, unreliable hours, and few opportunities for promotion. Those who are working multiple low-wage jobs struggle to cover their basic living expenses. Celine-Marie Pascale, a professor of sociology at American University, illustrates this complex …
In November 2021, world leaders gathered at COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, and pledged to end deforestation by 2030. One strategy governments and organizations rely on to restore forests is mass tree-planting campaigns, such as the World Economic Forum’s “One Trillion Trees” initiative. Yet these campaigns, found across the globe, are not …
Sometimes, if a problem feels too complex or insurmountable, it’s easy to just give up. Dagomar Degroot, an associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University, warns against falling victim to this “doomism” when it comes to climate change. In this essay, Degroot contends that the news media often presents a false binary in how …
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