Author Archives: forbesworthy

Despite their popularity, online dating apps have long received a bad wrap. The New York Times describing Tinder in 2015 as a dating and marriage apocalypse. In fact, online dating apps have become increasingly popular in Australia over the past five years. 18-24 year olds have led the way, normalising the use of online datingContinue reading “Dating with Charlie”

In 2006 Henry Jenkins released Convergence Culture. It was immediately successful, going on to win awards and spawn debate across academic, industry and popular circles. In short creating the sort of  buzz most authors would die for.  Henry Jenkins was a fan.  He attended his first Star Wars convention while still at uni. His long-termContinue reading “Spreading the love: a fan’s journey”

For Darryl McGuire deleting digital information turned out to be no mean feat.  A recent ICAC inquiry heard the former Member for Wagga Wagga rolled a tractor over his iPad and iPhones when notified of the inquiry. Somewhat predictably, Darryl’s actions fuelled a number of twitter jokes and memes of the yet another country MPContinue reading “An unfortunate tractor accident and the death of the digital record”

The Netflix docudrama “The Social Dilemma” is worth a watch.  Centred around interviews with former executives of social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google, it has been criticised for using a fictional all-American family and personified algorithm to dramatize its central narrative. Despite criticism, it has been well-received, staying in Netflix’s top 10Continue reading “Netflix goes head to head with Digital Frankenstein”

George Orwell once wrote that nothing readable can be written unless one struggles to efface one’s personality. Think about this statement long enough and you will start to think of it as a mirage. We live in a digital world which subverts any attempt to efface our personality. Blogs and social media tools give expressionContinue reading “Orwell meets Robodebt”

Running through AC/DC Lane in Melbourne on a work trip (when such things were possible), I found myself drawn to Inner Demons, an iconic street art image located on Melbourne’s AC/DC Lane. The image struck me, mostly because I had been spending a lot of time thinking (well OK obsessing) about our reactions to informationContinue reading “Inner Demons”