Blogroll

The next ACOTAR book isn’t out yet, but some readers are already muting fan pages.

Images purportedly showing pages from Sarah J. Maas's upcoming A Court of Splintered Harmony are circulating online, leaving fans with the choice between scrutinizing the alleged spoilers and trying to make it to the Oct. 27 release without seeing them.

For some, that second option is proving difficult. In the Facebook group A Court of Thorns and Roses 18+, one reader reported repeatedly encountering alleged leaks on TikTok. "I keep trying to avoid them like a plague, but it's literally EVERYWHERE," they wrote.

Another had already taken precautions: "I muted all of my ACOTAR fan pages for a month."

With almost two weeks until the sixth installment in Maas's romantasy series arrives, apparently even visiting a fan group has become a potential spoiler risk. Here’s what we know, without getting into the purported plot revelations.

SEE ALSO: Sarah J. Maas announces two new 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' books What are the alleged ACOTAR leaks?

Much of the discussion centers on photos purportedly showing pages 242 through 247 that were shared in the r/acotar subreddit. (The linked thread contains potential spoilers.)

Readers have been picking apart everything from the characters' apparent behavior to the objects visible around the book, looking for clues about whether the images are genuine.

One commenter, identifying themselves as an Amazon fulfillment center employee, claimed to recognize the setting. "I work at an Amazon FC, I can confirm the books came in last week, and these are our yellow totes and the gloves we wear," they wrote.

Other readers questioned the images' appearance and whether the prose sounded like Maas, leaving the discussion caught between analyzing a possible scene and wondering whether there was any reason to analyze it at all.

"I am having the hardest time figuring out if it’s fake or real. I need to know! It seems like a lot of work to make a fake book," one commenter wrote.

Still, uncertainty hasn’t dampened everyone’s enthusiasm. "I kind of love how messy it is honestly," wrote another reader. For others, the alleged pages have simply added another thing to check on release day: "But if this is fake, I can’t wait to see what the real chapter looks like."

How are ACOTAR fan communities handling the alleged leaks?

The scramble to discuss the images is also testing how fan communities accommodate readers who want every possible detail alongside those trying to avoid them.

In r/acotar, moderators have opted to allow discussions about the leaks following a community vote. "We had a sub-wide poll on if we should allow leaks or not. The sub voted for yes," a moderator explained in the thread.

That permission comes with conditions. The subreddit’s leak protocol requires posts to include "[POSSIBLE LEAK]" in their titles, carry a spoiler tag and the appropriate flair, and go through moderator review with supporting evidence. It also prohibits sharing the full book or links to it, as well as leaks that confirm or rule out romantic pairings.

Other communities have drawn a firmer line. Moderators of r/Elucien have said their subreddit does not allow leaks, distinguishing unauthorized material from previews publicly released by Maas or Bloomsbury.

For readers counting down to Oct. 27, those rules can determine whether a favorite fan space remains somewhere to share their excitement — or becomes another page to mute.

If file transfers between your PC and NAS feel painfully slow, your first instinct might be to run a speed test to check your internet connection. But even if the test results show much faster speeds than you're getting in practice, your internet connection isn't actually to blame for those painfully slow local transfers.

If I asked you to name a media player, I'm sure VLC would be one of the first to come to mind. There's no doubt VLC has earned its place on just about every desktop, but it isn't the only free media player worth installing. Some alternatives give you more control over playback, others pack in features you might not expect, and a few can even turn your PC into a home theater.

Some people unwind with a good book. Others take a hot bath or watch their favorite comfort show. One woman spends two hours jumping on a trampoline in the middle of the night.

And honestly, she might be onto something.

TikTok creator @whatifimjustagirl is going viral after sharing her unusual nighttime ritual. For the past seven years, she says she's spent nearly every night jumping on a trampoline outside, usually sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. That's right. While most of us are sleeping, or scrolling TikTok when we should be sleeping, she's outside bouncing around in the dark

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

And this isn't some elaborate fitness challenge or attempt to optimize her sleep schedule. She just really loves jumping on her trampoline.

"I look forward to it every single day," she says in a recent video posted to TikTok.

She's figured out what to wear, too: she says she has "a couple of things in rotation," including leggings and a flannel for colder nights — and, of course, a pair of headphones.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

But her unusual hobby has also prompted some unsolicited speculation about her mental health. "I'm a girl who's addicted to the trampoline," she says in another video, before addressing commenters who have speculated that she's autistic. "I just wanted to comment on the mental health aspect of it because I have a lot of people assume I have autism, and I do not," she explains. She goes on to share that she has OCD, which she says plays some role in her attachment to the activity.

"Yes, is my obsession with the trampoline a little extreme? Yes. Does my OCD play a factor in that? Yes, but that's not why I jump," she says. "I don't think there needs to be a diagnosis [for it]."

And really, why should there be? Sometimes you just find something you love doing, even if that something happens to be jumping on a trampoline at 2 a.m.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

There's something oddly charming about the whole thing. Most adults probably haven't spent much time on a trampoline since childhood, let alone made it a regular part of their daily routine. Yet here's someone who has apparently found an activity that brings her so much joy that she's continued doing it for seven years.

There's no elaborate morning routine to follow, no expensive wellness retreat to book, and no productivity hack to master. Just a woman, her trampoline, and a few hours under the stars.

Of course, jumping on a trampoline in the middle of the night isn't practical for everyone. For starters, you need a trampoline. And presumably some very understanding neighbors. Still, when even hobbies can come with pressure to earn money or improve yourself, there's something refreshing about watching someone do something simply because they enjoy it

Maybe the secret to happiness really is that simple.

One of my favorite things to do is go to the movies. Don't get me wrong—streaming is extremely convenient, and frankly, there are times I'd rather sit on my couch and watch a movie at home. However, nothing will ever replicate the cinematic experience inside a packed theater on opening night. I'm glad Netflix is allowing its bigger tentpole movies, including The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth and Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, to have legitimate theatrical releases.

Earlier this month, two former school students murdered a vice principal and attacked students at a Mexican secondary school in Torreón, Coahuila. Authorities say they were inspired by violent and extremist content online.

Today (Oct. 14), Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum signed a presidential decree barring social media and streaming platforms from displaying or recommending violent content to teens. The order places limits on content that "generates or promotes" hate speech, extremism, sexual exploitation, suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, cyber-bullying, and other illegal conduct, according to Mexico News Daily.

SEE ALSO: What 'The Social Reckoning' misses about Meta

Like other social media safety bills, the decree also requires platforms verify user ages and institute parental controls. Companies have one month to get their platforms in compliance with the new law. If they fail to make changes, Sheinbaum said she will fast track a second law outlining punishment for offenders.

In September, Sheinbaum announced new nationwide education rules that included a bell-to-bell cellphone ban and restrictions on tablet use across Mexico's public education system. Similar phone bans have been implemented at the state and district-level in the United States, but federal leaders have yet to enact sweeping legislation regarding device use.

In response to concerns about the impact of social media and cyberbullying on youth mental health — as well as new research — many countries are exploring wholesale social media bans for kids and teens, as well. Australia was the first country to pass a complete ban on social media for users under the age of 16.

While many child safety advocates have encouraged government intervention as a necessary stop-gap to ongoing online abuse and harm, others have questioned the efficacy of age verification and parental controls tools.

Officials told the press that they had met with leadership from major tech companies, including Meta, TikTok, and Google, prior to Sheinbaum's announcement. None of the named companies have yet issued comment, reported Reuters.

Google Maps has many features that go beyond directions for your daily commute. What I love about the navigation app is that it's a gift that keeps giving: its underrated features and settings can completely change how you use it, whether you're a driver, cyclist, or walker.

SAVE UP TO $132.28: As of Oct. 14, SwissGear's two-piece Energie Spinner Luggage Set is on sale on Amazon for up to 35% off. Normally $375, you can score it in gunmetal for $281.08 or white for $242.72 (with an on-page coupon).

Opens in a new window Credit: Swissgear SwissGear Energie Spinner Luggage Set (2-piece, gunmetal) $281.08 at Amazon
$375 Save $93.92   Get Deal at Amazon Opens in a new window Credit: Swissgear SwissGear Energie Spinner Luggage Set (2-piece, white) $242.72 at Amazon
$375 Save $132.28 Requires on-page coupon. Get Deal at Amazon

I'm a serial overpacker who travels internationally at least once a year on top of regular domestic trips, which means my suitcases get put through the wringer. After being underwhelmed by a few different brands — Samsonites got dinged up shockingly fast — I landed on SwissGear's Energie Spinner hardside suitcases for their light weight, expandable design, and unmatched durability. They've survived tens of thousands of miles of travel at this point, and probably half a dozen friends and family members have bought them upon my rec.

I've found Energie Spinners on sale at a couple different retailers in the past, but right now, I'd buy them on Amazon. The two-piece set with a 19-inch carry-on and a 27-inch checked bag is currently on sale there for up to about $132 off, depending on the color. (It typically retails for $375, per SwissGear's website.)

I personally own the gunmetal set, which is marked down to $281.08, or 25% off. The white set is even cheaper at $242.72, or 35% off — note the coupon on its product page (below) — but bear in mind that it will show scuffs way more easily. Mine still look basically pristine.

Make sure to select the on-page coupon. Credit: Amazon / Mashable screenshot

Both suitcases have multi-directional spinner wheels, retractable locking handles, and a TSA lock. Inside, they've each got a zip compartment and clothing straps; the 19-inch carry-on also has a USB charging port that lets you charge your phone from a power bank you've packed. They're covered by a 10-year warranty.

One of the best things about Linux is that you’re not stuck with a single desktop experience. You can pick something that looks like macOS, Windows, or something that’s completely different and unique. That said, the sheer number of options can be overwhelming, and testing every single one to find the perfect fit isn’t practical for everyone. Fortunately, I’ve done the legwork for you. I’ve been using Linux for the past 10 years, and over that time, I’ve tested all the major desktop environments (DEs). Here’s how I’d rank them based on features, performance, and usability.

A $5 first-person shooter called Hood Warfare 2 has gone from near-obscurity to one of Steam’s most talked-about releases in less than a week. Given the nature of the game, however, it's also drawn scrutiny for its content, its anonymous developers, and the creators who've played it live on stream.

Made by an anonymous dev team called TrapStar Games, Hood Warfare 2 is a gang-themed, multiplayer Call of Duty clone set in "the streets" of Chicago, Illinois. Like Call of Duty, it has killstreaks, including a "drive by" and a "snitch," its version of the UAV drone.

According to SteamDB data, it peaked at about 53 concurrent players on its Oct. 8 release day. Its player count climbed steadily before spiking past 11,700 on Oct. 12, with its all-time peak now at 15,258 as of this writing.

By Steam’s standards, that is a modest hit. The game's peak rank is around 1,151st all-time on SteamDB, and its current player count of roughly 4,000 puts it at 239th. Still, if Gamalytic's data is to be believed, Hood Warfare 2 has grossed $1.1 million with 219,000 units sold.

As you can tell from the title, the game is a sequel. TrapStar released Hood Warfare, a Detroit-based shooter, in 2023 to little fanfare, with an all-time Steam peak of 68 players. Hood Warfare 2 caught on in a big way thanks to a deluge of content creators and streamers amused by the exaggerated stereotyping of Black American gang culture.

That said, much of the online conversation does center on the game’s depiction of Chicago and Black communities.

Critics argue the game feeds a long-running narrative, pushed by right-wing outlets and influencers, that Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the country. The rankings they cite tell a different story. Despite being the nation's third-largest city, Chicago ranks outside the top 10 on a list of places with the highest crime risk, according to U.S. News & World Report. Others have noted that the game’s trailer uses virtually none of Chicago’s actual slang.

The popularity of these kinds of stereotypes of the Black community coincides with the rise of YouTube "gang war explainer" channels, such as TrapLoreRoss. These channels break down real local conflicts for largely outside audiences, turning figures like King Von and Chief Keef, along with the O-Block area around Parkway Gardens into a kind of online lore. On TikTok, you can find several videos of creators traveling to the Parkway Gardens area near 63rd Street and King Drive.

Speculation on social media about Hood Warfare 2 includes accusations of AI "vibe coding," astroturfing, and even claims that the game is a "CIA psyop." Defenders of the game are dismissing the backlash, stating that games like Hood Warfare 2 aren't meant to be taken seriously.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The game holds a "Very Positive" rating on Steam, and many reviews lean into the stereotypes critics object to. One reviewer wrote that they could "feel the thrill as a white man roleplaying as an african american gang banger." Another called it "Counter-Strike meets Boyz n da Hood," a reference to John Singleton’s 1991 film, which is widely read as a critique of the forces that kill young Black men.

Playing a part in the game's growing popularity is the enthusiastic embrace from content creators and live streamers. Gameplay videos have spread quickly across YouTube and Twitch. Some thumbnails show creators, including white creators, posing in ski masks to match the game’s theme. Many YouTube uploads have titles that call the game "Hood Call of Duty."

Thumbnail from YouTuber MrMG titled "The *NEW* HOOD Call of Duty is HERE and INSANE!" Credit: YouTube / Mashable screenshot This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Not every attempt to stream the game has gone smoothly.

On Oct. 13, members of the YouTube comedy collective RDCWorld, which has 7.3 million YouTube subscribers and 963,000 Twitch followers, tried to play the game on stream after being repeatedly tagged in it posts about it on Twitter and Reddit. Much of their chat objected. The group dropped the game shortly after and moved on to Star Wars: Galactic Racer .

A clip of the exchange has since circulated on Reddit. In it, a viewer donates $20 with a message offering to pay the group not to play what they called a "racist cia made game." RDCWorld member Mark Phillips, who is Black, pushed back, saying he hadn’t expected viewers to go "straight think piece" on the game.

When Phillips questioned whether the group should then skip Grand Theft Auto VI, which launches in November, fellow member Dylan Patel said that both games are "the same thing." Critics argue that comparison is a false equivalence. Games like GTA and Def Jam have drawn their own controversy over how they portray Black communities, they say, but they’re fundamentally different from Hood Warfare 2 and shouldn’t be lumped in with it.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Within the RDCWorld subreddit, many commenters criticized the group’s defensive response more than the attempt to play. Some accused stream moderators of timing out viewers who disagreed. Others defended RDCWorld, arguing that gang culture is not Black culture and that taking offense further entrenches that stereotype of the Black community. RDCWorld has not addressed the controversy outside the stream.

Who is behind TrapStar Games?

Little is known about who made Hood Warfare 2. The game appears to have been built in Unity 5, although there are unverified claims that it was AI vibe-coded.

The devs' purported website, Trapstar.games, was registered on Oct. 12, according to ICANN lookup data. The site displays a copyright notice, but a search of public copyright records found no registration under the name TrapStar Games.

The website's linked Twitter account also claims to represent the developer. It was created this month and has been promoting a cryptocurrency token called HW2. The account's bio lists New York, while its "About this account" panel shows it is based in the U.S. and connected through the Turkish App Store.

Neither the account nor the website could be confirmed to belong to the game’s developers, and it’s possible that a third party is exploiting the game’s popularity to run a pump-and-dump scheme. One reply to the account claims a developer denied any connection to that Twitter account and the crypto token on the game’s Discord server. That server could not be located.

A request for comment sent to an email address listed on the original Hood Warfare website has not been returned.

As Mashable and our colleagues at PCMag just reported, Grand Theft Auto VI leakers Cyberleek have seemingly abandoned their threats to leak a full build of the game – at least for now.

Why? Because the leakers had claimed that the release of the leaked build was tied to their memecoin. If GTA 6 fans pumped Cyberleek's cryptocurrency, they would receive the leaked game build as a reward.

That play failed spectacularly for Cyberleek. In fact, it seems to have fully backfired.

The Cyberleek memecoin's market cap hit a high of $7.8 million on October 11, shortly after the leakers claimed they would release the full build of GTA 6 supposedly in their possession. The catch? The Cyberleek memecoin had to hit a market cap of $30 million first.

While some GTA 6 fans appeared to have bought into the memecoin in an attempt to hit Cyberleek's goal, $7.8 million is still far short of the $30 million the leakers wanted. And since then, as it became obvious that most GTA 6 fans weren't going to give in to Cyberleek's demands, the memecoin has plunged even further, with a current market cap of $1.17 million.

Critics of Cyberleek celebrated the memecoin's failure, calling it a scam.

SEE ALSO: GTA 6 Cyberleek: Fans float leak conspiracy theories about marketing, possible in-game character

Cyberleek had been successful with their memecoin play before, giving those who bought their memecoin exclusive access to polls that determined what GTA 6 footage the leakers would release next.

However, it seems Cyberleek overplayed their hand this time around, and the full build, which they claim is 200GB, appears to be staying under wraps for now.

With that said, Cyberleek is still using their supposed access to a full build of GTA 6 to try to escape legal action from Take-Two, the parent company of GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games. The leakers claim that there is a "dead-man's switch" that will automatically release the ending of the game if there is an attempt to take down Cyberleek.

You bought a Raspberry Pi with a head full of plans about how you'd use it, but it's been languishing in your drawer ever since. If your unused Raspberry Pi is making you feel guilty, then there are some relatively simple projects that you can have up and running before you know it.

I get into my car to drive, not to troubleshoot a touchscreen. But since becoming a mom, I’ve found myself driving a lot more than I used to, from taking my daughter to her classes to driving her to vaccination appointments and running errands in between.

The right power tool, like a Ryobi multi-tool, lets you finally tackle that old dresser you've been meaning to fix up, without having to buy an entire garage full of expensive gear. Pair it with something like a handheld orbital sander, and it'll look brand new in no time. Thanks to The Home Depot, you can pick up this 2-tool set, the Ryobi One+ 18V multi-tool and random orbit sander combo, all for the cost you would normally spend on just one alone.

I recently forwarded TCP port 25565 on my home router, so a few friends could join a Minecraft Java server. I didn't think much of it until my home IP address appeared on Shodan with the server's specific details listed.

Aaron Sorkin, famed writer of The West Wing and Academy Award-winning The Social Network, is notoriously verbose. He has a reputation for linguistic flairs that some find awkward, and many find deeply compelling. 

But in The Social Reckoning, a follow-up to the 2010 tale of Facebook's founding, he is uncharacteristically sparing. 

Yes, Sorkin — who wrote and directed the new movie — crams the script with one-liners and existential metaphors, random pop culture references, and cries for change, but it's what he leaves out that viewers should pay attention to. 

SEE ALSO: 'The Social Reckoning' review: Aaron Sorkin's indulgences fail this Facebook follow-up What 'The Social Reckoning' omits

Through The Wall Street Journal's Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) and Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), The Social Reckoning recounts the two years of work that made up the publication's explosive 2021 series, The Facebook Files. The birth of the exposé, a series of insider accounts of Facebook's decision to reroute its algorithm in service of polarizing extremism, is presented in two competing timelines.

In one, Huagen and Horwitz attempt to penetrate the Silicon Valley giant's defenses to learn the true scope of its wrongdoing. In the other, CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong) readies himself to testify before Congress — as Jan. 6th insurrectionists storm the Capitol.

So it's strange that it's characters — real-life journalists, brave whistleblowers, and profit-driven tech overlords who had a direct role in the current administration's success — don't say the name "Trump."

Despite a third of the movie set in 2020, COVID-19 is largely referred to as "the novel virus." The movie skirts the rampant medical misinformation, spread by conservative conspiracy groups, that flourished on Meta platforms.

The movie also omits the full details of Facebook's startling algorithmic misconduct that surrounded and informed the events of The Social Reckoning. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Meta IRL

In 2018, the tech giant was implicated in a massive data breach that harvested user profiles to target U.S. voters ahead of President Donald Trump's 2016 election victory. Facebook had already been accused of a host of reported user privacy violations, including conducting an algorithm-based psychological study on unwitting users. Due to Facebook's outsized role in spreading fake news, the company's CEO was given the title "Misinformer of the Year" in 2017 by Media Matters for America. 

Civil rights organizations like GLAAD have long deemed Meta's platforms unsafe for LGBTQ users. Facebook's algorithm has not only helped foster discord on home soil, but is also alleged to have had a role in global cultural genocides by human rights groups like Amnesty International. 

Following Haugen's real-life congressional testimony, used as the final beat of Sorkin's film, the company was accused of exacerbating a youth mental health crisis, multiple deaths by suicide, and an explosion of real and synthetic child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The first point is briefly touched on in the film, while the last is completely sidelined.

Three weeks after Haugen's congressional appearance in 2021, Facebook changed its name to Meta. The company then underwent a brief public-image overhaul — until Trump came back into power. Following his reelection, Meta gave $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. 

The Social Reckoning implores someone, anyone, to act. The film posits that the federal government may be able to hold Zuckerberg to account.

It hasn't. 

One character, a member of the company's civic integrity team who helps leak internal reports about Instagram's impact on teen mental health, tells Haugen that something needs to be done before the company proceeds with its plan for "Instagram Kids." 

In 2024, Meta debuted Teen Accounts to address growing unease about young people's online habits. Following studies that concluded the changes featured in Instagram's Teen Accounts were ineffective, the company overhauled them. In the months since the overhaul, advocates have alleged Teen Accounts are still failing to curb online abuse. 

Another real-life whistleblower, Arturo Béjar, has continued to testify to Meta's alleged intentional disregard for teen mental health in court. 

Will Meta change?

In the film's epilogue, Sorkin describes Haugen's disclosure as having "caused some pain" for the company.

"I would not call it a massive pain for Meta," said Christine McComas, founding member of child safety advocacy group Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS). "It was a moment of clarity for people to understand what's going on."

Unlike Sorkin's more timid portrayal, McComas describes Haugen as a person who knew what she needed to do. McComas credits Haugen with galvanizing the work of bereaved parents whose children had died by suicide following abusive social media interactions.

That is an inexcusable failure of leadership. - Ashwin Verghese, Fairplay

As of publishing, more than 3,000 federal lawsuits have been filed against Meta alleging intentional harm to teen users. The film briefly mentions the work of attorneys general in amplifying these claims. Many of these cases are still ongoing or have settled out of court, but a few have resulted in surface level changes to Meta platforms.

Much like Teen Accounts, researchers argue the changes did not do enough to protect young users. 

Concerted pressure from state leaders and child safety advocates has finally pushed Meta to agree to more substantive reform, such as algorithmic guardrails. Still, most argue that comprehensive federal regulation is the only way to truly curb Meta's harm. 

Congressional leaders have "completely failed" to hold Meta and its competitors accountable, says Ashwin Verghese, communications director of child safety nonprofit Fairplay. "In fact, Congress has not passed a bill focused on keeping kids safe online in nearly 30 years. That is an inexcusable failure of leadership," Verghese said.

SEE ALSO: Is Meta finally backing a federal kids safety bill, or is it all PR?

It has been years since the Wall Street Journal published The Facebook Files. To be fair to Sorkin, political change is slow. Courts have their limits when powerful, near monopolistic, companies are involved. 

But there's a lingering question that the movie, given its timeline and broad topics, only mildly addresses through its luddite journalist, Horwitz: If Congress won't act, why won't we, as a society, just stop using Meta's problematic products?

Meta, why can't we quit you?

Compared to Horwitz, who is comedically introduced as someone who can't even use a GPS, Sorkin depicts Haugen as an idealist, clinging to the democratizing potential of Facebook. Her movie self is a firm believer that the platform's ability to foster social connection is a societal good. The character doesn't rally for Meta's shuttering, but for its reform. 

In early 2026, professor and marketing expert Scott Galloway called for an industry-wide boycott of tech platforms with disproportionate political and economic power. Included in that list were Meta platforms WhatsApp and Facebook (Instagram is also in Meta's corporate roster). 

One year earlier, swaths of users threatened to delete their Meta accounts following platform changes that signaled its alignment with the Trump administration, including the erasure of hateful conduct protections for LGBTQ users and the shuttering of its fact checking program. Years before that, users attempted to galvanize change through the 2018 #DeleteFacebook trend.

Yet, even with these calls, Meta has yet to see a mass exodus of users. The company only recently reported a substantial decline in daily users across its platforms. The loss was just 20 million of a reported 3 billion users. After the launch of its new AI agent Muse, Meta regained almost 2 million daily users. 

Too many people are complacent because they don’t know an alternative. - Sam Hiner, Young People's Alliance

"Meta has spent millions of dollars in public relations campaigns to claim their platforms are safe while denying responsibility," said Maurine Molak, advocate and co-founder of ParentsSOS. Molak was one of a group of survivor parents who received an apology from Zuckerberg during his 2024 congressional testimony. 

Molak argues that Meta's billion-dollar PR spin has sowed confusion among parents, users, and even congressional leaders. Without clarity, users are more inclined to stay and avoid the pains of leaving.

"Too many people are complacent because they don’t know an alternative," explained Sam Hiner, executive director of the youth-led advocacy nonprofit Young People's Alliance. Hiner and Molak both argue one of the biggest hurdles to leaving Facebook is the Fear of Missing Out.

"If you’re not online, it feels like you’re missing out on an important cultural space," said Hiner. "It’s also hard for competitors to emerge because of the network effect — all of my friends are on Meta platforms, not whatever competitor may emerge."

Molak links this to Facebook's role as one of the first social media platforms. Millions, perhaps billions of adults, have spent nearly two decades building their accounts on Facebook and more than a decade on Instagram. Recntly, they have merged these accounts onto Meta's X-competitor Threads — a wave of users flocked to Threads after Elon Musk's take over of Twitter. It was the lesser of two evils.

Meta platforms are part of many's daily habit, maybe even their identity. With its foray into general AI and its diversification into massively popular chat platforms, users are getting wrenched deeper into Meta's web. 

"Algorithms aren't visible, so it's understandably been quite difficult for most folks to connect the harms they experience in their communities — more people angry and outraged, more mental health problems, more anxious children — with some computer code designed in a faraway lab," explained Julie Scelfo, founder and executive director of Mothers Against Media Addiction. 

This movie will not move the needle on Meta

Meta has not issued a statement on The Social Reckoning, and it probably never needs to. The film's opening weekend was an unequivocal flop.

The company is shielded by its buying power. In an April earnings call, the tech giant said it brought in $56.3 billion, probably tied to its ongoing generative AI investments.

"The monetary fines imposed on Meta are comparable to parking tickets," said Molak. In August, Meta settled out of a potentially consequential social media addiction lawsuit for the sum of $17 billion dollars — just one percent of its stock value, paid out over a decade. 

During one pivotal moment between Horwitz and Haugen in The Social Reckoning, Haugen ponders if it's possible to push powerful people toward change. 

"When it's about money, it's hard," says Horwitz. "When it's not about money, it's even harder."

There are few things more annoying than being in the middle of a show or a movie and having that spinning buffering icon pop up on your screen to taunt you. This is something that was happening to me quite frequently, and I seriously doubted that it had anything to do with the actual speed of my internet connection.

On Oct. 14, one day after announcing its acquisition, Bumble launched handles as a way for users to connect with each other.

Bumble Handles is meant to be a way to share contact information, but not your phone number or social media account. "Your private and professional networks aren’t necessarily where you want your dating life to begin," Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd shared in a note about the new feature. "That's why we're launching Bumble Handles."

SEE ALSO: The 10 best hookup apps of 2026: I swiped until my thumb hurt

Verified Bumble users can create a custom handle to easily tell people to "Find them on Bumble." But making one is optional, and users can opt out of being discoverable by their handle at any time.

Exact handle names are required to search, and according to Wolfe Herd, "Discoverable doesn't mean accessible." While another user can express interest after finding someone else's profile, mutual interest is still required to start a conversation. Bumble's moderation guidelines apply when creating a handle, and the app stated it has put additional protections in place to reduce misuse, such as impersonation.

This is the latest in big changes that have come to the app this year, including how men can message women first in heterosexual matches. Yesterday, Bumble announced a deal to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings for $1.3 billion, and co-CEOs Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman have taken over from Wolfe Herd.

Bumble Handles are available to iOS users in the U.S.

Music is a proven stress reliever, and everyone should have a Bluetooth speaker, like the Marshall Action III, to enjoy their favorite songs and lift their mood. Many new Bluetooth speakers feature futuristic designs with gaudy lighting, but the Action III takes a different approach with a timeless, retro-inspired look that turns heads.

RAMageddon is showing no sign of stopping, if the global smartphone market is to be believed.

A new report from Counterpoint, a market research firm, indicates that global smartphone shipments were down 20 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2026. According to Counterpoint, they hit the lowest level measured since 2012, which was a time when smartphones were still not quite as prevalent in everyday life as they are now. The explanation, according to Counterpoint, is that "relentless increases" in memory prices have "significantly disrupted" shipments from manufacturers like Samsung and Apple.

SEE ALSO: Apple TV 4K: Where to buy the 4th generation of Apple TV

As a result, those companies have passed rising costs onto consumers, resulting in a 20 percent rise in smartphone retail prices in 2026. Per Counterpoint's research, this has led to customers holding onto older phones for longer and prioritizing high-end devices more than they might otherwise.

Samsung, for what it's worth, seems to have weathered the storm a little bit, with its market share increasing to 23 percent. Counterpoint attributes this to steady demand for the mid-range Galaxy A-series and high demand for premium devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Apple, meanwhile, also saw an increase in market share, while suffering a 22 percent decline in shipments year-over-year. Counterpoint theorizes that this had to do with the lack of a base iPhone 18 model in September; Apple is widely expected to launch that phone in early 2027 instead.