Disillusioned with social media, a pair of American tech entrepreneurs decided to launch an app that encourages people to interact in real life. Co-founder and epidemiologist Jesse Berns explains why that meant making an unexpected shift to Aotearoa. While Covid-19 forced most businesses to change their plans one way or another, few seem to have … Read more
Summer reissue: She’s head girl, a viral star, a poet. But none of those credentials can ever capture the force of nature that is Aigagalefili ‘Fili’ Fepulea’i-Tapua’i. Portraits by Edith Amituanai. First published September 12 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members … Read more
After receiving a damning screen-time report, Alice Webb-Liddall gave up on social media for two weeks and discovered more than just a few more hours in her day. I was home sick from work two weeks ago when I encountered a shameful problem I didn’t realise I had. Swiping right on my home screen, I … Read more
Which parties spent the most on Facebook and Google, and was it really all worth it in the end? The election is over and the results are in: Labour swept the polls, National lost big, and the Greens and Act are set to return to parliament with an even bigger cohort of MPs than they … Read more
A New Zealand Instagram account has gone global with its simple, attention-grabbing coverage of international politics and social issues. Sherry Zhang talks to the founders of Shit You Should Care About about social media’s evolving role as a news source. No longer solely the realm of brunch pics, filtered selfies and cute pet photos, Instagram … Read more
She’s head girl, a viral star, a poet. But none of those credentials can ever capture the force of nature that is Aigagalefili ‘Fili’ Fepulea’i-Tapua’i. Portraits by Edith Amituanai. The sky above Aorere College is a brilliant blue. Sunlight gets into every corner of the campus, and music spills out into the morning from a … Read more
Down the rabbit hole and onto Instagram Stories, some of New Zealand’s most popular influencers are now regularly using their platforms to peddle fake news and conspiracy theories that could endanger public health. Jihee Junn finds out what consequences, if any, there are for those actively spreading mistruths. When the government announced Auckland would be … Read more
How can we help people realise they’ve made a mistake without falling into the ‘callout culture’ trap? This post was originally published in Emily’s newsletter: Emily Writes Weekly. Subscribe here. As soon as I saw the black squares on Instagram for Black Out Tuesday, I thought a feed covered in black squares would be helpful. … Read more
If you love The Spinoff and have a vision for how it should appear on Instagram and TikTok, we want to hear from you. The Spinoff is looking for a social media specialist with a focus on Instagram and TikTok. This is a full-time position with a fixed term three-month contract attached, working from our … Read more
The rumour that electrified New Zealand over the weekend was largely spread through Facebook-owned platforms. Duncan Greive asks how the government can continue to pay the social media giants to clean up messes they create. Yesterday David Farrier’s Webworm newsletter ran an interview with the probable source of the vile rumours that infested the country … Read more
If you’ve ever wondered what influencers have to offer to the world, look no further than Simone Anderson’s new recipe book So Delish!, which will revolutionise the way you put things on plates and in freezers. You know what I’m tired of? Professional cooks publishing cookbooks. Boring. If I ever fancy making coconut tamarind prawns, … Read more
We’ve all been dealing with Covid-19 confinement in different ways, but Devoney Scarfe’s preferred medium is pies. Expletive-laden, delicious pies. Devoney Scarfe had had enough. She was locked down in suburban Auckland, with a husband, two kids and the dog. “Nobody was at their finest. There was a tantrum thrown because PlayStation didn’t work. Everyone … Read more
Need an antidote to perfectly lit influencers and lockdown sourdough spam? May we suggest this refreshingly real food ‘grammer. She’s often in her dressing gown, may or may not be in possession of a bra, and isn’t always one to brush her hair. In a sea of beautifully shot sourdough imagery and restaurant brands churning … Read more
Kim Paton, director of Auckland gallery Objectspace, contrasts the creativity of artists online in lockdown with the “stunning awful blow” dealt at the same time to the cultural sector. In the panic of the lockdown announcement, I bought a sewing machine. I’ve always sewed. In my late teens and early 20s I earned money making … Read more
It’s OK if you don’t come out of lockdown with abs. We are living through the worst global pandemic since the Spanish Flu in 1918 and the beginning of an economic calamity that has already claimed the jobs of millions of workers the world over. Hospitals are full, schools are closed and many countries are in full lockdown. We’re practising … Read more
A surge of Māori internet memes have appeared on Instagram in the past year tackling topics from land theft to a shared love of fry bread. They’ve been around since the dawn of the internet, but in the last few years memes have become intrinsic to popular culture. They’ve also become increasingly political. Indigenous groups … Read more
Alex Casey counts down more of The Mad Butcher’s maddest Insta-breakfasts, with bonus commentary from The Butch himself. We live in very uncertain times. We don’t know what the future of our planet looks like, we don’t know if Minou and Jay-Jay will ever see each other again and we can’t even be sure that … Read more
Looking back on 10 years which saw New Zealand’s media transform from a position of near-limitless power and influence to the deeply humbled reality of today. At the end of 2009 I had resigned from my first good job, convinced that print media was finished. The good job was as editor of Real Groove, a … Read more
It’s been a Sunday morning staple for Kiwi kids for decades, but What Now may be facing new challenges in the era of social media. New Zealand children’s show What Now has utilised many different ways of engaging with its young audience over the past 38 years. Whether it was getting kids to write in … Read more
Alex Casey goes in search of the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth. If you’ve been anywhere near Instagram this year, you are probably familiar with this image. An influencer – perhaps a woman with a messy bun and a no-makeup makeup look, or a bronzed man with a six pack lounging … Read more
Parents editor Emily Writes on everything wrong with Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig’s latest work on motherhood. Two of the most beautiful and profound friendships I have had in motherhood were conceived in similar ways. When my son would not stop crying, I developed a habit of walking up and down our steep street. I was … Read more
Backed by businessman Eric Watson and launched in a blaze of publicity, online trader Fashbae disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived. Now its founder is traversing the globe in a jeep. Business editor Maria Slade tries to keep up with events. It had it all. A suave multi-millionaire investor and his lookalike son. An … Read more
Alex Casey watches BossBabes, TVNZ OnDemand’s new reality series following Instagram entrepreneurs Iyia Liu and Edna Stewart. Breaking news: eyeliner is over. Ever since eyelash extensions came onto the scene, Iyia Liu declares from her king size bed, eyeliner is just “not a thing” any more. It’s the first key learning of many from BossBabes, … Read more
Adding to the negative impact that Instagram is already having on mental health and body image, a set of unrealistic standards for school lunchboxes is unearthed by Juliet Speedy. If I was asked to offer my most valuable piece of culinary advice to parents, it would be this: don’t Google “lunchbox ideas”. In fact, if … Read more
It’s a scary world out there, and there’s a lot for you as a parent to be frightened of. But what are the things you should be most freaked out about right now? Emily Writes has some suggestions. When I was pregnant with my firstborn I was extremely anxious about almost everything. Was my baby … Read more
Alex Casey chats to a group of 16 year-olds about the pressures of Instagram, weird men in the DMs, and their multiple online identities. “I’m planning on getting it,” says Neha. “Just my breasts. They’re just too small. It doesn’t look really nice in clothes and stuff.” Aaliyah would too, but wouldn’t touch her butt. … Read more
In the latest episode of On The Rag, based on the podcast of the same name, watch as Alex Casey, Michele A’Court and Leonie Hayden wrestle with the positives and perils of being a woman online. In episode three of our On the Rag web series, we explore the ways that the promised utopia of the … Read more
David Farrier dives deep into the Hotel Bed Jumping Community on Instagram and is quickly told: ‘Should you pursue with your article and publish it we will be taking action’. He chose to pursue the article. I’m a big fan of Instagram, and an even bigger fan of what Instagram influencers are getting up to. And recently … Read more
What is Wish? Is it legit? And why does it advertise so damn much? “If Wish targeted ads are a window to your soul, then my soul is an absolute nightmare,” food editor Alice Neville quipped in the office one day. On Facebook, she’d received ads for a severed ‘finger’, a gimp suit, a wig-beard, … Read more