Social Media - Softonic English

Famously secretive organization joins Instagram

What will the CIA be willing to share?

Instagram is an open network, and a visual one, too. Posts are images with text playing a very small part in the makeup of an Instagram post. You would think that this makes Instagram a hard place to keep a secret; quite the opposite, in fact. Instagram is the place you go to announce things. Your vacation, that new lipstick you’re using, that old friend you’ve just seen, or how amazing your breakfast looks. Instagram is about sharing information not withholding it. This is why a recent announcement is a little bemusing, to say the least.

The CIA is about to launch its own Instagram account

During a national security forum at Auburn University in Alabama, CIA Director General Gina Haspel made the surprise announcement. She said, “Just to talk a moment about transparency, of course, CIA does have a Twitter account… Our office of public affairs is getting ready to launch our Instagram account.” Details about what we might expect to see on said account, however, were thin.

The aforementioned CIA Twitter account is very real and has over 2.5 million followers. Its tweets are rather mundane, however, as you might expect. Rather than sharing details about daring missions on foreign soil, it acts as more of a showcase for CIA history and is used as a way to recruit new agents. It also advises on upcoming forums like the one that Haspel dropped the Instagram news at and revels in letting everybody know when former deputy directors find themselves on TV.

A perk of working for CIA is world travel. Apparently that sometimes extends to other realms…

“Little birds,” be on the lookout for a former deputy director of ours wandering through #Westeros in tonight’s episode of #GameOfThrones. pic.twitter.com/DBIzIFKoju

— CIA (@CIA) April 22, 2019

If we take the CIA Twitter account as our guide, we can expect photos of people receiving medals rather than secret photos taken using classified spy plane technology. There’ll likely also be recruitment drives and photos of interesting items and artifacts used by various CIA personnel through the years.

Interestingly enough, the CIA won’t be the only government intelligence agency looking to share on Instagram. The FBI is already way ahead of them with more than 400,000 followers. If the movies are anything to go by, these two agencies have a testy relationship at the best of times, so it could be fun to see them head off against each other to see who can get the most Instagram Likes and followers.

View this post on Instagram

Over the years, the #FBI seal has undergone several significant changes. In its early years, the Bureau used the Department of Justice seal. . The first official FBI seal was adopted in 1935, modifying the Department of Justice logo by adding “Federal Bureau of Investigation” and “Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity” to the outer band. . In 1940, Special Agent Leo Gauthier—a draftsman, artist, and illustrator—presented a new design based on an earlier Bureau flag that he had created. . Each symbol and color in the FBI seal has special significance. The dominant blue field of the seal and the scales on the shield represent justice. The endless circle of 13 stars denotes unity of purpose as exemplified by the original 13 states. The laurel leaf has, since early civilization, symbolized academic honors, distinction, and fame. There are exactly 46 leaves in the two branches, since there were 46 states in the Union when the FBI was founded in 1908. The significance of the red and white parallel stripes lies in their colors. Red traditionally stands for courage, valor, strength, while white conveys cleanliness, light, truth, and peace. As in the American flag, the red bars exceed the white by one. The motto, “ Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity,” succinctly describes the motivating force behind the men and women of the FBI. The peaked beveled edge which circumscribes the seal symbolizes the severe challenges confronting the FBI and the ruggedness of the organization. The gold color in the seal conveys its overall value. . #fbiseal #history #fbihistory #dyk

A post shared by FBI (@fbi) on Mar 11, 2019 at 11:00am PDT

There is no news yet about when the CIA will start posting on Instagram. There is an account claiming to be the “Official Account of the CIA” that links to the CIA homepage but as yet, there are no posts. Also, the page has Leviticus 20:13 in its bio, which is a Bible passage that is often used to attack same-sex relationships. We don’t know what that means, but we have to believe this isn’t the official account of the CIA. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Leaked Instagram update shows hidden “like” count

A new leak shows that Instagram may hide how many likes a post generated from the poster’s audience

In a leak discovered by reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong, Instagram might be bidding adieu to the like-counter.

Instagram is testing hiding like count from audiences,

as stated in the app: “We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get” pic.twitter.com/MN7woHowVN

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 18, 2019

The prototype shows that audience members who view posts won’t be able to see how many likes a post gained.

“We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get,” Instagram writes in an in-app message. “During this test, only the person who shares a post will see the total number of likes it gets.”

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In an interview with Techcrunch, an Instagram spokesperson confirmed that the leak is a prototype from Instagram

“We’re not testing this at the moment, but exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram is something we’re always thinking about,” the spokesperson said.

Whether removing the like count from audiences’ eyes will “reduce pressure” remains to be seen. Not having to worry about your post being judged by its amount of likes, but for its content sounds good in theory. We’re up for anything that helps our mental health. If Instagram can prove that hiding like totals helps us feel better, we can only hope that Facebook and Twitter follow suit.

How do I break my social media addiction?

Do you find yourself reaching for your phone to check apps like Facebook? We can help break your addiction.

Social media connects us to new people and ideas — for better or worse. It’s also a massive time suck that can wipe out a whole day and get in the way of accomplishing goals.

The word “addiction” brings to mind drugs and alcohol. It might seem too strong a word to apply to something like social media, right?

Well, not exactly. Though social media addiction has yet to secure an official spot in the DSM, it’s already become quite prevalent in the U.S. and Europe. It is affecting up to 8.2% of the general population.

How often are you on track, knocking tasks off your to-do list when a friend request or Instagram comment derails your progress? One second you’re typing up an email, and the next, you’re deep into some acquaintance’s 2016 vacation pics.

All of us are susceptible to succumbing to these distractions, but there are some things you can do to fight full-blown social media addiction.

Here are some tips you can use to regain control:

Learn why you’re addicted to social media

What is it you hope to gain from opening social media? Uncovering the “why” behind your bad habit does require some introspection.

You might not have a good reason for your endless scrolling. If that’s the case, take a closer look at your motive. Do you hit the ‘gram when you’re stressed or overwhelmed? Or, is it when you’re trying to put off a project you don’t want to start?

Perhaps, you’re seeking connections with the outside world or accessing new information.

In any case, we tend to lean on social media to fill a void. Psychology Today describes this endless scroll as this “wanting activity.” Meaning, we tend to keep looking at our feeds because we’re anticipating some reward.

It’s also a lot easier to veg out in front of your feed than picking up a book or phoning a friend. This just adds to the temptation.

Social media adds 24/7 emotional burdens

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Reset

One way to fight social media addiction is by taking a day off. Consider taking a day each week where you avoid using the phone or your computer.

This gives you some space to schedule some in-person social time. Do some analog reading, or you know, go outside.

That said, a full day of no socializing might add to your anxiety for a lot of people. If that’s you, aim for a couple of hours at a time.

Set ‘micro-boundaries’

Micro-boundaries is a concept developed by University College London researchers. It refers to a handful of ways to set distance between you and your bad social media habits.

The researchers say there are four types of micro-boundaries.

Digital: Separating accounts or using apps that block out certain websites
Physical: Choosing to leave a device at home or keeping it in a drawer at work
Social: Turning your phone on airplane mode or do-not-disturb during social situations
Temporal: Turning alerts off or setting the phone to do-not-disturb for specific hours

The UCL paper does acknowledge that you may need to let others know about these digital boundaries. If you’re a quick responder, then you might need to give people a heads-up.

Focus on what you can add to your life

Like going on a diet, prohibiting the use of social media isn’t sustainable for the long-term. Instead, you should try setting achievable goals. Habit formation depends on training the brain to get that reward satisfaction from a healthier source.

Plan a cell phone-free dinner once a week, get into hiking, biking, or exploring your neighborhood.

How to break a bad habit

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Disable your alerts

Alerts play into our brain’s reward center, providing a rush of dopamine when we hear those familiar sounds.

According to Harvard researchers, Instagram likes, and text messages activate the same release of dopamine you’d receive from completing a “successful social interaction.” The article also notes that dopamine paths are often dysfunctional in people will any type of addiction, be it substance abuse, gambling, or Facebook.

The thing about disabling notifications is, you still have access to everything you want from your phone/computer. However, it provides a level of separation between you and your apps.

Wrapping up

Most of the notifications you receive don’t contain critical time-sensitive information. But for a lot of people, opting out of push notifications can present interpersonal challenges. Your mom or your partner might get annoyed when you don’t respond ASAP.

This study, aptly named The Do Not Disturb Challenge had interesting results. They found that while participants felt more productive after turning off their notifications, they also felt anxious about not being as responsive as expected.

So, again, success may depend on convincing your colleagues and text-happy friends to take a more moderate approach to social media.

How to activate Messenger dark mode

How to activate Dark Mode in Facebook Messenger.

New Facebook Messenger Dark Mode — Image via: Facebook

Last month, we first told you about Facebook Messenger’s new Dark Mode. Facebook did make the feature available to all users but hid it behind a kind of secret code. To unlock it, you had to send a crescent moon emoji to one of your friends. Now though, Facebook has finally announced that the new feature is now built-in to the settings menu for all Messenger users.

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How to activate Dark Mode in Facebook Messenger

To activate Dark Mode in Facebook Messenger all you need to do is:

Step 1

Open Facebook Messenger on your phone and tap your profile photo to access the Settings menu.

Step 2

Tap the Dark Mode toggle button to switch it to the on position.

Step 3

Hit Done in the top-right of the screen and get on with whatever you were doing in Messenger.

Now that there is no secret Easter Egg activation to go through, activating Messenger’s dark mode couldn’t be simpler. The dark mode will be easier on your eyes, won’t glare so much when used at night, and according to research by Google, will save your phone’s battery if you have a device with an OLED screen.

Facebook Messenger might be coming home to the main app

A limited messaging facility has been spotted in some advance code of a Facebook app update.

Back in 2011, Facebook made waves by forcing everybody who wanted to message their Facebook friends to download a standalone app. In a heartbeat, Messenger was created and it has since gone on to have over 1.3 billion active monthly users. Now, almost eight years later, it looks like there is a new strategy at Facebook HQ and that it could include users once again being able to send messages to their Facebook friends via the main app.

A limited messaging facility has been spotted in some advance code of a Facebook app update

Facebook messaging is coming back to the main app — You might soon be able to message your Facebook friends from within the main app

The code has been spotted in a special version of Facebook, which the social giant uses to test new features. According to tech tipster Jane Manchun Wong, the test app includes something all Facebook users will be familiar with but that causes a very different outcome. This is the Messenger chat bubble.

If you open the Facebook app you have on your phone right now and then click the Messenger bubble, your phone will open the separate Messenger app. In the advanced test version of Facebook, this bubble opens up a messaging service right there in the Facebook app.

Chat with friends in the Facebook app — Image via: Twitter

It isn’t quite time to get too excited just yet, as it also appears that Facebook is limiting the functionality of the new in-app messaging to the basics. You can type out messages to your friends but anything more than that and you’ll have to switch over to Messenger. If you’re the type of person who likes to communicate using emojis or GIFs, or if you want to make a call or send photos, you won’t be impressed by the new features.

For now, this new “Chats” section seems to only contain the basic chat functionalities. To give message reactions, make a call, send photos, etc, you’d still have to open the Messenger app

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 12, 2019

This all fits with the new “Merger” strategy that Facebook is working toward as it plans to integrate Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The apps will retain their individual functions, but the plan is to make it easier for users to communicate with each other across the three apps. This latest move to bring messaging back to the Facebook app isn’t supposed to replace Messenger, it is just supposed to bring the Facebook app into the inter-operability that the merger is hoping to achieve.

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This has all been confirmed by Facebook, which told The Verge, “We are testing ways to improve the messaging experience for people within the Facebook app… Messenger remains a feature-rich, stand-alone messaging app with over a billion people using it monthly to connect with the people and businesses they care about most.” It is understood that if a user tries to do something with the new Facebook Chats feature that it can’t do, they’ll then be prompted to open Messenger.

Facebook Chats invite to Messenger — Image via: Twitter

There is no word yet about when the new Facebook Chats feature will roll-out to all Facebook users. When we know more, we’ll let you know.

Twitter dark modes get even darker

Twitter rolls out new even-darker mode features and themes on iOS.

These are dark times indeed. There is a lot going on in the world to warrant such an ominous moniker, but we’re not going to get into them now. These are dark times because dark modes are on the march and it looks like no app is safe from their dark touch. We’ve seen dark modes arrive on Facebook Messenger, and we know that one is coming to WhatsApp. They’re everywhere, and the world is a little darker place for it.

Things aren’t dark enough for Twitter users, though. Again, we’re not talking about the type of darkness you need to download a web extension to block out, but almost. In response to popular demand, and maybe to get one over on all the other apps that have been adding dark modes lately, Twitter is rolling out an even darker mode.

Twitter rolls out new dark mode features and themes on iOS

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According to Twitter, iOS users now have access to a “Dim” dark mode and a “Lights Out” theme. The Dim dark mode uses the dark blue and grey color scale that anybody who has ever used Twitter’s dark mode will already know. The new Lights Out dark mode makes everything jet black. Funnily enough, until now Twitter had always referred to its dark mode as “Night mode” but this has now officially changed, for iPhone users at least.

It was dark. You asked for darker! Swipe right to check out our new dark mode. Rolling out today. pic.twitter.com/6MEACKRK9K

— Twitter (@Twitter) March 28, 2019

How to activate Twitter’s new dark modes on iOS

If you’re an iPhone user and you want to activate the new dark modes, all you need to do is follow these simple instructions. To activate dark mode on Twitter for iOS you need to:

Open the sidebar menu and tap Settings and privacy.
Then hit Display and Sound at the top of the General Settings menu.
Switch on Dark mode by hitting the toggle button found beneath Media previews.
Once you hit the toggle button the two new options will open beneath it. Select Dim if you want Twitter’s traditional dark blue dark mode or Lights out if you want the new jet-black dark mode.

Twitter's new black dark mode — Twitter’s new black dark mode.

Another cool new feature, which Twitter has added is the automatic dark mode. If you activate this feature, Twitter will automatically switch to dark mode at certain hours, like when you’re in bed.

This feature should now be live to all Twitter users who have the app on their iPhone. If you can’t see it on your version of the app you should try closing Twitter completely and then reopening it, as that has worked for a number of users according to a report by 9to5Mac.

Unfortunately, there is still no word about when this feature might land on Twitter for Android. As soon as we hear more on this, we’ll let you know.

How to add a contact to WhatsApp

This is how to add new contacts to WhatsApp on Android and iPhone.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps on the planet with over 1.5 billion users. This makes it one of the world’s leading forms of communication. WhatsApp works very much like SMS messaging does. It isn’t like Facebook Messenger that allows you to search for other users so that you can communicate with them. Instead, you have to know the mobile number of the person you want to speak to and add them to your contact list.

There are two slightly different ways of how to add someone on WhatsApp, depending on whether you use the app on an iPhone or on Android. Let’s have a look at both methods now.