The internet is pretty much the air we all breathe now. It’s where we communicate, shop, find entertainment and discover what’s happening. It’s also where businesses track so much of what we do.
So it behooves us to know how all that works, for good and for ill, and to learn how we can take control of our online lives. That’s the subject of CNET’s new Citizen Now series, which launched this week with stories that examine our massive digital footprints and what we can do to protect our personal data, that explore how to use social media for good and that introduce us to people fighting misinformation. The series also looks into how to be on your best behavior in the metaverse and how Estonia created a nationwide digital identity that could serve as a model for all of us.
Those stories are among the many in-depth features and thought-provoking commentaries that appeared on CNET this week. So here you go. These are the stories you don’t want to miss.
Just about everything about you is online, whether you put it there or not.
Zooey Liao
Commentary: WhatsApp offers speedy access across computers and tablets, even when your phone’s switched off.
James Martin/CNET
“Do you want an edit button?” Musk’s frank tweets provide a glimpse into what the tech mogul wants to fix.
Getty Images
For these grad students, going down the rabbit hole is required to get a degree.
Naomi Antonino/CNET
Commentary: Wyze has taught us a valuable lesson.
Chris Monroe/CNET
CEO Peggy Johnson explains why a focus on the business sector with its new, smaller headset can transform the augmented-reality market.
Scott Stein/CNET
Commentary: Nearly everyone gets earworms, but is TikTok making them more potent?
James Martin/CNET
As part of CNET’s series Mysteries of the Brain, the popular author and Defector writer shares how a fall to a concrete floor changed his life forever.
Drew Magary
A cautionary tale about a new type of financial fraud.
Westend61/Getty
Watch this:
Fake News Real Talk: Your Brain Is Fooling You
4:49
