{"id":19027,"date":"2021-04-20T11:59:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T03:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=19027"},"modified":"2021-05-27T11:16:26","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T03:16:26","slug":"escaping-the-matrix-editors-note","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2021\/04\/escaping-the-matrix-editors-note\/","title":{"rendered":"Escaping the Matrix \u2013  Editor&#8217;s Note"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Amid the pandemic, our digital selves have become just as \u2013\nor perhaps even more \u2013 important than our physical selves. With more and more facets\nof our lives online, more and more people are concerned about their digital\nfootprint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our <em>Periscope<\/em> section looks into the different ways\npeople try to escape the matrix online in China and in Hong Kong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clubhouse, an invitation-only audio-chatting app, has\nexploded in popularity since early February 2021. In China, the app occupied a\nspecial position as a temporary Wild West where users could discuss sensitive topics\nwithout censorship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But just as quickly as it caught on, it was gone. Clubhouse\nwas banned in China on February 8, 2021. New users can no longer join even if\nthey use a VPN, since they cannot receive the SMS verification code to activate\ntheir account. In light of the ban, a <em>Varsity<\/em> reporter covers the fleeting\nyet compelling impact of Clubhouse on its Chinese users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Hong Kong, a growing number of users are turning to privacy-focused services to conceal their digital footprint. An exodus from WhatsApp to Signal has begun over concerns about changes to WhatsApp\u2019s privacy policy. WhatsApp\u2019s new terms provide more features for businesses to interact with users, stirring fears over whether Facebook will share users\u2019 data with businesses. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another trend is the use of VPNs, triggered by anxiety over\nthe National Security Law. One of our reporters explores the appeal and\nsecurity features of these burgeoning services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This issue of <em>Varsity<\/em> also features stories about other\ndiverse social issues. In Hong Kong, reporters investigate challenges faced by\nstreet cleaners under the pandemic, developments in death education, and a\ntrend of getting tattoos with political messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In China, reporters examine the phenomenon of \u2018revenge\nbedtime procrastination\u2019, difficulties faced by delivery workers, and impacts of\nsubtitle groups in bringing censored content to a Chinese audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope you have an enjoyable read!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3-1024x548.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19032\" width=\"146\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3-1024x548.png 1024w, https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3-768x411.png 768w, https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3-696x373.png 696w, https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3-1068x572.png 1068w, https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3-785x420.png 785w, https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3-1920x1028.png 1920w, https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/dessin_3.png 2040w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 146px) 100vw, 146px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Patricia Ricafort<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Managing Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid the pandemic, our digital selves have become just as \u2013 or perhaps even more \u2013 important than our physical selves. With more and more facets of our lives online, more and more people are concerned about their digital footprint. Our Periscope section looks into the different ways people try to escape the matrix online [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,1770],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editor-note","category-issue-159"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19027"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19166,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19027\/revisions\/19166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}