A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Nathalie Collins, Edith Cowan University; Jeff Volkheimer, Duke University, and Paul Haskell-Dowland, Edith Cowan University Business etiquette has one golden rule: treat others with respect and care. The same is true for encouraging cyber safety at work, on everything from password security to keeping valuable information like tax file numbers safe. But how can you [...]
Scroll through the In Real Life (IRL) section of streaming site Twitch and you could be forgiven for thinking, now and then, that you have landed on a camgirl site. Scattered among the artists, cooks and professional eaters are a growing band of young women wearing revealing clothing while they game. Some go further and [...]
Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University COVID has led to children spending more time on screens using social networks, communication apps, chat rooms and online gaming. While this has undoubtedly allowed them to keep in touch with friends, or connect with new ones, during the pandemic, they are also being exposed to increased levels of online [...]
Technology-facilitated abuse refers to the use of mobile, internet and surveillance technologies in interpersonal harms, such as online sexual harassment, stalking, partner violence, and image-based abuse. Australian research has shown that technology-facilitated abuse is a growing problem – in particular, as a tool used by perpetrators in violence against women. Our previous collaborative research into image-based [...]
Anna Ross, University of Melbourne; Elizabeth Paton, University of Newcastle, and Michelle Blanchard, University of Melbourne The media is a key source of information about mental illness for the public, and research shows media coverage can influence public attitudes and perceptions of mental ill-health. But when it comes to complex mental illnesses such as psychosis [...]
Paul Haskell-Dowland, Edith Cowan University and Brianna O'Shea, Edith Cowan University Passwords have been used for thousands of years as a means of identifying ourselves to others and in more recent times, to computers. It’s a simple concept – a shared piece of information, kept secret between individuals and used to “prove” identity. Passwords in [...]
Evita March, Federation University Australia There is an urgent need to understand why people troll. Recent Australian estimates show about one in three internet users have experienced online harassment. Across several research studies, I have attempted to construct the psychological profile of those who trolls to harm others. In my most recent study, conducted with [...]
Hugh Breakey, Griffith University Feature image: Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Earlier this week, 150 high-profile authors, commentators and scholars signed an open letter in Harper’s magazine claiming that “open debate and toleration of differences” are under attack. Signatories included JK Rowling, Margaret Atwood, Gloria Steinem and Noam Chomsky. While prefacing their comments with support [...]
Ginger Gorman has literally written the book on understanding online trolling. In the process she's uncovered entire networks dedicated to harassing individuals off the Internet entirely, as well as poisoning the minds of the young and the vulnerable with hateful ideologies. Sadly, this is just one of the dangers posed by the online world. On [...]
Deepfake software has becoming increasingly sophisticated and easy to use, which means nearly anyone can now create explicit material using someone's image. Young Australian Noelle Martin found this out to her horror when she discovered explicit images of her face on the bodies of adult film actresses online. She had never had a boyfriend, never [...]
