A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Pixabay Images I admit we were naive. We didn't quite get when computers entered their classrooms and their bedrooms ("the teacher said I have to do it online mum!"), that the Net – while holding incredible opportunities for learning – also opened up a whole new nefarious world of shallows and shoals, of [...]
JGI/Tom Grill/Getty Images/Blend Images Our love of social media seems to have grown and grown in the past decade, but recent studies show the tide may be turning for some platforms, with young people in particular ditching Facebook. One study claims that more than 11 million teenagers left Facebook between 2011 and 2014. [...]
Flickr Images Susan* bought her 6-year-old son John an iPad when he was in first grade. “I thought, ‘Why not let him get a jump on things?’ ” she told me during a therapy session. John’s school had begun using the devices with younger and younger grades — and his technology teacher had [...]
Flickr Images People convey meaning by what they say as well as how they say it: Tone, word choice, and the length of a phrase are all crucial cues to understanding what’s going on in someone’s mind. When a psychiatrist or psychologist examines a person, they listen for these signals to get a [...]
Pixabay Images Pokémon GO is only days old, but already it’s a monster success. It’s all over the news and social feeds, crashed servers here in Australia and compelled millions of big and little kids world-wide to hit the streets to chase colourful creatures that don’t really exist. Yeah great, you say, but [...]
Pixabay Images The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is reiterating its long-standing appeal for parents to keep children away from violent movies and video games. “Although there is broad scientific consensus that virtual violence increases aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, there has been little public action to help mitigate children’s exposure to it,” [...]
I’m not from Australia originally, but since arriving I’ve come to embrace this continent’s unique sport of Aussie Rules Football. I enjoyed a Friday night game at a friend’s house recently, and watched Channel 7’s post-game Friday Front Bar for the first time. Filmed in front of a live audience at a Richmond Hotel, it [...]
PhotoPin Images There are things he's seen on the internet that have disturbed and upset him. But none of it is porn. "My friend showed me something on his phone." Bühre is obviously so uncomfortable about what he saw in the video that it takes him several seconds to explain to me [...]
When Susan Sohn's teenagers go out she warns them: "If I even suspect you're not doing the right thing I will show up – and I don't care about your reputation." The Canadian mother believes firm boundaries and open lines of communication are the reasons she has never had serious issues with Sophia or Gabriel drinking or taking [...]
Pixabay Images Graduation: classically peppered by parties, gifts, and champagne toasts to the happy memories of university life. Not all the seniors donning their caps and gowns during this year’s commencement season will be leaving behind four years of joy and wonder, however. Far from it. For tens of thousands, the college experience [...]
