A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Judith Ireland, The Conversation and Matt Garrow, The Conversation The Albanese government has announced it will introduce a social media ban for children. The government has not yet nominated a minimum age but is trialling age-assurance mechanisms for those aged 13–16. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the legislation will be introduced this year. This follows [...]
Taren Sanders, Australian Catholic University; Chris Lonsdale, Australian Catholic University; Michael Noetel, The University of Queensland, and Philip D Parker, Australian Catholic University Ask any parent and it’s likely they’ll tell you they’re worried about their kids’ screen time. A 2021 poll found it was Australian parents’ number one health concern for their kids – [...]
Catherine Jane Archer, Edith Cowan University and Kate Delmo, University of Technology Sydney Parents share content of their children for myriad reasons, including to connect with friends and family, and to seek validation or support. However, some parents also do this for commercial gain. They manage their children as social media “kidfluencers” – allowing them [...]
The recent decision of the major law firm MinterEllison to sever ties with the Adelaide Festival because it invited two Palestinian writers whose views the firm finds objectionable is one of many recent examples of “cancel culture”. In Australia, they also include promoters cancelling tours of bands accused of far-right sympathies, and of bands cancelling themselves because [...]
Lowri Dowthwaite-Walsh, University of Central Lancashire If you’re looking for ways to bring more positive changes into your life, TikTok recommends jumping on the “lucky girl syndrome” trend. The hashtag links countless videos, all claiming this new form of positive thinking can help you achieve your goals. If you haven’t already come across one of [...]
Catherine Page Jeffery, University of Sydney The surgeon general is the “nation’s doctor” in the United States. They are tasked with giving Americans the “best scientific information” about their health. Late last month, the current US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, warned 13 is too young to join social media. He said it poses a risk [...]
Sharon Horwood, Deakin University A ping from the pizza company. A couple of pings from your socials. Ping, ping, ping from your family WhatsApp group trying to organise a weekend barbecue. With all those smartphone notifications, it’s no wonder you lose focus on what you’re trying to do do. Your phone doesn’t even need to [...]
Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer and Head of Gambling and Social Determinants unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine In Australia, advertising for online wagering is permitted. Such ads are subject to what the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) describes as “strict rules”. Many parents might think their “strictness” highly debatable. The Victorian Responsible Gambling [...]
By Catherine Draper, University of the Witwatersrand It comes as no surprise that children are spending more time watching screens as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and caregivers in many parts of the world – including South Africa, where I have done research on children’s healthy behaviours – have had a hard time [...]
By Dr Piers Gooding, Dr Rys Farthing and Emily Painter In 2018, a Melbourne high school mistakenly released the personal digital records of hundreds of students. Among the records were details of students’ “mental health conditions, medications, learning and behavioural difficulties”. This was bad enough but globally breaches of privacy like this can be much [...]
