A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
The Australian government has announced a $3 million pilot project aimed at assessing and reducing cyber-bullying in Australian schools. The Australia-wide project is intended to educate students about cyber-bullying, monitor the prevalence and impact of cyber-bullying, and assess the effectiveness of current cyber-safety education programs. The project is being trialled in at least 150 schools [...]
For most people, playing video games is a harmless hobby. For some people however, video games can become an obsession, leading to a number of addictive tendencies including the preference to play games rather then engaging in regular activities. Unfortunately there is a lack of reliable studies examining video game addiction and so little is [...]
A 2006 US study found that 1 in 7 (13%) children had received a sexual solicitation or been approached online within the previous 12 months; 1 in 3 (34%) had unwanted exposure to pictures of naked people or people having sex; 1 in 11 (9%) were threatened or harassed; and 1 in 25 (4%) received [...]
A third of children aged 8 to 12 use the internet on a daily basis and this figure rises to half for teenagers, while at least 90% of Australian homes with children have an internet connection. The top three most popular online activities for children are instant messaging, surfing, and email, and many children are [...]
Sexting has become a serious problem in our youth, with one study finding 69% of the teens they surveyed had sent a sext a girlfriend or boyfriend, so to help combat it the Australian Government has issued a fact sheet for parents to help their children avoid the dangers of sexting. The fact sheet contains [...]
There have been renewed calls for the government to move their focus away from censorship, this time with suggestions for the money to be diverted to better fund cyberbullying programs. The calls came from the Electronic Frontiers Australia, who said there was insufficient evidence to justify the costly proposed internet filter, instead calling bullying the [...]
Child group Save the Children has opposed the government's plans to create a mandatory internet filter, saying the filter will not be effective and the money saved should be spent instead on education and law enforcement. The internet filter has been criticised for being ineffective, and a statement from Save the Children recommended the money [...]
You can now subscribe to the Generation Next e-newsletter! The newsletter will feature articles from our speakers, including Dr Michael Carr-Gregg talking about depression and Susan McLean talking about cybersafety, and will also provide you with updates and alerts regarding the Generation Next seminar series. The featured articles will discuss the unique challenges facing generations [...]
A survey by the ACMA showed that kids appeared to be aware of online risks, with 75 per cent saying they knew not to give out their address or phone number online and were aware of the potential for online impostors. However, despite this knowledge, the survey showed that some young people were still engaging [...]
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has relaunched its Cybersmart website with an aim to educate kids, parents and teachers on how to safely use the internet. It features three sites for different age groups of children, as well as sites for parents, libraries and schools. "The world online is powerful and engaging for [...]
