A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
13.5% of commercials on kids TV channels contain some form of violent, disturbing, or sexual behaviour. A recent study Commercials on Children's Television: Not So Child Friendly looked at the association between viewing commercials with aggressive and violent content on children's television with violent and antisocial behaviour later in life. Researchers looked at the content of [...]
Susan McLean, Cyber Safety Expert and Generation Next speaker gives the following advice on how to help protect young people from being bullied online. Do not reply to rude or nasty comments. Immediately tell an adult if you feel uncomfortable or worried online. If someone is being mean or nasty on MSN – block them. [...]
Experts have been screaming about internet safety and the potential perils of cyber space for some time now. A recent case of a man in America, who took information from Facebook profiles and then hacked into women’s email accounts, highlights the dangers that are out there in virtual world. The most shocking thing about this [...]
The possibility of having your identity stolen and then illicitly used is one step closer now the social networking site Facebook has given developers of applications access to the contact information of users who install their applications. Facebook issued an online statement saying "These permissions must be explicitly granted to your application by the user [...]
Shorter attention spans The need for Sensationalism Inability to empathise with others Poor sense of identity Young people who spend hours in the world of virtual relationships are at a greater risk of psychological damage according to leading UK neuroscientist, Lady Greenfield, professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln College Oxford. She is urging the UK [...]
The Queensland Police force has put together some tips on what to look out for if you think your child or a young person you know has been approached by an online predator. You find pornography on your child’s computer. Child sex offenders sometimes use pornography as a way of opening sexual discussion. It may [...]
Two teenage boys aged 15 and 16 years old from WA who have pleaded guilty to the rape of a 14 year old girl has again highlighted the growing legal implications of sexting. Sexting is becoming increasingly popular among teenagers despite the fact that cases are now appearing where teenagers are being charged for capturing [...]
The American Academy of Pediatrics has previously found that American children between the ages of 2 and 18 years old spend an average of 6 hours and 32 minutes each day using media (television, commercial or self-recorded video, movies, video games, print, radio, recorded music, computer, and the Internet). A new report also published in [...]
92% of kids socialise with family and friends online 62 % of kids aged 8 to 17 have had negative experiences online 55% of kids have made friends online* Officially young people have to be 13 years old before they can open an account on the social networking site Facebook, however peer and social pressures are [...]
On average web browsers spend less than 10 seconds looking at a page. There is a new body of scientific evidence emerging that shows the dangers of over exposure to the internet and ‘instant’ information, especially in adolescents. The attention span and ability to focus and concentrate seems to be diminished in those who spend [...]
