A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
We’re much more likely to be hanging out on social media than at the watercooler these days. But just because we’re no longer face-to-face when we chat, doesn’t mean our communication is completely disembodied. Over the last three decades, psychologists, linguists, and anthropologists, along with researchers from other traditions, have come together to understand how [...]
The recent SMH article outlining author Mem Fox's genuine concern about the increasing use of technology as a replacement for parental interaction with their kids was spot-on, and should raise alarm bells - but will it? I know I'm not Gen X, Y or Z - happy to admit I am a Baby Boomer - [...]
This study contrasts a rash of research suggesting social media and overuse of technology causes depression and can lower self-esteem. Unlike those studies, which focused on people who use mobile technology and social networks to compare themselves to others, the UC Berkeley texting study focused on person-to-person communication, which may account for the divergent results.Instead [...]
New research shows that both sending and receiving text messages can improve your mood if you are feeling stressed or lonely. Text messaging may be blamed for contributing to illiteracy but the study indicates there are clear mental health benefits. Psychologists at the University of California , Berkeley, found people suffering from depression reported feeling [...]
90% of 15 to 17 year olds own a mobile phone* Girlfriend magazine: 40% of girl readers had sent explicit photos Mental Health & Wellbeing of Young People seminar speaker and Cyber safety expert Susan McLean defines sexting as: the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between mobile phones, but can [...]
A school principal fed up with cyber-bullying has used his usually sedate newsletter column to send a blunt message to parents. “GET YOUR KIDS OFF FACEBOOK. This verbal sewer is harming your children”. This is the warning sent by headmaster Chris Duncan of Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School, in Tweed Heads who used the school newsletter [...]
Useful link: BBC Radio 4 regularly broadcasts Teenage Kicks which looks at youth issues. Go to BBC Radio 4 to check out when it next airs While researching a BBC Radio 4 documentary for the program Teenage Kicks, producer Lizz Pearson uncovered some very disturbing views held by teenagers regarding what is and is not [...]
In september 2009 Bristol University and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the UK completed a ground breaking report Partner exploitation and violence in teenage intimate relationships. The report explored the issues of exploitation and violence in teenage intimate relationships. It provides a detailed picture of the incidence and [...]
At first glance it would seem that choosing Video Hits as a Media Partner for the recently held Australian National Youth Week made perfect sense, all teenagers are into music of some sort. Music crosses the great divide and is accessible to everyone; it can communicate on a level without barriers. But when we see [...]
An American study of sexting, the practice for teens to send nude or near-nude images of themselves via mobile phones, in 12-17 year olds found that the practice is not as common as widely believed. While the study found that 15% of teens with their own mobile phones have received sexts, only 4% had reported [...]
