What can parents do? Jacquelyn Harverson, Louise Paatsch and Sharon Horwood look at the links between digital technology use and young children’s well-being. Once upon a time, children fought for control of the remote to the sole family television. Now, the choice of screen-based content available to kids...
YouTube hosts a lot of garbage – but the government is right to let kids keep watching it, report Catherine Page Jeffery and Joanne Gray When the Australian government passed legislation in November last year banning young people under 16 from social media, it included exemptions...
Xbox and Minecraft’s Initiative: Sharing “Top 5 Tips for Safe Gaming” to support families in Australia and New Zealand. Safer Internet Day & Online Gaming Safety High Gaming Engagement: Australia: 89% of children (8-17) play online; 40% interact with strangers. New Zealand: 80% of children (8-17)...
A new trial will test 3 options, reports Toby Murray, Associate Professor of Cybersecurity When federal parliament passed legislation last week which will ban under 16s from social media, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrated. Posting on X, he said: “We’re doing everything we can to keep...
How it will work remains a mystery, reports Lisa M. Given The federal parliament has passed legislation to ban people under 16 from having an account with some social media platforms. In doing so, it has ignored advice from a chorus of experts – and from the...
Can Screen Time Really Impact Kids' Mental Clarity and Wellbeing? Researchers from UNSW’s School of Psychology investigate. With digital devices now ever-present in children’s lives, many parents worry about potential mental and emotional consequences of excessive screen time. Is there any truth to ‘brain rot’—the idea...
Research conducted online amongst Australian parents finds two-thirds of parents feel guilty about their kids’ internet use, writes Dr Kimberley O’Brien. A national survey of more than 1,000 adults with children aged up to 18 years found more than two-thirds (70%) of parents report feeling anxious...
Wearables can lead people to stress more about their health, writes Caleb Ferguson Wearable trackers and monitors (such as smartwatches) are increasingly popular and sophisticated. For people living with heart conditions, they can provide important information, including updates about abnormalities in heart rate and rhythm. But a...
Social robot or digital avatar, users interact with this AI technology as if it’s real, report Brigitte Viljoen and Elizabeth Day Humans are interacting more than ever with artificial intelligence (AI) – from the development of the first “social robots” (a robot with a physical body...
Some online platforms are starting to measure ‘student engagement’ at school, writes Chris Zomer. Here’s what you need to know. There is increasing concern children are less focused in school. This is often blamed on smartphones and social media. At the same time, there is significant pressure...
