Cybersafety

TikTok promotes vaping as a fun, safe and socially accepted pastime – and omits the harms

Renee Carey, Curtin University and Jonine Jancey, Curtin University Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook overwhelmingly show vaping in a positive light. This messaging makes it seem that e-cigarette use is common and socially accepted. Traditional tobacco advertising has been banned in Australia for decades. However, e-cigarettes are widely promoted on social [...]

By |2023-06-06T09:40:00+10:00May 29th, 2023|Categories: Cybersafety, Wellbeing|Tags: |0 Comments

Teenage brains are drawn to popular social media challenges – here’s how parents can get their kids to think twice

Elisa M. Trucco, Florida International University and Julie Cristello, Florida International University Viral social media trends started innocently enough. In the early 2010s there was planking, the “Harlem Shake” dance and lip syncing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s summer anthem “Call Me Maybe.” Then came the ice bucket challenge, which raised an estimated US$115 million for [...]

By |2023-06-15T14:49:33+10:00May 26th, 2023|Categories: Cybersafety, Technology|Tags: |0 Comments

‘Kidfluencer’ culture is harming kids in several ways – and there’s no meaningful regulation of it

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 [...]

By |2023-06-15T14:49:16+10:00May 26th, 2023|Categories: Cybersafety, Social Media, Society & Culture, Technology|Tags: |0 Comments

3 ways app developers keep kids glued to the screen – and what to do about it

Sumudu Mallawaarachchi, Deakin University and Sharon Horwood, Deakin University From learning numbers to learning how to brush your teeth, it seems there’s a kids’ app for everything. Recent US statistics indicate more than half of toddlers and three-quarters of preschoolers regularly access mobile apps. So it’s no surprise there has been an explosion of options [...]

By |2022-11-21T11:50:08+11:00October 18th, 2022|Categories: Cybersafety, Screen Use, Technology|0 Comments

Another school has banned mobile phones but research shows bans don’t stop bullying or improve student grades

Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University This week, one Sydney high school made headlines for banning mobile phones during school hours. Phones can come to school but must stay in locked pouches allowing teachers to “focus on educating students”. This follows other recent phone bans at both public and private schools around Australia. In 2020, Victoria [...]

By |2022-08-15T11:36:24+10:00August 15th, 2022|Categories: Bullying, Cybersafety, Education|Tags: |0 Comments

Child sex offenders preying on Australian boys for money

The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is warning that Australia is seeing a global trend in the crime of sexual extortion, with a spike in the number of Australian boys being preyed on by international sex offenders, who are grooming them into producing explicit images and then extorting them for money. The ACCCE [...]

By |2022-06-20T11:26:50+10:00June 20th, 2022|Categories: Cybersafety, Society & Culture|Tags: |0 Comments

How to encourage cyber-safe behaviour at work without becoming the office grouch

Nathalie Collins, Edith Cowan University; Jeff Volkheimer, Duke University, and Paul Haskell-Dowland, Edith Cowan University Business etiquette has one golden rule: treat others with respect and care. The same is true for encouraging cyber safety at work, on everything from password security to keeping valuable information like tax file numbers safe. But how can you [...]

By |2021-03-18T09:38:36+11:00March 1st, 2021|Categories: Cybersafety|0 Comments

Calls for Twitch to Police ‘Sexual Streaming’

Scroll through the In Real Life (IRL) section of streaming site Twitch and you could be forgiven for thinking, now and then, that you have landed on a camgirl site. Scattered among the artists, cooks and professional eaters are a growing band of young women wearing revealing clothing while they game. Some go further and [...]

By |2021-02-22T16:51:55+11:00February 22nd, 2021|Categories: Cybersafety, Technology|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Young people are exposed to more hate online during COVID. And it risks their health

Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University COVID has led to children spending more time on screens using social networks, communication apps, chat rooms and online gaming. While this has undoubtedly allowed them to keep in touch with friends, or connect with new ones, during the pandemic, they are also being exposed to increased levels of online [...]

By |2021-02-25T15:53:50+11:00November 13th, 2020|Categories: Cybersafety, Social Media|0 Comments

Examining the extent, nature and impact of tech-facilitated abuse

Technology-facilitated abuse refers to the use of mobile, internet and surveillance technologies in interpersonal harms, such as online sexual harassment, stalking, partner violence, and image-based abuse. Australian research has shown that technology-facilitated abuse is a growing problem – in particular, as a tool used by perpetrators in violence against women. Our previous collaborative research into image-based [...]

By |2020-09-22T15:29:33+10:00September 22nd, 2020|Categories: Cybersafety|0 Comments
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