A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Annabel Blake, University of Sydney; Eduardo Velloso, University of Sydney, and Marcus Carter, University of Sydney In 2022, the founders of chatbot startup Character.AI launched a platform where anyone could create interactive characters powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The app exploded, quickly growing to more than 20 million users who created more than 10 [...]
Susanna Trnka, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Health isn’t what it used to be – namely the absence of being sick. Ask any teenager today what it means to them to be healthy, and you’re likely to hear about the vast array of areas in their lives they are “working on”. This can [...]
Catherine Page Jeffery, University of Sydney From December 10, those under 16 will only be able to see publicly available content on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube. They will not be able to have their own accounts. For example, they could look up Taylor Swift’s latest music video on YouTube, [...]
Christiane Kehoe, The University of Melbourne and Elizabeth Westrupp, Deakin University Watching your teenager grieve the loss of their social media account can be confronting. Many are genuinely distressed or struggling with the change, and many parents are unsure how to respond. Australia’s social media ban, which started this week, means teens under the age [...]
Micah Boerma, University of Southern Queensland and Daniel You, University of Sydney In less than four months, world-first legislation will ban Australian under-16s from certain social media platforms. Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, X, Reddit and YouTube will all be off limits for children and teens. It’s still not clear exactly how the restrictions will be [...]
How new legislation and expert insights are reshaping online safety for young Australians In 2024, the Australian Government made headlines by announcing its intent to raise the minimum age for access to major social media platforms. The reforms would restrict young people’s access to platforms including TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat until the age of 16 [...]
Download article as a PDF Checking in again from 2040. When technology finally learned to talk to itself, the result wasn’t just incremental change—it was a fundamental shift. The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) didn’t just mean more connected devices; it meant systems that worked together in ways we hadn’t anticipated. Across [...]
Brian N. Chin, Trinity College “Avoid screens before bed” is one of the most common pieces of sleep advice. But what if the real problem isn’t screen time − it’s the way we use social media at night? Sleep deprivation is one of the most widespread yet overlooked public health issues, especially among young adults [...]
Michael Freeman, Bond University Social media is full of claims that everyday habits can harm your skin. It’s also full of recommendations or advertisements for products that can protect you. Now social media has blue light from our devices in its sights. So can scrolling on our phones really damage your skin? And will applying [...]
Download article as a PDF Greetings from 2040. The world’s accelerating rate of change has reshaped everything—including education. In the early days, we struggled to keep up. The enthusiasm of teachers, while admirable, risked burning them out as they tried to stay ahead of each new wave of innovation. No one wanted a return [...]
