Social Media

TV can be educational but social media likely harms mental health: what 70 years of research tells us about children and screens

Taren Sanders, Australian Catholic University; Chris Lonsdale, Australian Catholic University; Michael Noetel, The University of Queensland, and Philip D Parker, Australian Catholic University Ask any parent and it’s likely they’ll tell you they’re worried about their kids’ screen time. A 2021 poll found it was Australian parents’ number one health concern for their kids – [...]

By |2024-03-07T14:31:22+11:00March 7th, 2024|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Screen Use, Social Media|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

Taking a critical look at cancel culture

The recent decision of the major law firm MinterEllison to sever ties with the Adelaide Festival because it invited two Palestinian writers whose views the firm finds objectionable is one of many recent examples of “cancel culture”. In Australia, they also include promoters cancelling tours of bands accused of far-right sympathies, and of bands cancelling themselves because [...]

By |2023-03-29T16:07:26+11:00March 29th, 2023|Categories: Social Media, Technology|Tags: |0 Comments

Lucky girl syndrome: the potential dark side of TikTok’s extreme positive thinking trend

Lowri Dowthwaite-Walsh, University of Central Lancashire If you’re looking for ways to bring more positive changes into your life, TikTok recommends jumping on the “lucky girl syndrome” trend. The hashtag links countless videos, all claiming this new form of positive thinking can help you achieve your goals. If you haven’t already come across one of [...]

By |2023-03-16T12:07:35+11:00March 13th, 2023|Categories: Social Media, Technology|Tags: |0 Comments

Is 13 too young to have a TikTok or Instagram account?

Catherine Page Jeffery, University of Sydney The surgeon general is the “nation’s doctor” in the United States. They are tasked with giving Americans the “best scientific information” about their health. Late last month, the current US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, warned 13 is too young to join social media. He said it poses a risk [...]

By |2023-02-23T17:29:02+11:00February 21st, 2023|Categories: Social Media, Technology|Tags: |0 Comments

Ping, your pizza is on its way. Ping, please rate the driver. Yes, constant notifications really do tax your brain

Sharon Horwood, Deakin University A ping from the pizza company. A couple of pings from your socials. Ping, ping, ping from your family WhatsApp group trying to organise a weekend barbecue. With all those smartphone notifications, it’s no wonder you lose focus on what you’re trying to do do. Your phone doesn’t even need to [...]

By |2023-01-16T15:37:30+11:00December 10th, 2022|Categories: Screen Use, Social Media, Wellbeing|Tags: |0 Comments

TikTok’s hosting of gambling ads underlines the pervasiveness of the problem

Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer and Head of Gambling and Social Determinants unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine In Australia, advertising for online wagering is permitted. Such ads are subject to what the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) describes as “strict rules”. Many parents might think their “strictness” highly debatable. The Victorian Responsible Gambling [...]

By |2022-11-24T11:50:46+11:00November 24th, 2022|Categories: Social Media|0 Comments

Children and screens – making it through the holidays

By Catherine Draper, University of the Witwatersrand It comes as no surprise that children are spending more time watching screens as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and caregivers in many parts of the world – including South Africa, where I have done research on children’s healthy behaviours – have had a hard time [...]

By |2022-11-21T17:40:20+11:00December 15th, 2021|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Screen Use, Social Media, Technology|Tags: |0 Comments

Data protection is a mental health issue for young people

By Dr Piers Gooding, Dr Rys Farthing and Emily Painter  In 2018, a Melbourne high school mistakenly released the personal digital records of hundreds of students. Among the records were details of students’ “mental health conditions, medications, learning and behavioural difficulties”. This was bad enough but globally breaches of privacy like this can be much [...]

By |2021-12-06T14:15:23+11:00December 6th, 2021|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Screen Use, Social Media, Technology|Tags: |0 Comments

Instagram and its damage to teen girls’ body image

The harmful impact Instagram has on teenage girls and their negative body image perceptions may just lie in the essence of the platform itself. Dr Jasmine Fadouly, a Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales, says that Instagram being an image-based platform, makes it ‘difficult to not be appearance-focused’. An internal Instagram [...]

By |2021-09-20T16:03:36+10:00September 20th, 2021|Categories: Social Media|Tags: |0 Comments
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