Generation Next Blog

October 2017

Virtual reality headsets could put children’s health at risk 

By |2021-02-22T16:47:08+11:00October 29th, 2017|Categories: Technology|

The researchers found no child experienced serious deterioration in their eyesight. However, in two cases their stereo-acuity – the ability to detect differences in distances – was disrupted, while another child showed a “drastic worsening” of balance immediately after finishing the VR game. These effects were short-lived but were nevertheless noticeable, even though the children [...]

How Childhood Trauma Changes Hormones

By |2021-03-03T17:29:24+11:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Mental Illness, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |

Exposure to traumatic experiences in childhood can have a negative impact on the development of the brain when it’s most vulnerable. Cases of childhood maltreatment are more common than reported; conservative estimates show over 45,000 Australian children were exposed to maltreatment in 2015 and 2016. Adversity in childhood can include experiences such as emotional, physical, and sexual [...]

‘Panic Button’ Mental Health App Released

By |2021-02-22T16:47:03+11:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Technology|Tags: , , , |

An app that allows teens battling mental health issues to send an alert to a personalised support crew is set to launch. Wellington firm Melon Health, formerly Social Code, has designed and developed Code Blue to encourage youth struggling with bullying, anxiety or depression to reach out in their time of need. The app has been years in [...]

Half of NSW Businesses Have No Mental Health Strategy

By |2021-03-02T15:38:02+11:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Mental Illness, Society & Culture|Tags: , , |

NSW employers are failing to address the mental health of their workers appropriately, with the construction and scientific industries among the worst performers, a rigorous new benchmarking tool shows. Fewer than one in 10 (8.8 per cent) of the state's workplaces have an integrated and sustained approach to mental health, according to an independent survey [...]

Using Hip Hop To Build Resilience

By |2017-10-23T12:29:38+11:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |

It's a genre of music that has its origins in the Bronx in New York in the 1960s, but hip hop has been embraced around the world as a potent form of youth culture. Although the form does have its critics — sexist, violent or homophobic language is one common complaint — the genre is [...]

From A Teenage Boy With Anorexia

By |2021-03-04T15:25:56+11:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Eating Disorders, Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , |

Not all silence on mental health problems is down to stigma. Sometimes it’s difficult to articulate what’s wrong. You can’t talk about mental health without talking about stigma. Personally, I don’t like talking about stigma – the more you talk about something, the more you entrench it. People often cite fear of stigma as the [...]

Teenagers Engaging In ‘Digital Self-Harm’

By |2021-03-04T15:13:50+11:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Anxiety, Bullying, Cybersafety, Depression, Society & Culture, Technology|Tags: , , , , , , |

In past decades, teenagers struggling to deal with their emotions might have coped by taking a razor blade to their forearm or extinguishing cigarettes on their skin. Today’s teens, products of the internet era, have found an additional outlet. Approximately 6% of adolescents between 12 and 17 years old engage in a practice known as [...]

‘Steep Rise’ In Self-Harm Among Teenage Girls

By |2021-03-02T15:39:10+11:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Mental Illness|Tags: , , |

There has been a steep rise in reports of self-harm among girls aged 13 to 16, according to a study of data from GP practices across the UK. The BMJ study, which looked at figures from 2011-2014, said GPs could be getting better at picking up self-harm. But it was likely that rising stress and [...]

6 Easy Ways To Support Your Child’s Mental Health

By |2017-10-23T12:29:24+11:00October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , |

Children's mental health in Britain is seeing a steady decline, with the latest statistics showing that over half of mental health problems start by the age of 14 and 75% by the age of 18. In the news out today, Childline even revealed it has carried out its highest number of counselling sessions with young people having suicidal [...]

Go to Top