A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Jamilla Rosdahl, Australian College of Applied Psychology A new trend taking over TikTok is targeting vulnerable young men. The “looksmaxxing” phenomenon – to maximise one’s looks – is aimed at young men and boys who want to change their appearance to become more attractive and gain social acceptance. Unhappy with their appearance, teenage boys and [...]
Deborah Lupton, UNSW Sydney This is the final article in The Conversation’s six-part series on insomnia, which charts the rise of insomnia during industrialisation to sleep apps today. Read other articles in the series here. Insomnia is not just a personal issue that affects an individual’s health and wellbeing. It’s a public health issue, affecting [...]
Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University A war has erupted around young people’s use social media and it is messy. In the United States, surgeon general Vivek Murthy has recommended cigarette packet-like warnings for platforms like Instagram to remind teens and parents social media “has not proved safe”. In Australia, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he [...]
Jenny Gore, University of Newcastle and Drew Miller, University of Newcastle Australian schools are facing unsustainable pressures. There are almost daily reports of too many students falling behind and not enough teachers to teach them. Meanwhile, the teachers we do have are stressed, overworked and lack adequate support in the classroom. Governments are well aware [...]
Dr Andrew Deuchar Australia has been in the grip of a crisis in public education for well over a decade. Teachers are burnt out and leaving the profession in large numbers. Enrolments in teaching courses have dropped and many students who start courses are not finishing their degrees. Many attempts to fix public education [...]
Maria Nicholas, Deakin University; Andrew Skourdoumbis, Deakin University, and Ondine Bradbury, Monash University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school students are not achieving their potential. A previous review in 2019 estimated [...]
Elise Waghorn, RMIT University It’s a weeknight, parents rush through the door from work, grab a snack, and then speed off in various directions to children’s extracurricular activities. As they do, they are managing tired and hungry kids as they all move from one thing to the next. Sound familiar? As of 2022–23, almost 50% [...]
Associate Professor Suzanne Rice, Dr Alice Garner and Professor Lorraine Graham Australia’s teaching workforce doesn’t reflect the diversity of our population. That means too many Australian children are missing out on the opportunity to be taught by someone who looks like them. Only one per cent of teachers report a disability – compared with 18 [...]
Associate Professor Dani Tomlin, Dr Christine Nearchou, Dr Miya St John, Dr Peter Carew and Dr Ruth Braden As the new school year begins, parents are often busy with new school shoes, covering schoolbooks and hunting out the right lunchboxes and pencil cases to get their children through. However, often overlooked in preparing children for [...]
Lawson R. Wulsin, University of Cincinnati COVID-19 taught most people that the line between tolerable and toxic stress – defined as persistent demands that lead to disease – varies widely. But some people will age faster and die younger from toxic stressors than others. So how much stress is too much, and what can you [...]
