Australia passes landmark social media ban for under-16s

ustralia has passed landmark rules to ban under-16s from social media, approving one of the world’s toughest crackdowns on popular sites like Facebook, Instagram and X.

The legislation ordering social media firms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent young teens from having accounts was passed in the Senate with 34 votes in favour and 19 against.

Read the full article on NZ Herald.

How do I keep my kid off social media (when I can’t get myself off social media)?

The amount our kids use technology, including social media, is the number one worry for 70% of New Zealand parents, according to the latest State of the Nation Parenting Survey from NIB. Now get this stat: 50% of parents admit they are addicted to their own devices.‍

Research

A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents

This systematic review synthesised evidence on the influence of social media use on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. All domains correlated with depression, anxiety and psychological distress.

Research

Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media

The relationship between social media use and life satisfaction changes across adolescent development. Our analyses of two UK datasets comprising 84,011 participants (10–80 years old) find that the cross-sectional relationship between self-reported estimates of social media use and life satisfaction ratings is most negative in younger adolescents.

Article