Australia is banning social media for kids under 16. How will it work?

rom 10 December, social media companies will have to take "reasonable steps" to ensure that under-16s in Australia cannot set up accounts on their platforms and that existing accounts are deactivated or removed.

The government says the ban - a world-first policy popular with many parents - is aimed at reducing the "pressures and risks" children can be exposed to on social media, which come from "design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing".

A study commissioned by the government earlier this year said 96% of children aged 10-15 used social media and that seven out of 10 of them had been exposed to harmful content and behaviour. This behaviour ranged from misogynistic material to fight videos and content promoting eating disorders and suicide.

Read the full article on BBC.

Australians must prove they are over 18 to access porn under new laws

Australians must prove they are over 18 before they can access adult content such as porn, R-rated video games and sexually explicit AI chatbots under new laws. The changes will protect children from harmful content, with platforms fined for breaches, Australia's online safety regulator said.

News

Government to legalise online casinos – won’t make them give community funding

Hundreds of millions of dollars of grants go to community groups every year from gambling, including pokies, Lotto and casinos – but legal online casinos wouldn’t have to, under new government plans. Steve Kilgallon reports.

Science

Limiting social media use decreases depression, anxiety, and fear of missing out in youth with emotional distress: A randomized controlled trial.

Although many youth may not be harmed by heavy SMU, distressed youth may be particularly vulnerable. The aim of this study was to experimentally examine the effects of reducing SMU on smartphones on symptoms of depression, anxiety, fear of missing out (FoMO), and sleep in youth with emotional distress. Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed significantly greater reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and FoMO, and greater increases in sleep.

Screen Sense