1/7: 🚨 #Published : My introduction to a special issue of Journal of Adolescence advocates clarity & specificity about 'the digital” when researching #adolescence #mentalhealth

📚o/a paper at: doi.org/10.1002/jad.12…

#DigitalFutures4Children @ySKILLS #teens #safety LSE Media & Communications

Tech companies are most certainly to blame for creating unsafe and dangerous platforms but consider whether you are one of the many parents repeatedly asking your child to turn off their smartphone whilst you scroll yours 🤔 Smartphone Free Childhood Jonathan Haidt 5Rights Foundation

'They are making money out of our children's misery and deaths, they need to be held accountable.'

Stuart Stephens, whose son Olly was murdered in 2021 following a social media-planned attack, tells Shelagh Fogarty his thoughts on WhatsApp dropping its minimum age to 13.

When children seem to be pulling away, it can be hard to know what to say or do as parents or carers. Our blog unpacks a few ways to be there for a child when they need you most 👇
childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/blo…

Minimum age limits are meaningless unless platforms enforce their own policies.
Effective regulation is needed urgently to help keep children safe online.

Effective Regulation can’t come soon enough.
News today about WhatsApp lowering the UK age limit from 16 to 13, and this shocking story about the terrifying harms such messaging apps can create. bbc.com/news/articles/…

Please don’t face your problems alone.
Talk to someone you can trust.
For support:

Text MRF to 85258
Call Papyrus on 0800 068 41 41
Call Childline on 0800 1111
Call Samaritans on 116 123

In an emergency don’t be afraid to dial 999

Children as young as 9 being added against their will to WhatsApp groups encouraging & promoting self-harm. This disturbing investigation is part of a growing trend and underscores that Ofcom need to urgently plug gaps in their #OnlineSafetyAct proposals bbc.com/news/articles/…

Meta sets out some new tools to mitigate the risks of E2E, including client-side image scanning - and in doing so, confirms its decision not to scan against known child abuse images is a conscious choice, not driven by technical barriers. Ofcom, 👀

about.fb.com/news/2024/04/n…

Very clear ask from Full Fact in their new report: 'The next government should amend the #OnlineSafetyAct —or bring in new legislation—to better address harmful misinformation and disinformation, especially relating to health or when generated by AI, and enhance media literacy.'

Snap so often flies under the radar, but it’s responsible for some appalling product decisions - a friend-popularity matrix aimed at children being the latest. Child wellbeing is yet again a secondary issue techcrunch.com/2024/04/05/sna…

📣OUT NOW: CCDH has created a brand new guide for parents & guardians with practical advice on how to navigate social media safely with your kids.

Get your copy now and help protect kids online. Download the Parents Guide ⤵️
counterhate.com/parents-guide-…

This has been a long time coming. We’re so grateful to U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and Gus Bilirakis who have worked alongside Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Marsha Blackburn to introduce a House companion to the Kids Online Safety Act.
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-gove…

A useful additional piece of the new regulatory jigsaw in this commendably clear guidance note from the Chief Coroner on respective roles and joint working between coroners and Ofcom when seeking to obtain relevant info under this power. judiciary.uk/wp-content/upl…

Coffee for Molly is coming to Brighton Marathon weekend☕️

If you're nearby please pop in and enjoy a cup of coffee, remember it's also the perfect time to catch-up with friends and family to find out how they're doing💜

New suicide figures for the final 3m of 2023 are published by Office for National Statistics (ONS) today, giving us rates for last year as a whole.

It is not good news.

The suicide rate rose 6% from 2022, the first substantial rise since 2018.

The rate was 11.1 per 100,000 people, highest figure since 1999.

'(1/5) If the Kids Online Safety Act were law, Meta and TikTok wouldn’t be allowed to manipulate young people like this or ignore their own internal research showing they are harming kids. The bill would also force them to report those harms publicly.'
thehill.com/opinion/techno…

Feeling stressed sometimes is normal, but it's essential to know when it's becoming a problem. Too much stress can affect your mind and body.

To help you manage stress better during #StressAwarenessMonth , here are our tips 👉bit.ly/4an2uka