Calls for government to lift social media age limit to 16

group of online safety advocates have banded together to call on the government to lift the social media age limit to 16 years old in New Zealand.

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“It’s a group of tech and business leaders, researchers, parenting educators and parents who have real concern with what’s happening with our young people online,” explained Holly Brooker, online safety advocate.

It's a group of tech and business leaders, researchers, parenting educators and parents who have real concern with what's happening with our young people online.

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Read the full article on Stuff.

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.

Science

Reducing social media use improves appearance and weight esteem in youth with emotional distress

A brief 4-week intervention using screen time trackers showed that reducing social media use (SMU, experimental group) yielded significant improvements in appearance and weight esteem in distressed youth with heavy SMU, whereas unrestricted access to social media (control group) did not.

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