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Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced that federal legislation to keep children off social media will be introduced this year, describing the impact of these platforms on young people as a 'scourge'.
Age verification trials will be held over the coming months, aimed at introducing more robust age gating. Whilst cynics doubt that it is technically possible to enforce an online age limit, biometric options such as the anonymous facial scan developed by Yoti already exist and are being implemented by some forward thinking platforms.
In our view, the bigger picture here is the creation of awareness about the age appropriateness of these platforms, empowering parents to make more informed and conscious decisions about when, how and what their children should access tech that gives them an unfiltered portal into a world which they are not yet equipped to deal with.

We love how authentic and vulnerable Drew is about modern parenting!
It is so hard to stand firm in what we know is right for your kids' future health and well-being, if we don't move towards a new approach as a collective of parents!
Have you joined the Smartphone Free Childhood movement? Founded on Dr Jonathan Haidt's proposed new norms to reverse the detrimental teen mental health trend - it provides a supportive space for parents looking to
⚡delay smartphones until high school,
⚡delay social media until 16, and
⚡advocate for phone-free schools
👉www.smartphonefreechildhood.co.za

Actress, Drew Barrymore, has shared a step she took recently, to be the kind of parent she needed as a child. Reflecting on her experience being a child star, and the dangers of being exposed to too much too soon, she said “I wished many times when I was a kid that someone would tell me no.” In her desire to provide the human “guardrails” she lacked as a child, she said she had made the decision to take away her daughter’s smartphone.
Olive, now 12, received the device on her 11th birthday. Although she was not allowed social media and her time spent on it was controlled (Drew is a fan of the Bark parental control), the actress was shocked by what she saw in messages. She realised she needed to press pause on the phone, not because her daughter had done anything wrong, but because it was not time yet.
“I want to let parents know that we can live with our children’s discomfort in having to wait. We can be vilified and know we are doing what we now know to be a safer, slower and scaffolded approach,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Concerned about the impacts on children’s mental health, Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, recommends delaying smartphones until high school and social media until 16, suggesting that parents join forces with other like-minded parents to avoid social pressure.
❓Have you joined the Smartphone Free Childhood movement? This is a non-judgemental, reflective space in which parents can access the research, info and support they need to delay smartphones and social media on order to protect their children’s childhood and mental and physical health and ensure they don’t miss opportunities to build the life skills needed for the future!
👉www.smartphonefreechildhood.co.za

🆘Does this resonate with you?
Nearly 70% of parents say modern parenting is more difficult, with their children's use of tech and social media being the top two reasons causing stress.
The U.S. Surgeon General has issued an Advisory on the Mental Health & Well-Being of Parents (following his previous Advisory on the Impacts of Social Media on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents).
These are a couple of the key points that we know to be true:
👉the majority of parents say they are somewhat, very, or extremely worried that their child’s use of social media could lead to problems with anxiety or depression, lower self-esteem, being harassed or bullied by others, feeling pressured to act a certain way, and exposure to explicit content.
👉the rapid adoption and evolution of technology and social media have been difficult and stressful for parents to manage, including by posing new risks to children’s health and safety.

A Surgeon General’s Advisory is a public statement that calls the American people’s attention to an urgent public health issue and provides recommendations for
how it should be addressed. Advisories are reserved for significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action - paving the way for U.S. policy development and regulation with often global impact and reach.
It is time for the tide to turn, for the sake of both parents and children.https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/parents-under-pressure.pdf

The Irish Minister for Education, Norma Foley, is planning to ban mobile phones from all high schools in response to research which links use of devices to student distraction and cyberbullying.
Ms Foley said that while schools had been working hard in relation to the use of mobile phones, school principals still said phones were interrupting classrooms and that a “culture of non-acceptance” was needed. The removal of smartphones during school time would lead to better academic performance, higher attention levels, better memory and lower feelings of anxiety.
“I meet principals who tell me the mobile phone, even though students keep it in their bag, the beeping of it is an interruption to study. It's a continuous hum almost in the background that's there,” the minister said.
Here in South Africa, we’re KEEN to see the same proactive thinking! Help us get this conversation started with our ownMinister of Basic Education. Support our petition to make a difference to South African learners: https://chng.it/qRgpwpk7kN

To all the warrior mums out there - keep going!

When AI becomes more intuitive than humans...😘

As a parent, are you worried that your child is spending time on their phone in class instead of learning? As a teacher, are you constantly interrupting your teaching to tell kids to put their phones away?
Together, we can create the change we know South Africa needs! It takes just one minute, in fact maybe less 😘
CLICK 👉

Sign the Petition SOUTH AFRICAN PHONE-FREE SCHOOLS

If this resonates with you, just know that you are NOT by any means alone!
Come and join other like-minded South African parents looking for ways to protect that precious jewel called childhood, and create a strong foundation for the teen years and beyond!
👉www.smartphonefreechildhood.co.za

Annnnddddd...blast off 🚀The South African chapter of the Smartphone Free Childhood movement has launched!
Modern parents have been put in an impossible position - either we give our children access to something that opens the door to p**n, bullying, grooming and the anxiety machine that is social media, or we risk alienating them from their peers. And so we're joining together to take collective action and protect our children's childhood 👫👭👬
⚡delay smartphones until high school
⚡delay social media until 16
⚡phone free schools

Love this?? Come join us 👉www.smartphonefreechildhood.co.za

Kate had the great pleasure of chatting to Pippa Hudson of about the launch of the South African chapter of the global Smartphone Free Childhood movement.
https://omny.fm/shows/afternoons-with-pippa-hudson/family-matters-smartphone-free-childhood-movement
Using the research from the last 14 years on the links between smart devices and social media to teen mental illness across various countries, the Smartphone Free Childhood movement is built around the new norms that Jonathan Haidt has proposed -
⚡️Delay smartphones until high school
⚡️Delay social media until 16
⚡️Smartphone Free Schools
⚡️More independence, play and responsibility.

Keen to join this supportive, non-judgmental community?
👉www.smartphonefreechildhood.co.za

After a review of its mobile phone and devices policy, Eton College is providing basic "brick" phones to pupils set to start Year 9 at the school in September.
The devices, which can only send and receive texts and calls, will be used instead of smartphones outside of the school day as well.
This move comes after the U.K. government issued guidance backing school principals who decide to ban the use of cellphones during the school day in an effort to minimize disruption and improve classroom behavior.

Keen to chat about how your school can harness the global winds of change and go PHONE FREE?
email [email protected]

📢CAPE TOWN PRE-PRIMARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL PARENTS & TEACHERS!
You're most welcome to join this wonderful conversation, hosted by Forres Preparatory school
📱The Smartphone Tipping Point
⏰Thursday 18 July @ 18h00
🏤24 Park Rd, Rondebosch

Book your spot here👉 https://www.quicket.co.za/events/270023-the-smartphone-tipping-point/

Forres Preparatory School

Good question, Riaan! 🤔


Riaan W VanderBergh

The algorithm never sleeps!

IT'S SO VERY TRICKY - helping teens understand what they're missing out on, when they spend too much time looking into that darn screen 😵‍💫
Impulse control is a function of the prefrontal cortex which only matures around 25. That plus lower levels of dopamine, makes it easy for big tech to hijack the teen brain! Yes, we all love screentime (a lot!), but too much means missed opportunities in other areas of life, including learning vital life skills.
This great clip by Max Stossel about how persuasive technology works is something you can watch together with your teen, and then jointly agree time limits and what's needed by way of support / reminders / prompts / settings...to keep to them 🤗

Teens, We've Been Sneaking Into Your Brains Why does tech have such a grasp on our attention? What is the impact? Listen as Max Stossel, Youth and Education Adviser for the Center for Humane Technology...

📢CAPE TOWN PRE-PRIMARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS!
I am spending some time in the Cape next week, having conversations with parents and teachers about conscious tech choices and why they matter so very much.
There's been a huge global shift in thinking in the last few months, as the research from the last 14 years since the advent of smartphones and tablets has been crunched, and the impact on children and adolescent mental health has been analysed. There's never been a better time for this conversation, in which we focus on empowering parents to make conscious decisions as early as possible, around what their children’s access to tech looks like, building their own digital village to support them 😊

DM or email me to find out more 👉[email protected]

📱The Smartphone Tipping Point
Kate reveals the latest research around what’s happening with children and their phones, and uncovers WHY online safety advocates are calling for a collective swing towards these new norms -
✅No smartphones before high school
✅No social media before 16
✅Phone-free schools
✅More independence, free play and responsibility in the real world.
And then she facilitates meaningful, proactive conversation exploring –
💡WHAT we can do about it as a collective school and parent body, and
💡HOW we can start making changes to improve the mental health of this generation!

Along with other Big Tech CEO's like Evan Spiegel (Meta) and Sundar Pichai (Google), Peter Thiel says he only lets his young kids (aged 3 and 5) use screens for 1.5 hours a week.
Reflecting on proposed labels on social media platforms warning about the dangers they pose to children's health, the co-founder of PayPal and FaceBook investor said it's "too easy" to turn Big Tech into a scapegoat for "all our problems." However, he also noted the "interesting critique one could make" about the fact that many social media executives limit screen time for their kids.

Skibidi! A silly word that means ... literally nothing. According to Urban Dictionary, this teen slang “is a word usually used to start a convo, specifically a convo filled with brain rot.” It has since evolved to mean either "bad" or "cool" depending on the context.
Now you know. Or not! 😆

Happy Friday peeps!
Hugs 🤗