Mothers Against Media Addiction’s Post

Florida A&M University alum Jonathan N. Bertrand, founder of the Social Media Research Institute (SMRI), is advocating for measures to mitigate social media's negative effects. Bertrand's initiatives, including Social Media First Aid, aim to educate and protect users, particularly children. SMRI's works influences and supports legislation in the U.S. and proposals in Australia and other countries. Florida's new law requiring parental consent for minors' social media use highlights the growing concern over social media's impact on mental health and safety. For more details, you can read the full article

Parents are rightfully concerned about social media’s impact on kids’ mental health and development. That’s why the Coalition backs age limits and privacy-protecting age verification. These protections for kids shouldn’t be confused with Labor’s harmful misinformation Bill, which threatens free speech. They are entirely separate issues. We can protect kids online without sacrificing free speech. In a digital world, we must protect free speech and safeguard our children—the future of our democracy. We can do both.

We know that as adults a lot of the news reports we see and hear can be distressing for us, let alone for our children. While we may wish to shield our children from some of the items reported, it is likely that they will at some time be exposed to news and current affairs reports. This article offers some strategies that parents can use to support their children’s wellbeing when it comes to consuming news and current affairs https://ow.ly/KCLE50Ra3PL

Overall, this California social media child protection act is a good step, but it's not enough.    The number one way to deal with our social media issues is extensive education of children from grade school on up on how to manage and navigate social media. Same for the parents. Without such education all other measures are just scratching the tip of the iceberg. Every other measure or regulation, even good ones, can be maneuvered around by users and the social networks.    Still the social networks should be regulated to provide:   1) All users a choice from a menu of algorithms.   2) Transparency on where all content and advertising comes from.   3) Always on and by line item (topics, ads, etc.) opt in and opt out.   4) Easy to use and obvious tools for users to manage all of the above.                 https://lnkd.in/ebXS555s

This #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, it's vital to prioritize safeguarding online access for youth. While recognizing potential risks, it's crucial to acknowledge the positive role of safe online connections in supporting young people's well-being. Proposed legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) threatens to disrupt this balance.

Yesterday, the Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force released recommendations and best practices for safe internet use. The Task Force identified 10 recommended practices for online service providers to implement to develop and operate their platforms with youth well-being in mind, which include: Make privacy protections for youth the default and Limit “likes” and social comparison features for youth by default.  The Task Force was a coordinated effort led by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Included below is the link to the Fact Sheet where you can read more about these recommendations and the others. https://lnkd.in/eYzWdRkx

📢 Breaking News: Protecting Kids Online Today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a proposal to restrict social media sign-ups for children under 16, citing the urgent need to address the impact of online platforms on young people's mental health. Act for Kids welcomes efforts to keep kids safe online, however we believe there needs to be greater emphasis on the social media giants and their own provisions to protect all children from online harm regardless of their age. We are also seeking more information on how the tech giants and government will monitor age restriction bans with a fear that this discourages platforms from implementing strict safety mechanisms for children. We strongly urge parents and carers to empower children with the knowledge to keep safe online. Act for Kids' own research found 55% of parents allow children unsupervised access online. We remain committed to advocating for policies and initiatives that protect young people and foster safer online environments for all. For tips on how to keep kids safe online read below 👇 https://lnkd.in/gq4TTZgb #kidsonlinesafety #mentalhealth #protectourkids

Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force Recommendations The Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, co-led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), released a new report with recommendations and best practices for safer social media and online platform use for youth. The report provides a summary of the risks and benefits of social media on the health, safety, and privacy of young people; best practices for parents and caregivers; recommended practices for industry; a research agenda; and suggested future work. https://lnkd.in/gH-8sMVQ

We have lost far too many children to the harmful content on social media (SM). We have too many distressing and sad examples… It is also distressing to see those families who have lost their children to harmful content having to campaign and push this from the ground upwards to get the right attention and action. Well done to them in having the emotional energy to do this, and also to the likes of the BBC News BBC Sky News for raising our awareness to this. Keep up the great work. The recent legislation from last year seems to have had little to no effect to those large SM organisations… So, Ofcom are now trying to take action. They have been told to ‘step up’! But, surely this should have been tackled anyway…? Will those CEOs in those Social Media platforms and multi billion organisations listen to Ofcom and take action…? In the meantime keep an eye on your children, control what they see, limit access and do all you can. Currently it’s down to the parents to keep children safe from the harmful content displayed on social media- but this is easier said than done… Education plays a key and vital role from education within our schools to organisations like XCMH offering our Youth Mental Health courses covering this topic for our children, and those caring for them, such as parents. You can get in touch for more information at: info@x-calibremh.co.uk Ofcom, UK independent communications regulator https://lnkd.in/dPGaAKvy

By no means am I an expert to be writing on this topic…but I am a young person who has first hand seen the effects of social media on my generation. You only have to do a simple Google search to see that there is copious amounts of evidence that supports the direct correlation between social media and many mental health problems. However, there is not a moment I remember the world without social media. In fact, that is a reality for many young people. Social media has become a tool used for validation, which is a basic need that every soul longs for. But that goes without saying that too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. We have laws and regulations around smoking, drinking and driving… why would we not start exploring this for social media! It will be interesting to see how they get other young people on the bandwagon… Well done SA Government and Peter Malinauskas 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼