#digital-safety

#digital-safety

The Pew Research Center released a study on Tuesday that shows how young people are using both social media and AI chatbots. Teen internet safety has remained a global hot topic, with Australia planning to enforce a social media ban for under-16s starting on Wednesday. The impact of social media on teen mental health has been extensively debated - some studies show how online communities can improve mental health, while other research shows the adverse effects of doomscrolling or spending too much time online.

A draft of the measure, released in October, urged "the establishment of a harmonised European digital age limit of 16 years old as the default threshold under which access to online social media platforms should not be allowed unless parents or guardians have authorised their children otherwise." They also recommended setting a harmonised EU digital age limit of 13, under which no minor would be permitted to access social media. The same minimum age would apply to video-sharing platforms and so-called "AI companions," whose popularity among adolescents has raised concerns in several EU states.

When my daughter turned 16, I didn't hand her the car keys and hope for the best. She spent a few months in driver's ed, practicing parallel parking, checking blind spots, and learning to handle heavy traffic and bad weather. Like all new drivers, she needed guidance and practice before she could drive safely on her own. With generative AI tools, we all have something far more powerful than a car. And most of us aren't getting lessons at all.

According to a recent research study conducted by McAfee - the global leader in online protection - over half of Americans say they or someone they know has fallen victim to an online scam in the last year.

Email accounts have become more than a longstanding method of communication, morphing into the centre of your digital world as the user login for hundreds of services from shopping to socials.

"Never leave your phone unlocked around someone you don't fully trust, and always have a screen lock," Porcar told The Sun.