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Technology & Digital Safety

Group of zombie using smartphone

Technology & Digital Safety

Screens really are turning kids into zombies – it’s a medical fact

Screen time rewires children’s brains so they talk less and end up with a decreased IQ, a major international medical study has found. And it’s toddlers who are at greatest risk.

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Art for dodgy training providers

ExclusiveHigher Education

Great training robbery: Dodgy ‘degrees’ not worth paper they’re printed on

Shonks and scammers are taking over the training industry, offering worthless ‘qualification certificates’ for cash – see the full list of banned providers.

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This photo taken on October 24, 2025 shows a 14-year-old boy posing at his home near Gosford as he looks at social media on his mobile phone. Tech giants Meta and TikTok said on October 28 they will obey Australia's under-16 social media ban but warned the landmark laws could prove difficult to enforce. Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. (Photo by David GRAY / AFP)

Teachers clocking up overtime tackling online student drama

Parents are being urged to manage their kids’ social media conflicts that occur outside school as teachers spend hours of their personal time dealing with the “wash-up”.

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Australian families are being hit with hundreds – sometimes thousands – of dollars in losses as online scammers prey on children through Roblox, luring them with fake offers of free in-game currency.

Let Them Be Kids

Aussie families lose thousands as ‘Free Robux’ scams target kids

Kids are being duped into giving away passwords and making expensive mistakes on Roblox — and parents are paying the price. Here’s how to spot the scam.

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ExplainerTechnology & Digital Safety

Leelou safety app creator Jerry Farsoun (R) and John Herron (L), Ambassador and advocate for the app, and father of the late Courtney Herron, who was murdered in May, 2019 in Melbourne. Photo by Luis Enrique Ascui, CopyrighytsÃ‚Â©luisascui

Triple-0 bungle: Why calls can fail and what Aussies can do

After three deaths were linked to the Optus outage, experts warn Triple-0 isn’t foolproof — here’s why calls can fail, what to do in an emergency, and the new Aussie app that could help save lives.

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Controversy has erupted around the Netflix cartoon Dead End Paranormal Park after billionaire Elon Musk expressed outrage that character Barney Guttman, right, said they were transgender.

Musk joins push to cancel Netflix over cartoon’s trans character

Elon Musk has told his 227 million followers on X to cancel Netflix – causing its share price to sharply drop – amid a revolt over a ‘pro-transgender’ kids’ cartoon.

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Technology & Digital Safety

Oxford uni chancellor and albo for social media ban

‘Addictive model’: Global education leader hails Aussie social media ban

Oxford University’s chancellor and former British opposition leader Lord William Hague has backed Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s, urging Britain to follow.

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Technology & Digital Safety

Trigger warnings are ineffective at deterring vulnerable people from clicking on disturbing content, Australian research has found.

Slap a trigger warning on it (that’ll make them click)

Trigger warnings can have the opposite effect to their intent as a ‘forbidden fruit effect’ tempts even the mentally vulnerable, Australian research has found.

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web art for AI artists story

‘Theft of Aussie culture’: Artists’ warning amid AI fight

Prominent Aussie musicians Holly Rankin, Dan McNamee and Yorta Yorta rapper Adam Briggs have warned against allowing AI to effectively steal the nation’s art.

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Unknown Number: The High School Catfish art

Should parents watch horrifying Netflix viral hit with their teens?

A new Netflix show about a high school couple tormented by an anonymous bully has become an international sensation. But do experts think it’s too disturbing for kids?

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screens v books art sub image

Digital downside: Proof that kids learn better from books than screens

Experts are urging schools not to ditch paper, pens and textbooks in the frantic rush towards digital learning – and new research shows exactly why it would be a huge mistake.

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Technology & Digital Safety

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - ADVERTISER Photos SEPTEMBER 25, 2025: Emily Harrison with her children Archie 8yrs (Shorts) and Olive Harrison 3.5yrs (Denim Jeans) and mates, Siblings Isabella Carbone 11yrs (Jumpsuit) and 10 year old twins James Carbone (Glasses) and Stella Carbone (Black Jeans) and Ava Sckrabei 6yrs (Green Shorts) playing in their Unley backyard. Emily is the SA lead in Wait MateÃ a not for profit organisation encouraging schools and parents to work together in reducing child mobile phone use Picture: Emma Brasier

Parents’ phone-free kids pact sweeps across Australia

Parents desperate to protect their kids from tech addiction have found strength in numbers, with a revolutionary no-phones movement spreading across Australian schools.

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Photo: Ava Turnbull (18), Angela Chen (18) and Linh Nugyen (19) in Rundle Mall. Censoring the word Ã¢â¬ÅjobÃ¢â¬Â on Tik Tok. Picture: Tim Joy. 25th September 2025

J**: New ‘slur’ word Gen Z is refusing to say – and why

It’s the three-letter word triggering Gen Z online. But the latest trend to censor certain terms might be masking real life anxiety for young people.

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Technology & Digital Safety

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - ADVERTISER Photos SEPTEMBER 18, 2025: Australian Science and Maths School students L to R Caden Breach 15yo from Adelaide and Isabella Atkinson 15yo from Yorke Peninsula at the Flinders University campus. Picture: Emma Brasier

Scientists to track teen freakouts when social media ban hits

Researchers will run an unprecedented experiment to track what happens when Aussie teens are forced off social media – as new data shows how many still use their phones at school.

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/education/support/technology-digital-safety/page/7