Trends

Australia to Ban Social Media for Under-16s: What Does This Mean for South Africa?

Australia’s bold step to ban social media for under-16s has stirred global conversations. On the surface, this legislation aims to shield young people from the growing risks of the online world. But as we applaud efforts to protect children, we must confront a deeper question: why aren’t we educating our youth to navigate this digital […]

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Nedbank’s Chow Town on Roblox? What do you think?

Trends

If your kids are on Roblox – and you plan to let them remain on there – our view is that we should direct them to things which expand their minds and skills. They need to be safe first, and then smart, so they can explore and excel…that’s our tagline at MySociaLife…So it’s a case

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Is a Screen-Free Childhood Realistic?

Online Safety, Trends

Debating the 2024 buzzword that has set digital parenting alight A screen-free childhood is the buzzword of the last few months in child online safety. In his recent book, The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt offers a bold proposal: delay children’s exposure to smartphones until high school and restrict social media access until at least age

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YouthQuake! Marketers, brace yourselves.

Digital explorers, Parenting, Screen Time, Obsession & Focus, Teachers, Trends

by GenZ Expert Dean McCoubrey. If you’ve ever watched a rally (no, not political), you’ll probably remember the wide-eyed unpredictability of every turn, the careful observation of the navigator to manage the terrain, and the damaging cost of reading the road incorrectly. As someone who owns a marketing agency, and also an education company that focuses

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What the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard Trial Can Teach Us About Fake News and the Media

Critical Thinking, Trends

– Written by Havana Dauncey. Have your social media feeds been flooded with replays and parodies of the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial for the last 2 months? Or has your newsfeed been overflowing with all the expert opinions and juicy insider details? Well, with it being the largest celebrity trial since OJ Simpson,

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Yik Yak Is Back: What You Need To Know

Apps, Parenting, Trends

The infamous Yik Yak has resurfaced on the apple app store after a four-year hiatus. The once-popular app took its tumble after being blamed for cyberbullying, hate speech, and threats of violence. This time, Yik Yak has pledged to keep its users safe. What is Yik Yak? Yik Yak is a location-based anonymous social media

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TODAY, World Youth Skills Day: Unemployment driving unrest in South Africa

Critical Thinking, Mental Health, Parenting, Trends

Is there a way we can reverse youth unemployment in this country? In the midst of South Africa’s deep unrest, 15th July is World Youth Skills Day. Tragically, the country’s youth unemployment rate reached a new record of 32.6%, the highest since the quarterly labour force survey began in 2008, totalling 7.242 million people out of

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Online Safety Index highlights SA kids’ vulnerability

Cybersecurity, Online Safety, Parenting, Teachers, Trends

South Africa’s children are the second most likely in the world to be exposed to risky content, including violent or sexual content, second only to Thailand. This is according to the DQ Institute’s 2020 Child Online Safety Index (COSI) which helps nations better understand their children’s online safety status The COSI also notes that South African children are

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The one movie educators need to watch: The Social Dilemma

Trends

With 4.5bn online – and approximately 4bn of them on mobile devices – social media is now as commonplace as eating lunch. It is not an exaggeration to say that most people spend more time on social media than they do eating or bathing, or talking in person to other human beings. The Fourth Industrial

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The TikTok #skullbreaker challenge is dangerous.

Online Safety, Trends

In an era of fake news and Momo Hoaxes it can be hard to work out what to be worried about, or where the real danger lies. The #TikTok #SkullBreaker Challenge is dangerous for sure. While many concerns or fears online may sometimes amount to very little – pranksters at play – no child can

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