A new report from online protection company McAfee finds that there has been an increase of cyberbullying on social platforms. Children as young as 10 years old are seeing racist attacks and other forms of online harassment. The report finds that globally more than one in four children face some sort of racism in the media, while one in six are affected by sexual harassment. It is notable that cyberbullying is increasingly coming from people…
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A new report from online protection company McAfee finds that there has been an increase of cyberbullying on social platforms. Children as young as 10 years old are seeing racist attacks and other forms of online harassment. The report finds that globally more than one in four children face some sort of racism in the media, while one in six are affected by sexual harassment. It is notable that cyberbullying is increasingly coming from people…
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The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has recently published several studies focusing on the impact of climate change on children’s bodies. It is part of a large scale effort to acknowledge the ongoing climate crisis and the consequences this is having on young people around the world. A feature story published in the June 16 edition of NEJM focuses on fossil fuel emissions and its effect on children’s dermatologic, respiratory, and cardiovascular health. Frederica…
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Lockdown was a stressful time for many around the world, especially those with young children. To understand the effectiveness of leisure programmes during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, researchers in Spain studied ‘gamification’ – a technique to engage people through play, motivation, and problem solving. 58 parents and 82 children (with a mean age of 8.35) were recruited, with a smaller sample of 32 parents used for semi-structured interviews. All participants had access for…
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While there appears to be both information and resources for mothers experiencing postnatal depression (PND), it is estimated that as many as 1 in 10 fathers also experience depression in the first year after the birth of their baby. Stigmas around mental health and the stereotypes surrounding pregnancy-related issues (especially in heterosexual couples) have led experts to believe that the number men suffering with depression one year after birth may well exceed 10%. Fathers may…
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The global launch of 5 Rights Child Online Safety Toolkit two weeks ago has received wide international acclaim on social media and in the press. The United Nations Secretary General’s Tech Envoy praised 5Rights and End Violence for the “ground-breaking” Toolkit. The Child Online Safety Toolkit website, with the Toolkit available to download in eight languages and as an interactive PDF is here, and an explainer video can be seen here.

Young people the world over have endured a number of recent events previously considered ‘once in a lifetime’ – This is coupled with the 2008 financial crises, affecting Millennials. Living through such experiences has made many from the Millennial and Gen Z cohort question what their future may hold, and if there will be a future for them at all. As recently reported by the New York Times, in the US are choosing to spend…
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Adults between the ages of 18 and 72 who use social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter daily found that a one week break from platforms saw improvements in their wellbeing. The study, published in May in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking was conducted by researchers at the University of Bath. Over 150 participants were recruited and subsequently split into an intervention or control group. At the beginning of the…
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A report from the Commission on Young Lives argues that there should no longer be permanent exclusions in primary schools by 2026. Chaired by Anne Longfield, the former Children’s Commissioner, the report states “Over recent years, we have seen the growth of an exclusions culture that perversely rewards removing some vulnerable children from the school roll”.  The Commission has said children falling through gaps in the education system is “putting them at risk not only…
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Having published their annual report at the end of March, the UK’s communication’s regulator Ofcom presented finding this week looking at how how young people are using social media. They highlight the use of fake accounts on Instagram (known as ‘Finstas’), which are often used by children and teens as a decoy for their parents. In fact, Ofcom found two-thirds of the 8-11 year olds they spoke to had multiple social media accounts online and…
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