As the British government announces plans for a full ban on social media for under-16s, what could possibly go wrong?
Category Archives: media effects
Protecting minors? Book bans are on their way to Britain
There is growing controversy about the banning of books from children’s libraries in the UK. What’s motivating this phenomenon, and what can we do about it? Continue reading
‘I can see it in your face’: the perils of age verification online
As the UK’s Online Safety Act begins to be implemented, some well-established critical questions are arising once again. Will we ever be able to prevent children accessing material that we deem to be harmful or objectionable? And if we can’t, what then?
When is a children’s comic subversive?
The Beano, the UK’s longest-running children’s comic, is often celebrated as ‘subversive’. But what does such a claim really mean?
What are children’s media rights?
Three decades on from the UN Convention, what does it mean to talk about children’s rights in relation to media?
Child obesity and TV advertising: another case of symbolic politics
A proposal to extend the ban on TV junk food advertising isn’t supported by the evidence – and it could cause collateral damage.
Teaching social media 4: audiences
A critical media education approach: using the concept of audiences to teach about social media.
Cyberbabble: screens and young people’s mental health
Questioning some of the media hype about ‘mental health’ in recent debates about children, young people and social media.
Sex-crazed teens: challenging the hype
Amid some exaggerated concern about the ‘sexualisation’ of girls, Joel Best and Katherine Bogle’s book ‘Kids Gone Wild’ offers a good dose of sanity and critical thinking.
David Buckingham 