New by me, @raviiyer.bsky.social and Zach Rausch: Australia's social media law is changing the game, making it easier for Australian parents to parent, and for other countries to follow. Changing norms is hard, but we list 5 trends showing that Australia is on its way to success. Give it time.

What the World Should Learn from Australia’s Social Media Law

Half a year since Australia restricted social media companies from providing accounts to kids under 16, signs of success are beginning to show.

time.com

It amazes me how we went from our mums in the 60s telling us to come home when we got hungry or when the street lights went on , and not wanting us to be photographed (besides that school photo) …. to parents today watching their children 24/7 and posting on social media every time their kid farts 😔

Jonathan Haidt@jonathanhaidt.bsky.social · last mo.

One of the central arguments of "The Anxious Generation" is that we must not only limit phones in childhood, we must also restore the real-world independence, free play, responsibility, and embodied peer life that children have lost.

"The worst thing was not the most extreme. It was watching a child’s face as she realised that the person who she thought was her friend wasn’t her friend; that the sex acts she’d been doing weren’t for her friend; and that there may have been other people in the room."

‘Why would you put a toxic product into the hands of a young child?’: director turned activist Beeban Kidron on why big tech needs its ‘tobacco moment’

In her work as an online safety campaigner, the baroness and Bridget Jones director has seen things she can never unsee – and she’s furious at the tech overlords doing nothing to stop the abuse

theguardian.com

Most parents have no idea what the typical 13yo sees on Snapchat — what's recommended to them by the algorithm, despite their stated interests. The latest on my (free) Substack — by Brooke Istook, president of Heat Initiative. www.afterbabel.com/p/snapchat-r...

What Does a 13-Year-Old See on Snapchat in a Normal Week?

Two new studies show that kids and teens frequently encounter graphic violence, sexual content, and adult strangers on the app.

afterbabel.com

One of the central arguments of "The Anxious Generation" is that we must not only limit phones in childhood, we must also restore the real-world independence, free play, responsibility, and embodied peer life that children have lost.

A Cure for Child Anxiety Hiding (and Seeking) in Plain Sight

Don’t just go phone free: Start a Play Club at your school too.

afterbabel.com

Explore #WHR2026 Chapter 3 by @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social and Zach Rausch 👉 www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2026/soci...

Social media is harming adolescents at a scale large enough to cause changes at the population level

The World Happiness Report is published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, in partnership with Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and an independent ed...

worldhappiness.report

Jon has been a leading voice in this movement — and I’m grateful for his advocacy in support of a bell-to-bell cell phone ban, which will create a healthier environment for both our teachers and our kids here in Pennsylvania.

@jonathanhaidt.bsky.social and I agree: It’s time for us to get cell phones out of the classroom.

I love this — a NYC mom got 38 schools to agree to less screen time AND more recess for a week! Parents and admins see the benefits of a real, five-sensory childhood. www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026...

This upper Manhattan mom convinced 38 schools to ditch devices for a week-long ‘screen break’

Fed up with excessive screen time, one upper Manhattan mom took action. Over 10,000 students in District 6 will swap devices for outdoor play, read-alouds, and improv classes.

chalkbeat.org

Bans on companion AI bots operate as recalls by removing unsafe products until they are designed safely. This is an important reframe — it shifts incentives so companies can compete on safety. Law Professor Gaia Bernstein’s new Brookings policy brief: gaiabernstein.substack.com/p/we-are-not...

We Are Not Banning AI Companion Bots. We Are Recalling Them.

Why AI Companion Bots Require Public Health Regulation.

gaiabernstein.substack.com

Malaysia is enforcing its social media age-gating policy starting this month, the 3rd country to do so after Australia & Indonesia. Around 9 million Malaysian kids under 16 will no longer spend hours a day on short-form video platforms depriving them of sleep, self-esteem, and the ability to focus 🇲🇾

Malaysia’s under-16 social media rule starts today: What parents need to know

Children under 16 will no longer be allowed to register social media accounts on covered platforms.Platforms must introduce age verification measures to identify underage...

malaymail.com

This is a great step toward ending the uncontrolled global experiment. Bravo, UK 🇬🇧 "The debate is not whether young people should have access to social media. The debate is whether social media should have access to our children and teenagers, and when." — Ursula von der Leyen

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in the UK on the harms of the phone-based childhood: "There can be few issues which have united clinicians so resoundingly ​in recent years as the impact that unfettered exposure to tech and devices is currently having ​on children and young people's health."

Social media as bad for children as smoking, British doctors say

Social media ranks alongside smoking as a danger to children, ‌senior British doctors said on Tuesday, as they urged lawmakers to tackle the harm that they say excessive screen time is causing to youn...

reuters.com

With many life skills — sports, speaking, reading — early exposure can be a predictor of greater facility later in life. Not so with digital exposure and #edtech. Thank you @andersoncooper360.bsky.social

As a mother, I would like to recommend @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social's new TED Talk "Why You Should be a Technoskeptic" to every parent navigating their kids' social media and AI use. Although he uses the term "technoskeptic," I find him one of the most sensible tech optimists out there. Watch:

New polling on Snapchat users 10-1: 1/2 encountered unsafe content or messages in the past year 1/3 reported unsafe content or messages in the past month 1/8 encountered sexually suggestive content at least weekly Add your name to hold Snap accountable: actionnetwork.org/petitions/st...

More evidence that social media and online video games are harming kids at an industrial scale: Across 12 developing nations, one in six had experienced "technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA)." That's 10 million kids in one year, and that's just the sex-related harms.

Evergreen insight from @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social that explains a lot about the challenges of the science-policy interface. #scipol

I had the honor of speaking at #TED in Vancouver last month. The most urgent message I felt I should share: We need to be #technoskeptics. We are "ultrasocial" creatures (E.O. Wilson). The technologies we are raising our kids on often encourage behaviors that go against our ultrasocial nature.

Why you should be a techno-skeptic

Humans aren't just social — we're ultrasocial, wired like bees and ants for deep connection. So what happens when smartphones take over childhood, tablets replace textbooks and AI companies infiltrate...

ted.com

Sage advice from @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social in his commencement speech at NYU today. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

A year since New York State enacted @governor.ny.gov's phone-free schools policy, teachers are "astounded by how much of a shift it has been.” nypost.com/2026/05/14/l...

NYC teachers say phone ban in classrooms has caused ‘jaw dropping’ change in students’ attention

“I’ve been astounded by how much of a shift it has been,” one teacher told The Post.

nypost.com

More than a grain of truth here, unfortunately @theonion.com

"American public schools are awash in YouTube. ... YouTube during snack time, dismissal and indoor recess. YouTube to teach drawing to first-graders. YouTube to read a book to class. YouTube under the covers at night, watching hamster videos on school-issued Chromebooks. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

How YouTube Took Over the American Classroom

Parents find their kids captive to the video streaming site on their school-issued devices; for one, it was 13,000 YouTube videos in three months.

wsj.com

Join us May 5th in NYC! @92ndstreety.bsky.social www.92ny.org/event/goldie...

Investigation reveals concerns about how children are being used as influencers in the skincare and beauty space on TikTok, raising child protection and labor exploitation questions www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

‘An element of exploitation’: the world of TikTok child skincare influencers

Experts say regulation of child influencers sits in a legal grey area as children promote products on social media

theguardian.com

Social media companies try to fend off age limits by claiming they are a "lifeline" for kids from marginalized groups. But as trans activist Lennon Torres shows, from her own experience and from Meta's own research, the opposite is closer to the truth: www.afterbabel.com/p/dont-let-b...

Don’t Let Big Tech Hide Behind a Rainbow Flag

Lennon Torres on why social media regulation is a prerequisite for LGBTQ safety.

afterbabel.com

Grateful to TED for having me at this year's conference in Vancouver. I met with thought leaders from tech, education, and the arts. An intellectual paradise! I'll post the talk as soon as it's live.

The 7 lines of evidence that social media harms kids and teens: 1️⃣ What the victims say 2️⃣ What the witnesses say 3️⃣ What company documents and insiders reveal 4️⃣ Cross-sectional studies 5️⃣ Longitudinal studies 6️⃣ Randomized controlled trials of time reduction 7️⃣ Natural experiments

A sobering look at what social media is doing to young men: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/s...

Handsome at Any Cost

nytimes.com

Encouraging — Gen Z is cutting back on screen time the most relevantmagazine.com/culture/tech...

Gen Z Is Cutting Back on Screen Time More Than Any Other Generation - RELEVANT

Gen Z grew up online. Now they’re actively choosing to unplug. A new study from Talker Research found that 63% of Gen Z intentionally disconnect from

relevantmagazine.com