Drawing: Harper Cowan
Cherishing childhood
Since 2014 have been an active and public advocate for reclaiming childhood in the face of the digital tsunami, raising awareness of the mental health impacts of screens, smartphones and social media, especially.
My book Families in the Digital Age (Hybrid Press, published in 2019) explores the impacts of mobile screens and ways to live well and be emotionally agile in the digital age.
The book was highly commended in the Nonfiction section of the 2020 ACT Writing and Publishing Awards.
I welcome invitations to run workshops, share ideas and tools in your community and learn from you to help reclaim and cherish childhood.
“For parents who feel defeated by the powerful influence of social media in their children’s lives, this book will sympathise, illuminate, inspire and encourage us to believe there is another, better way to live. ”
“This is one of the most needed and grab-you-by-the-throat, convincing books around today.”
Listen up.
Neuroscientist Mark A. Williams and I met at the Social Media Summit in Sydney in October 2024. I invited Mark to Canberra for a conversation about his book, The Connected Species. Manning Clark House hosted the event in December 2024. In a wide-ranging chat about human evolution, Mark explains how we need to disconnect and embrace the offline life to feel truly connected.
Listen up.
In conversation with Feed Play Love podcast host, Shevonne Hunt, here.
Making news
〰️
Making news 〰️
-
Oped, February 10 2025
The Australian Government's law setting a Social Media Minimum Age, is a good start. How effective it is will depend on the new rules under the law, the public campaign around the rules and how they are enforced.
[Paywall]
-
Opinion, September 16, 2024
[paywall]
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8763759/minimum-age-for-social-media-proposed-in-australia/
-
Opinion: July 7 2024
[paywall]
-
Co-authored with Elizabeth Handsley
Published by Pearls and Irritations, June 6, 2024
-
-
Published in Women’s Agenda, urging communities and governments do more to offer our children safe digital passage through the pandemic and beyond.
-
Click the link to watch Reverand Dr Pickard's interview with me on the subject 'Screen Addiction and the Next Generation'.
This is part of the online forum series by Christians for an Ethical Society.
-
-
Article in Canberra City News
Accessible at —
https://citynews.com.au/2020/is-embedded-big-data-stalking-our-school-children/
-
Joint article with Carla Wilshire
-
Sydney Morning Herald, September 2019
-
Published in 2019
[pawall]
https:/www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6549314/is-it-time-to-step-away-from-the-screen/
-
Democracy is being challenged by the rise of social media.
Parliamentarians are trained by their circumstances not to pause for long but develop strategies that create a semblance of having dealt with issues. While they have always been expected to respond to issues promptly, the speed at which issues come up (and arguably the expectations journalists have of them to respond quickly) has intensified.
-
Hosted by Essential Media and The Australia Institute, held online in August 2020.