Five Ontario school boards are suing the companies behind major social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, alleging their addictive products have caused the students to suffer from mental health issues, and causing widespread damage and disruption to the education system.
Is a cellphone ban, along with increased surveillance, the right way to deal with the impact of addictive and harmful technology in classrooms?
Some fault teachers for an inability to restrict phone use at school. But both students and some parents resist this, and problems far exceed in-class distraction. A student puts her phone in a holder at Delta High School in Delta, Utah, in February 2024.
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Sachin Maharaj, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Four Canadian school boards are suing social media giants. This comes as 95 per cent of Ontario schools report needing more resources to support student mental health.
Social media apps can cause children to become increasingly distracted.
(Shutterstock)
As legislators rail against social media companies, the companies continue to put millions of young people at risk. Here’s how − and what can be done about it.
Snapchat’s AI-powered chatbot malfunctioned this week, raising questions of “sentience” among users. As AI becomes increasingly human-like, society must become AI-literate.
Everything apps are designed to help you do, well, just about everything you do on a phone.
Busakorn Pongparnit/Moment via Getty Images
Everything apps offer a wide range of features, combining social media with personal finances. But creating the perfect everything app is no easy task.
Teenagers using social media filters.
Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
What can and should be done in light of response to the Facebook Files? The issues are undoubtedly complex, but solutions need to centre on children’s rights and prioritize what young people need.
Comments and livestreams can lead to physical fights, shootings and even death.
Photo illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
An app that young people use to share videos of themselves dancing might seem like a silly diversion, but it’s become a powerhouse social media platform.
New research has identified the main triggers of this psychological phenomenon, the contexts in which it happens and the types of fears involved in it.
No longer do we need to talk with shop assistants, receptionists, bus drivers or even coworkers, we simply engage with a screen to communicate whatever it is we want to say.
Snapchat has utility in laboratory settings.
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