Lest anybody accuse me of being too Australian-focussed, this week I dive into the biggest news from the US, namely the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act through the Senate. I give a rundown of what the Act will do, and analyse the politics surrounding it - or in other words the arguments against it as it faces its run through the House. I also offer some thoughts on what it might mean for the rest of the world if it’s passed.
In Paper Round, I walk you through a systematic review on smart device use and language acquisition: do children risk language delay if they spend too long on devices? (Spoiler: as always, content and context matter.)
Glenn reviews A Dog’s Way Home, a touching and at times troubling film that’s widely available for viewing in Australia and recommended for ages 11 and up. Tell us what your favourite animal movies are!
And don’t forget you can now support CMA, the organisation that makes this podcast possible, by taking out a paid subscription. I’ve had an idea of a little sweetener I can add to encourage this, so watch this space.
Show notes
Saudi paper: Manal Alamri, Muath A. Alrehaili, Wejdan Albariqi, Manal S. Alshehri, Kholood B. Alotaibi, Afnan M. Algethami, 'Relationship between speech delay and smart media in children: a systematic review' (2023) 15(9) Cureus Journal of Medical Science https://www.cureus.com/articles/185520-relationship-between-speech-delay-and-smart-media-in-children-a-systematic-review#!/
A Dog’s Way Home review: https://childrenandmedia.org.au/movie-reviews/movies/a-dogs-way-home
A Dog’s Way Home availability in Australia: https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/a-dogs-way-home/
Zooming Out details:
The KOSA bill itself https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1409;
Explainer https://apnews.com/article/congress-social-media-kosa-kids-online-safety-act-parents-ead646422cf84cef0d0573c3c841eb6d
Analysis of next stage for the bill https://www.politico.com/newsletters/future-pulse/2024/08/05/the-social-media-battle-moves-to-the-house-00172597;
Josh Golin of Fairplay on related issues https://riponsociety.org/article/should-warning-labels-be-put-on-social-media-yes/;
NYT article fleshing out the politics https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/technology/kosa-child-online-safety.html (paywalled, but anybody you know with a subscription should be able to unlock it for you);
Analysis by Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch
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Children and Media Australia (CMA)
You can find the Children and Media Australia Know Before You Go service via this link.
Then, depending what you’re looking for, you can sort the list or search by title alphabetically, by age suitability, by classification or by date added. All of the reviews are prepared by people with training in child development, and they cover every G and PG title released in Australian cinemas since 2002, as well as selected M-rated movies and some pre-2002 ones that are available on streaming services.
Or at this link, you can access Know Before You Load – reviews of game style apps and apps that may appeal to young children. These cover some extra things that are relevant to games, like data collection and gambling-like content.
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