DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A sexual predator with a decades-long history of violent crimes is back in custody, and detectives believe there may be more victims who have yet to come forward. Deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 63-year-old Verwayne Alexander, a registered Florida sexual predator previously convicted...Read More
In December 2025, Australia became the first country in the world to ban children under 16 from social media. Since then, governments across Europe and Asia have passed similar laws amid growing evidence that these platforms’ addictive features, algorithmic recommendations and, at times, harmful and violent content may be eroding the mental health of today’s...Read More
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A sexual predator with a decades-long history of violent crimes is back in custody, and detectives believe there may be more victims who have yet to come forward. Deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 63-year-old Verwayne Alexander, a registered Florida sexual predator previously convicted...Read More
One-fifth of Australian teenagers under 16 were still using social media two months after the country banned platforms from allowing minors, industry data showed, raising questions about the effectiveness of their age-gating methods. The number of 13-to-15-year-olds using TikTok and Snapchat, among the most popular social media apps with Australian teenagers, fell from before the...Read More
From viral trends to artificial intelligence (AI) slop, children’s worlds have become shaped by their digital experiences. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT But excessive screen time and the harmful consequences of social media have caused growing concern, with governments across the world seeking to impose tighter regulations. Australia became the world’s first country to enforce a social media...Read More
MADISON, Wis. — Changes to social media platforms are expected after a jury found YouTube and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, negligent for knowingly designing addictive products that harm the mental health of teens. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by a now 20-year-old woman and her mother. Meta and YouTube were ordered...Read More
Social media Re “Jurors find platforms harmful to children” (A1, March 26): I agree that too much social media use by children can be detrimental to their mental and physical health, but what ever happened to personal responsibility? Young children are in very vulnerable and formative stages. They need and depend on adults to steer...Read More
Now what? A call to action We would not hand a 14-year-old the keys to a car without training, rules and safeguards. Yet we allow that same teenager unrestricted access to platforms designed to capture attention and maximize engagement. The impacts on their physical and mental health are clear. Research involving more than 9,000 adolescents...Read More
On April 20, 1999, I had been a middle-school science teacher in Pennsylvania for 23 years. None of my two decades of experience and training had prepared me to answer the questions my frightened students had about the shooting happening at Columbine High School that day. Along with my fellow educators, I shared the country’s...Read More
Listen to the article 2 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. With the EU failing to come to terms on a new agreement over child safety protections, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Snap reaffirmed their commitment to protecting children and preserving privacy on their platforms. On April 3, safety...Read More
