I am horrified by the things people say online - hateful and hurtful things that shouldn't ever be said or typed. If you have been the victim of haters or trolls here is some useful information from the esafety commissioner. You can find out more here.
If you are under 18, and the reported cyberbullying content has not been taken down within 48 hours, it can be reported to the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner. Trolling and hate upsets most of us, no matter how strong we are. If a troll or hater upsets you please talk about it with trusted friends and family, get some support and remember, it’s not you, it’s them.
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Rebecca Sparrow is an author (amongst other things) and champion of tween and teen girls. Her book, Ask me anything, is one of my favourite resources for teens. She has a PDF of free resources available on her website including a list of inspirational people and organisations to follow on social media, great books to read and websites to visit. You can sign-up for it here.
This might seem alarmist, but many of us are addicted to our devices like our grandparents were addicted to smoking. I love my iPhone, but I think I need to stop checking it so frequently and start talking to people face to face more.
Teens who spend less time in front of screens are happier. The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported that, according to research in the US, the more time teens spent on their devices, the more their psychological well being decreased. Increased mobile phone use has also been linked to depression and anxiety. Teens who spent 20 hours or more on their devices each week were least happy. So basically, teens who spend less time in front of screens are happier. You can find out more here.
The Supre Foundation, together with the Telethon Kids Institute and Headspace, have put together this fantastic little book about Bullying. It is full of useful tips and information about bullying, friendship, self-esteem and staying safe online. Best of all, it is free! You can pick one up at your local Supre store or download one here.
I spent a couple of days last week exploring the magnificent Karijini National Park in the North of Western Australia. It is both physically and technologically isolated. There was no phone coverage or wi-fi. It took a little while to adjust, but it was good to have a forced break from technology and social media.
I think it's good for the soul to spend time in the natural environment too. We spent hours exploring the gorges each day. Even if you can't escape to a national park (though there are ones much closer to the city), why not go for a walk by the beach or river or visit your local park. Take a friend, turn off your phones and talk to each other. Wally is a free budget app that allows you to track your spending and provides graphs so that you can track what you're spending your money on. There are no ads, all information is private and you can save photos of receipts. Whether you have a part time job or just get pocket money, budgeting is a useful life skill. It is a good habit to develop before you get a 'real' job and start earning big bucks.
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