Trends Impacting Our Kids & Families

BELONGING AND PHYSICAL WELLBEING

• Data from the OECD and Australian surveys indicate a behaviour crisis in Australian classrooms.
• Raising healthy kids has become more complex, involving screen time and social media instead of just sleep, sports, and sensible diets.
• The Real Healthy Kids Report 2024 explores contemporary parenting in Australia, highlighting the importance of extracurricular activities.
• Almost 9 in 10 (85%) Aussie kids participate in at least one extracurricular activity, primarily physical activities (71%) and creative pursuits (42%).
• The cost of extracurricular activities has surged by 49% since 2017, with parents now spending $3,255 annually per child.
• A significant majority (92%) of parents believe extracurricular activities provide important social opportunities for their children and foster a sense of community belonging.

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese supports limiting children's social media access, with government actions including age verification trials and an accelerated review of the Online Safety Act.
• Jonathan Haidt's book, "The Anxious Generation," argues that Gen Z has been "rewired" by social media, leading to increased anxiety.

ATTENDANCE

• School attendance rates have declined, with only 88% of students in Years 1 to 10 attending regularly in 2023, down from 92% a decade earlier.
• 38% of students were chronically absent in 2023, missing more than 20 days of school.
• Emotional distress affecting school attendance can be linked to neurodiversity and mental health disorders.
• Legal action is a potential consequence for parents of children struggling with school attendance, according to the NSW Department of Education.

Technology, Social Media & Our Teens

The ever-evolving landscape of technology and social media presents new and unique challenges, many of which need more straightforward solutions. The Federal Government e-Safety Commissioner’s website is a reliable resource for students and family members seeking information on various issues arising from new technologies and services. Commonly asked questions include:

• How much screen time should my child have each day?
• How can I create a safe and secure social media environment for my child?
• What kinds of apps are available, and what do they do?
• What are the age of consent laws for using social media apps?

Please see an extract from the e-Safety Commissioner Website

How to manage your Screen Time

Using devices to stay connected online has become a big part of everyday life, so it’s important to make sure you know how to balance your time with it.

Online gaming is fun, social media is a great way to stay in touch, and there are always movies and TV shows to binge on. With so much available online whenever and wherever you want, it’s very easy to find yourself spending a lot of time in front of a screen.

If you feel the need to constantly refresh your apps or check your notifications, it’s probably time to take a break. Why? Because too much time online can make study, work and relationships more difficult, and even drag down your physical and mental health. 

How much is too much?

Working out how much time online is ‘too much’ will vary from person to person. It’s important to think about all the types of online content or activities you are engaging with, as well as the quality and whether it’s a good addition to your everyday life.

Be aware of how your time online may have an impact on your mental and physical health, your work or study, and your relationships (including with friends and family). If you notice you’re being affected in your ‘offline life’ by what you see and do online – and it’s becoming a problem – it’s likely that you need to cut back on the amount of time you spend online. Start thinking about if you’ve had any of the following impacts.

• Impacts on your brain chemistry and mood: Our brains ‘reward’ us for ongoing attention with a rush of dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel good. Apps are designed to keep us using them, so the more we tap on notifications, get more likes on a post or level up in a game, the happier we feel. We may come to crave that feeling and spend more time online.
• Impacts on your body image: There are endless tutorials across websites and social media feeds that show us how to build muscle, put make up on or dress fashionably. Constant exposure to this kind of content might set unrealistic standards that may damage your self-image and mental health. It’s important to know that sometimes these posts are altered with photo editing apps or are chosen because of selective angles, good lighting and expensive photoshoots to present that person as their best selves.
• Impacts on your view on the world: Doomscrolling is when you constantly click on bad news, hurtful content or posts that make you envious of others – then feel sad, stressed or depressed because of it. Although staying informed can be healthy, spending a lot of time focusing on negative things online can dull experiences we normally enjoy, and even damage our mental and physical health. The more you click on the same kind of content, the more it’s served to you, so you may end up in a ‘filter bubble’ or ‘echo chamber’. This is when you only see the information or opinions that encourage the same beliefs, without having different perspectives to balance it out. 

Some other signs that you may be spending too much time online include:

• having ongoing headaches, eye strain or sleep disturbance 
• constantly talking about a particular app or activity, such as a gaming site
• withdrawing from your ‘real world’ friends and activities
• feeling your online activities and contacts are more important than anything else
• not performing to your usual level at work, study or school.

Finally, please check the expectations regarding uniforms and grooming in the College student diary before your child’s return to Term Three. Please assist us with ensuring that uniform and grooming standards are met at the commencement of the term.