ºÚÁϳԹÏn students to learn about dangers of social media
School students across ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï will be taught about online safety and the dangers of social media, as part of important reforms to the child safety curriculum.
ºÚÁϳԹÏn schools will deliver an evidence-based program focused on preventing or mitigating issues associated with online safety, cyberbullying, body image, mental health and wellbeing.
The new education initiative was outlined during an address by the ºÚÁϳԹÏn Premier Peter Malinauskas at the ºÚÁϳԹÏn leg of the two-day Social Media Summit in Adelaide, co-hosted by the ºÚÁϳԹÏn and New South Wales governments.
The ºÚÁϳԹÏn component of the summit followed a session in Sydney and featured ASIO Director Mike Burgess AM and internationally-renowned social psychologist and best-selling author Jonathan Haidt.
For the first time, the curriculum will cover content on coercive control, strategies for detecting deepfakes, understanding artificial intelligence and the impact of negative online influencers.
The curriculum has also been strengthened and updated around contemporary online issues including recognising and reporting image-based abuse and sextortion, cyberbullying, privacy, and understanding how to detect scams and fake news.
Educating students about the risks posed by unsafe or inappropriate online behaviour and engagement will be addressed, along with providing strategies for students to seek support.
The Department for Education has worked closely with the eSafety Commissioner and the Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) in developing the curriculum.
The curriculum is mandated in all Education Department and Catholic Education sites and is used by schools from the Association of Independent Schools SA, with the new curriculum also to be taught in those schools.
This is part of wider education initiatives to support schools managing this complex area and follows on from the banning of student-use of mobile phones in all public schools from mid-2023 and moves by the State and Commonwealth governments to ban children from using social media.
A recent survey of staff, students, and families that was conducted in the wake of the first year of a full mobile phone ban found more than three-quarters of 3,000 respondents said it was having a positive impact.
When staff were asked what they had observed about different aspects of school life since the ban was introduced:
- More than three-quarters reported that the time they spent on asking students to put devices away or following up issues with phones had decreased.
- Two-thirds reported that students’ focus and engagement during learning time had increased more than 70%.
- An increased level of positive break-time activity such as social interaction, play, physical activity, and interest in lunchtime clubs.
