Live Roundups Editor's Desk Insights Executive Ops Weather About 🔍
Home › Health › ‘Social media bans are likely to make things worse’:...
Health

‘Social media bans are likely to make things worse’: psychologist Candice Odgers on kids, tech and mental health

The Guardian UK Thursday 16 July 2026, 04:00 UTC By Amelia Gentleman 1 min read
Key Points

She has studied adolescent mental health for 25 years and fears the debate obscures some of the biggest issues facing teenagers – from the impact of Covid to the health of their adult caregiversThe quickest way to make being online safer for children and teens would be to kick all adult men off the internet, the Canadian psychologist Candice Odgers believes. Men are the biggest perpetrators of sextortion and most likely to spread misinformation, she says. Odgers is not recommending this as a...

She has studied adolescent mental health for 25 years and fears the debate obscures some of the biggest issues facing teenagers – from the impact of Covid to the health of their adult caregivers

The quickest way to make being online safer for children and teens would be to kick all adult men off the internet, the Canadian psychologist Candice Odgers believes. Men are the biggest perpetrators of sextortion and most likely to spread misinformation, she says.

Odgers is not recommending this as a policy for governments to adopt: “That would be crazy, right? It would be unfair.” But she is on a drive to puncture the prevailing narrative that the best way to address online harms is a social media ban for teenagers.

Continue reading...
Candice Odgers (PERSON) Covid (PERSON) Canadian (ORG) Odgers (PERSON)
Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

Related Stories

Second case of deadly bird flu detected in NSW

Hawks Nest petrel tests positive for bird flu in NSW's second confirmed case Thu 16 Jul 2026 at 2:40pm A second case of bird flu has been detected in New South Wales, with a seabird testing positive for the deadly disease on the Mid North Coast. The federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) confirmed that a second petrel found at Hawks Nest tested positive for the H5 strain of bird flu. The giant petrel was found at Bennetts Beach by a member of the public, who...

ABC Australia 25m ago

ACT minister reassures NSW patients after one claims care was denied

Cross-border health issues highlighted after NSW patient claims they were refused care by ACT hospital Thu 16 Jul 2026 at 2:36pm In short: Some patients living just over the NSW border have reported being turned away from Canberra medical facilities, but the ACT health minister says that should not be happening. Rachel Stephen-Smith says Googong and Queanbeyan residents live within the catchment area for Canberra's health system. NSW MP Steve Whan says he has been seeking answers to what...

ABC Australia 30m ago

Study of Botticelli paintings reveals muse behind 'Venus' died of tumour

A new study in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism suggests a diagnosis that could explain the death of Simonetta Vespucci, Botticelli’s muse, using facial recognition technology. Simonetta Vespucci, the face of the Italian Renaissance as Sandro Botticelli’s muse, may actually have died at just 23 from complications of a tumour rather than tuberculosis. This is the conclusion of a recent study (source in Italian), which challenges the widespread view that the young woman, who died in 1476,...

Euronews 35m ago

Thai band mourns loss of 4 members as Bangkok bar fire death toll hits 33

Thai band mourns loss of 4 members as Bangkok bar fire death toll hits 33 BANGKOK: Victims of this week's flash fire at a Bangkok music bar that took more than 30 lives included four of the six core members of the band playing when the blaze broke out. The fate of the Totsakan band has been a key focus in Thailand's coverage of the blaze, and as residents expressed their sadness, confusion, outrage and demands for compensation on Wednesday (Jul 15), the sister of the group's late keyboard...

Channel News Asia 46m ago