(Note: A Dutch version of this article appeared in IDEE in December 2025, download below). Across the globe, proposals to ban or severely restrict young people’s access to social media are gaining momentum. In Australia, lawmakers have raised the minimum Read More

Australia’s new under-16 social media rules are now live. In plain terms, they function as a delay on having accounts: young people (and parents) aren’t penalized, but platforms must take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-16s from holding accounts, with civil Read More

I was happy to deliver a keynote at the LBDI-SSH Expert Meeting in Utrecht on November 18, 2025. The presentation, titled “Studying the Sometimes Unresearchable: My Researcher Wish List“, focused on the urgent needs and structural challenges facing social sciences Read More

Our team at the University of Amsterdam*, just released new findings on the state of digital competence in the Netherlands — and the results are surely interesting! In short: most Dutch people think they’re digitally skilled, but our data show Read More

This week marks the Week van de Mediawijsheid in the Netherlands: a nationwide initiative focused on helping everyone, young and old, use media in ways that feel healthy, balanced, and positive. It’s one of my favorite times of the year Read More

The Dutch government is funding a groundbreaking research infrastructure — the Macroscope — with €16.8 million, aimed at tracking how social change, trust, media and misinformation play out across the entire Netherlands. Coordinated by Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Macroscope is Read More

This week, in sunny Lisbon, I spoke about a topic dominating education headlines in Portugal and beyond: the rise of school smartphone bans. While these measures are often framed as protecting students’ attention and wellbeing, the evidence tells a more Read More

On September 23, 2025, I delivered a keynote at the 19th International Conference “Keeping Children and Young People Safe Online” in Warsaw, Poland. My talk, Protecting Without Excluding, came at a moment when age restrictions dominate policy debates. From parliaments Read More

What a blast! I had the opportunity to join the panel for the launch of DigiDuck — a special Donald Duck edition focused on digital skills, AI, and online safety. Why DigiDuck matters Digital life is evolving fast. For many Read More

On September 11, 2025, I had the opportunity to give a keynote address at the Media Psychology Division’s 14th Conference of the German Psychological Association in Duisburg, Germany. In my talk, “Why Competence — Not Control — Should Guide the Read More