As youth navigate an increasingly algorithmic digital world, concerns about overuse, mental health, and online safety have led to calls for stricter age assurance measures. Yet, common responses—such as depersonalization or outright bans—risk oversimplifying the issue, potentially diminishing both youth Read More

I cannot think of a more important time to be discussing and understanding mis- and dis-information. The world is being rocked by its impact, people are struggling to know what is authentic, and the 24-hour digital knowledge economy only exacerbates Read More

“Success is what you do with your ability. It’s how you use your talent.” – George Allen, Sr. I have been a member of the YouTube Youth & Family Advisory Committee since its inception. (Don’t worry, UvA – it’s registered ancillary Read More

I had a fun opportunity to sit down with the University rector, Peter-Paul Verbeek, to discuss our overlapping areas of research during an episode on his podcast Net Echt. While typically our conversations focus on our visions for education, it Read More

I had the chance to speak at Meta’s Youth Summit on 18 February 2024 in Brussels (on a beautiful sunny day!) It was an interesting day, with several inspiring conversations. Personally, I was happy to sit on a panel where Read More

All too often, we hear the (news) media report on GenZ – framing the group as a monolithic entity with one voice and one shared ideology. During my talk with Microsoft Global Comms on 14 February, I highlighted fact versus Read More

The growing movement advocating for social media bans for youth, particularly those under 16, reflects understandable concerns about mental health. Parents face immense challenges: navigating their children’s education, social lives, and emotional well-being amidst a rapidly changing social media landscape. Read More

On Tuesday, 3 February, I spoke at the event “Grenzeloos Online? Leeftijdsverificatie en de Digitale Generatie” (Borderless Online? Age Verification and the Digital Generation), hosted by Offlimits. It was a lovely afternoon with interesting talks from Simone van der Hof Read More

Congrats to our Charge Your Brainzzz team for winning the Valorization Award of the Faculty of Science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam! Sleep and health are so important, and we are proud that with Charge Your Brainzzz research, we can Read More

When the Journal of Children & Media launched, the digital society was just beginning. Gameboys topped holiday wish lists and TheFacebook was a novelty. I was in my early days of graduate school, trying to grasp this changing world. So Read More